The rising importance of empathy and new technology in Culture & Heritage Tourism
Heritage
tourism
experts
grappled
with
complex
issues
of
presenting
culture
and
heritage
to
tourists
at
an
international
gathering
of
culture
tourism
experts
24-25
September
in
Valencia,
Spain.
Dozens
of
delegates
from
30
countries
debated
the
latest
issues,
trends
and
opportunities
affecting
the
sector,
which
accounts
for
40%
of
all
tourism
activity,
according
to
the
UNWTO.
Heritage
tourism
is
worth
around
US$570
billion
per
year,
said
Scott
Wayne,
president
at
SWA
Development.
Within
the
sector,
51-70
year
olds
generate
60%
of
its
revenue.
However,
73%
of
millennials
were
interested
in
visiting
cultural
and
historical
places.
The
role
of
technology,
not
least
artificial
intelligence,
was
centre
stage
at
the
summit,
where
presenters
shared
the
latest
cultural
and
heritage
tourism
insights
from
Iceland,
Belize,
Finland,
Spain,
Morocco,
Ras
Al
Khaimah
in
the
UAE,
and
other
destinations.
Certain
issues
unite
all
destinations.
“We
should
be
more
worried
about
artificial
intelligence
than
climate
change,”
said
Yrjotapio
Kivissari,
CEO
of
Visit
Oulu,
Finland.
He
admitted
that
while
many
operators,
including
his
organisation,
use
artificial
intelligence,
the
technology
is
being
abused
by
destinations
which
were
happy
to
mix
fake
images
with
real
ones
in
their
marketing.
However
he
predicted
that
AI
would
very
quickly
remove
language
barriers
in
culture
tourism
settings.
Also
on
technology,
Wanderlust
magazine
revealed
3D
headsets
which
gave
destinations
the
ability
to
show
360-degree
immersive
visual
and
sound
experiences.
To
great
effect,
Wanderlust
executives
used
samples
from
Petra,
Fiji,
the
Norwegian
fjords
and
the
Holi
festival
of
colours
from
India
to
show
how
immersive
headset
technology
is
transforming
destination
marketing.
Delegates
learned
that
new
technology
can
serve
traditional
local
artisans
and
communities.
For
example,
ResiRest
has
established
itself
as
a
social
enterprise
that
helps
9,000
families
in
50
countries
by
connecting
them
with
tourists
who
want
an
authentic
destination
dining
experience
with
a
local
family
in
their
house.
Similarly,
the
Tuzmo
website
allows
tourists
to
not
just
find
and
meet
local
artisans
such
as
wood
carvers,
weavers
and
sculptors,
but
makes
it
easy
for
the
tourist
to
order
and
ship
any
artefact
they
buy
from
the
artist.
On
attention
span
issues,
delegates
said
it
was
imperative
for
museums
and
built
attractions
to
convey
a
narrative
story
with
emotion
and
empathy,
preferably
with
multiple
access
points
to
the
story.
Stephen
Ryan,
heritage
design
director
at
Freeman
Ryan
Design,
Australia,
told
the
audience
that
the
average
time
duration
for
video
clips
in
museums
was
always
going
down.
On
heritage
tourism
finance,
delegates
admitted
that
the
fight
for
adequate
funding
was
perpetual.
It
was
imperative
for
governments
and
donors
not
to
just
think
about
ROI
in
terms
of
money.
It
should
also
be
expressed
in
job
creation,
a
sense
of
ownership
and
pride,
training
and
employability,
cultural
value,
environmental
gain
and
social
inclusion.
Summit
attendees
said
that
there
should
be
a
task
force
set
up
to
address
investment
issues
in
culture
and
heritage
tourism.
The
event’s
debate
facilitator,
Rajan
Datar,
told
the
audience
that
WTACH
should
consider
supporting
skills
in
financial
proposal
writing.
However,
a
delegate
from
French
Polynesia
said
that
it
was
imperative
for
politicians
to
listen,
but
the
only
way
to
ensure
that
was
to
“vote
well”.
Closing
the
summit,
Nigel
Fell,
CEO
of
WATCH
thanked
Visit
Valencia.
“Valencia
has
been
a
wonderful
host
culture
for
the
inaugural
heritage
tourism
summit.
The
breadth
and
depth
of
culture
in
the
city
has
to
be
experienced.
It
is
no
wonder
that
Valencia
is
such
a
vibrant
tourism
success
story.”
The
CEO
announced
Johannesburg
in
South
Africa
as
the
host
city
for
the
2nd
WTACH
Global
Leaders
Summit,
which
will
be
held
in
September
2024.
In
a
handover
ceremony
on
stage,
Miguel
Angel
Perez
Alba,
brands
and
marketing
director
of
Visit
Valencia
wished
Septi
Bukula,
founder
of
the
Renzo
Network
of
South
Africa,
well
with
the
2024
event.
Chris
Flynn
the
Chairman
and
founder
of
WTACH
said:
“There
was
a
wonderful
engagement
between
varied
culture
and
heritage
tourism
leaders,
analysts
and
stakeholders
at
the
inaugural
WTACH
summit
in
Valencia.
We
will
build
on
the
success
and
take
the
important
work
of
culture
and
heritage
in
tourism
to
the
next
level
in
Johannesburg
next
year.”
Flynn
said
that
WTACH
looked
forward
to
hearing
from
potential
summit
partners
for
2024.
Presentations
from
the
2023
WTACH
summit
will
be
available
on
WTACH.org
very
soon.
The
2023
event
programme
with
full
speakers
list
is here.
