CIV.1 The concept of heritage and heritage tourism

The place of heritage tourism as a part of tourism is ambiguous, some people considering it a part of, and others interpreting it as the synonym of cultural tourism. The definition of heritage is not uniform, though beginning with the 1970’s, the concept became more and more important in both political and scientific areas. Its global meaning is related to the category of World Heritage. According to its actualized sense, heritage includes today ideas, traditions, customs, different stories and rituals as well.(Husz, 2007, in.: Gődér, 2011) 

“Theheritagedescribestheculturewhichis treasured by a community, taken careof and delivered to thenextgeneration.Without this,there is no identityandsense of belonging.”(Husz, 2007 in:Gődér, 2011)

Heritage can be categorized in multiple ways. Depending on the type of attractiveness, the following types of heritage are distinguished:

• Natural Heritage
• Live Cultural Heritage
• Built Heritage
• Industrial Heritage
• Personal Heritage
• Religious Heritage
• Military Heritage
• Literary or Artistic Heritage (Husz,2007 in.: Gődér, 2011)

For the proper understanding and the effective action of heritage tourism, it is essential to clarify and define the concept of culture. There is no united definition on the meaning of culture. Culture was differently described by distinct ages, societies and scientists. The research of the roots of culture is inter-twinning with the determination of the beginning of the human society. But no one can say with certainty when the culture was born, due to the different cultural proofsand the different cultural interpretations.(www.wikipedia.hu)

“The general concept ofthe culturecan be partly definedassome kind ofcreative activity whichexpresses asort ofinnerattitudeandbehaviour,the concept of cultureincludes allkinds ofcreativeactivitiesand their outcomes,thussome sort ofvalue.”(source:Zsuzsanna Kondor: The Change of the Conceptand Contentof the Culturefrom Ciceroto Carey, seewww.fil.hu/uniworld/kkk/crosscul/kondor/1.htm). So,thecultureisthe totality of the customs, traditions, norms, values, beliefs and convictions that governthe behaviour of the society or of a smaller group of the society, like some kind of program.

A suggestiveandinformativeimage on the relationshipbetween tourism andcultureis provided bythe research made by GfKHungária Market Research Institute –on behalf of the HungarianTourism LTD– thatanalysestheHungariansconcept of culture, as well asthe attitudes regarding the cultural tourism, the knowledge of it, their motivationsandtravelhabits.

It is obviousthat the concept ofcultureof the people over the age of40is muchwider. Their relation tocultureis present and moredirect.Their concept of culture islessabstract, andit is assumed not just on acommunity level, butalsoon the individual level: our erudition, ournecessities, our life’s foundation.

The same research includes the „heritage” related associations of the above-mentioned age groups.

CIV.2The motivations of the heritage tourism consumers

The tourists of today are looking for an experience with active involvement rather than being in a passive, observer position, through which they are able to identify themselves with the local community and the local culture.

The experience is the most essential value creator of the tourism products and according to the Hungarian Encyclopaedia is defined as „a happening full of excitement which develops our personality and remains in our memories”.

The Larousse Encyclopaedia defines the experience as „an important, lasting event with a pleasant or unpleasant memory; otherwise it is described as a spiritual phenomenon, important not through the content of reality but its relevance for us”.

The touristic experience is the subjective feeling gained during the journey. The essence of tourism is the experience gathering; the services will be used only if they lead to the experience. The most general experience can be described as „the permanent process of doing and experiencing with relevance for the individual”(Boswijk et al, 2005 in.: Zátori, 2013). The experiences are very personal; they are lived subjectively, abstract, forever passing away and continuously happening. Although they are products, more than randomly occurring ideas in one’s mind(O’Dell, 2005 in.: Zátori, 2013).

The use of the touristic services, as any other services, can be connected to the necessities and the motivations. The recognized necessity of the consumer acts like a motivator, meaning that the person is led towards a consumer’s behaviour, which targets the fulfilment of the lack and of the necessity.  

The classic attraction factors of the cultural tourism are divided into three categories:

• Built and object related memories
• The cultural values related to everyday life (leisure, gastronomy)
• Events, festivals (Csapó-Matesz, 2007).