Cultural Heritage Tourism

1275 Words6 Pages

Tourism is a vital part of the economy for any country in this era, since it can trigger the development of many industries in the society, such as service sector, catering industry and etc. As a result, tourism is the leader of economy of most of countries. In other words, countries should concern the development of the tourism and make improvement of it so that their tourism can sustain and grow. Europe is always a destination for tourists, and France would be the first choice for tourists among all the European countries. Therefore, France is considered as the global destination. This means, “tourism is a strategic sector for the French economy and the country's international influence: it represents more than 2 million direct and indirect …show more content…

There is full of historical western culture in Europe, and France is not an exception. Therefore, cultural heritage tourism is the feature of French tourism. According to National Trust for Historic Preservation, cultural heritage tourism is defined as “to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present. It includes historic, cultural, and natural resources”(Platzer 9). Cultural heritage tourists participate in diverse activities such as visiting art galleries or museums, attending a concert, play, or musical. In France, there are “around 1,200 musuems draw tens of millions of visitors each year. The Louvre, Versailles and the Musee d’Orsay alone welcome nearly million people annually. In addition, more than 1,500 monuments are open to the public (eight million visitors a year)” (Course Reader 23). These statistics may show how well the tourism in France is, and yet it may not the whole picture. It is good to know that there are many tourists visiting these museums and monuments; however, it is not the best form of tourism to gain more revenues. There is a great global competition in tourism, and therefore France can no longer merely rely on the income from the cultural heritage tourism. Since there are many similar culture and attractions in other European countries, it is necessary to develop or other forms of tourism that can generate more revenues. Therefore, if France keeps relying on one major tourist city as well as a single form of tourism, it will not have enough competiveness to defeat other countries, in term of

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