Man basic instinct is to travel is to travel. With the passage of time the aim of travelling changed. Man used to travel in search of food or shelter before, but now man travel for recreation purpose also. Travel industry is expanding rapidly around the world. The global growth of tourism has attracted the attention of many countries. Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. Tourism can be domestic or international. It is usually for recreation, leisure, religious, family or business purposes, usually for a limited time period. According to estimates international tourism will continue growing at the average annual rate of 4%. It is a source of income for many countries. Tourism brings in large amounts of revenue into a local economy in the form of payment of goods and services needed by tourists in the form of foreign currency.
Culture tourism has been popular since time immemorial. In the ordinary language culture means the art, customs, ideas etc of a nation, people or group. Visiting the places to explore the culture of that place is called culture tourism. Culture tourism has a dominant contribution in the revenue earned by tourism sector.
Benefits of Culture Tourism
- Culture tourism helps in promotion of culture at international level.
- It helps in preservation of historic monuments.
- Provides financial benefits and empowerment for local people.
- Revenue earned from tourists can be used to restore the monuments.
- It helps to strive maximum revenue for the host countries.
- Ensures comprehensive understanding of history and culture by actually visiting that place.
- Local handicrafts and products are also promoted internationally.
Negative Impact On Environment
Tourist might not observe the sanctity of local places, temples and local culture. Tourists often carve their names on monuments. They litter the environment by throwing plastic bottles, wrappers and other non biodegradable substances. Cultural destinations are almost overcrowded, so air pollution is a common phenomenon due to heavy traffic. Air pollution can cause corrosion of monuments. Instead of buying local products, tourist tend to buy branded products which may not be eco friendly leading to negative impact on environment and heavy losses for local people in form of revenue.
Ways To Increase Culture Tourism
The host country has to make preparations for the sustainment of culture tourism and for the benefits of local communities socially and economically.The government should play an important role in promoting culture tourism. Infrastructure facilities like road good airports should be developed.
More accommodations like lodges, hotel, motels, guest rooms etc should be built. Visa facilities should be made easier. Legal procedures should be simplified and liberalized. Make sites more attractive… Brouchers should be prepared on them. The service sector needs to be improved. Proper transportation facilities should be made available to the tourist. Facility of currency conversion should be made easier. Subsidies should be provided to local residents to carry their business in visiting areas. It should be ensured that tourists especially foreigners should not face any inconvenience like theft, molestation etc in the host country. Security should not be neglected in anyway. Overseas offices should be established at different countries to promote culture tourism. Proper coordination between different states should be developed. The govt. must encourage private companies to invest in this sector by giving tax benefits. Tours should be organized at school levels also to inculcate the feeling of belongingness towards their own culture. The guides should be properly trained and should be well versed with the language. Attractive websites should be created giving detailed information regarding the place, attractive packages, availability of discounts, booking of tickets etc.
Conclusion
This area of travel industry need great attention as it has vast potential to grow. Culture tourism will help people know more about several things, which they had never known before.It is observed that now the travelers are more interested to visit heritage site. That is why culture tourism has shown tremendous increase in last few years and will continue to grow if the needs and preferences of this segment are given high importance. It is observed that now the travelers are more interested to visit heritage site. Social media, government, guides, tourists, travel and tour companies must take a responsibility of playing a greater role in promoting culture tourism.