Name: Chavez Montoya Maria Eduard
Student ID: 11418034
MID TERM REPORT - CULTURE AND HERITAGE TOURISM
WORD LIMIT:
800 Words Maximum
DUE DATE:
11 July 2021
SUBMISSION: Manaba
TOPICS (CHOOSE ONE ONLY):
Word Count : 738
1)
What parts of culture are used by destinations to attract tourists? Give
examples of the main items.
Cultural tourism is one of the largest and fastest-growing segments of the global
tourism industry. Cultural tourism encompasses the firsthand experiences of tourists to a
destination as they learn about the heritage, lifestyle, art, and people. Different tourist
destinations have unique, authentic products that reflect their cultures and attract visitors,
such as their food, architecture, dance, lifestyle, and traditional customs. This paper will
explore the unique components of culture to attract tourist using India as the destination to
allow for further insight on this topic.
The first part of culture that we will dive into is architecture. One of the many examples
of noticeable architectures in India that inhibit a lot of culture and attract a lot of tourist are
the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the Taj Mahal in Uttrapradedsh. The Golden Temple is
one of Sikhism's most treasured and sacred sites. Surprisingly, the Golden Temple in
Amritsar attracts a same amount of visitors as the Taj Mahal. Visitors are captivated to the
temple's beauty, which is reflected in the pool of water surrounding it, and pilgrims from all
over the world come to pay their respects (Team, 2019) . The Taj Mahal too is a popular
site recognized all over the world. In 1983, the Taj Mahal was named a UNESCO World
Heritage Site for being "India's jewel of Muslim art and one of the world's most universally
admired masterpieces. (n.a., 2021)" Many consider it to be the finest example of Mughal
architecture and a symbol of India's long history. Approximately 7-8 million tourist a year
come to visit the Taj Mahal, indulging in its exquisite design and long history (n.a., 2021).
Festivals and dances are another part of culture that attract tourist as these events can
illustrate the history and uniqueness of how a culture celebrates. In Rajasthan, there is a
famous festival that occurs every year to celebrate the coming of the spring season. This
festival has a long history and is one of the oldest festivals to take place in Rajasthan.
(Intermiles, 2021) This festival not only attracts tourist from India, but from all over the
world who come to see this amazing cultural event take place. The festival includes
dazzling lights, performances, musical concerts and traditional dances that give tourist not
only a new experience, but the chance to connect and be part of this historic festivity that
has been taking place for hundreds of years. The chance to be part of something that holds
so much history attracts tourist to make the journey from far away, as it is something that
they would always remember and hold dear to their heart.
The final part of culture which I feel is the most essential in attracting tourist is the
lifestyle/environment of the destination. In my own experience, I am always so fascinated
by how different each country is so unique from one another in serval aspects in
lifestyle/environment. India is one of the countries that by far I have been most fascinated
by surrounding this topic. For example, when contrasting the lifestyle/environment of
people in India to Japan, it is complete opposite. India has the loud and crazy environment
where hundreds of things are occurring in every direction whereas in Japan everything is
very systematic and proper. The same goes for the people, in the way they behave and
interact with one another. It is extremely different, and one can experience a lot about a
countries culture through this. This curiosity/fascination/uniqueness of the lifestyle in the
country is what draws tourist to visit and experience what it feels like. This is what makes
each destination to unique from one another which is the beautiful part about our world we
live in.
Culture is what makes each destination you travel to a unique experience. Myself, every
time I travel to a country I learn so much about how other cultures conduct their way of
life, their traditions and the different perspectives the people hold. It is truly beautiful to
learn about these different aspects, as it allows one to interact with people from different
cultures with more fluency and comfort. It is important though for countries not to exploit
their culture for money, as this can sometimes deplete the authenticity of the traditions,
dances and etc. Although this is a problem seen in some destinations, cultural tourism will
continue to exist and attract tourist to unique lifelong experiences that they will cherish
forever.
APA CITATIONS
Team, O. (2019, March 25). The Ultimate Guide to Amritsar's Golden Temple. Retrieved
from https://www.onthegotours.com/blog/2019/03/the-ultimate-guide-to-amritsars-goldentemple/)
Taj Mahal. (2021, June 26). Retrieved July 1, 2021, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal
Rajasthan Festivals in 2021 – 7 Famous Festivals of Rajasthan to experience this year.
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.intermiles.com/blog/famous-festivals-of-rajasthanwhich-cannot-be-missed