Heritage Tourism Essay

1704 Words4 Pages

The purpose of museums is to collect and archive different artifacts of value ranging from historical, cultural and scientific significance and present these items for the education and enjoyment of the public. By displaying artifacts of historic significance, museums impact visitors from around the world. Through collecting artifacts, a museum can preserve the culture or political landscape of a nation, or region at a particular time in history. Museums also boost the economy of the area where the are located. Patrons of museums bring in revenue to cities around the globe. In the U.S. over 4.8 billion artifacts are held in public trust (Morris). These artifacts are housed and displayed at museums, archives, and libraries, preserving artifacts …show more content…

People from across the world can travel to other nations to learn about the history or culture of the region. Heritage tourism is a tourism industry that seeks to educate and inform travelers about past traditions from a given culture. One objective of heritage tourism is to take in the culture and history of nations by exploring monuments and historical sites. Tourism helps in the spread of a region’s cultural history to other nations, especially tourism is directed towards experiencing arts, heritage and culture that defines and represents the lives of people from the past and present of a nation. Heritage tourism has proved to be a powerful economic tool. 76% of all United States leisure travellers participate in cultural activities (Perera 1,2,4). Museums and historic areas are key areas for tourism and the spread of knowledge of one culture to another. Travel has had a tremendous effect on the preservation of history throughout the world, with developing countries making efforts to have and preserve heritage sites for the attraction of tourists by preserving tangible and cultural history (Stewart). As people travel to other countries and take in the culture and the value of culture to the nation, which in turn aids the preservation of the cultural history. Ellis Island is a great example of a cultural heritage museum. Visitors can not only learn about what it was like to enter America through Ellis Island, they can also research family members in an on site research facility. Park Rangers engage visitors in realistic tours including asking the questions their ancestors were asked when arriving in the new

More about Heritage Tourism Essay

Open Document