Cultural Tourism: The Concept and Activities to Promote it

Cultural tourism is a form of tourism that allows people to broaden their cultural experiences by visiting archeological sites, historical monuments, museums, being introduced to traditional crafts and other forms of arts, and attending cultural events such as exhibitions and festivals. Cultural tourism is thus the only type of tourism that offers a unique experience to tourists, an experience that can’t be found or recreated anywhere in the world. observe appreciate

Promoting those unique cultural attractions to tourists will only improve the general tourism sector and thus will ultimately contribute to the overall development of the host country. However, such development can only be achieved by adopting a number of frameworks though which a variety of cultural activities can be organised to promote cultural tourism:


1. Event Staging:

Today, cultural tourism does not rely exclusively on the historical heritage of the host country, as newer elements can also contribute to cultural tourism. Staging events and marking special occasions can diversify tourism products and thus attract new groups of tourists and visitors. Taking part in those special events, exhibitions, and celebrations and the travel facilities that go along with them, present an appealing opportunity for travellers. Examples of special events that could be organized in Amrit include:


1 Amrit Festival.
2 Amrit Marathon.
3 Amrit Athletic Games.


2. Restoration of Historical Tracks and Routes:

The restoration of historical local and international pilgrimage and trade routes, along with their lakes, wells, hostels, shrines, and other monuments to their original architectural and historical design will improve cultural tourism. Routes that can be restored include religious routes, paths followed by renowned travelers, pilgrimage and ancient routes used by trade convoys. Also, new tourism routes -whether hiking tracks or roads for tourist buses- can be built in all areas. The aim of restoring historical tracks, is to open new areas and attractions for tourists’ access, which will ultimately support the development of the tourism sector.

In our area (Amrit), the ancient pilgrimage route that used to connect Arwad and Amrit with the ancient Phoenician temples (such as “Hosn Suleiman”) via Himin can be restored.


3- Cultural Activities

Cultural activities are considered to be the main factor that encourages tourists to choice to visit and stay in a certain area. Examples of such activities include:

1 Theatrical Productions, the Scouts, and Musical Bands: Today, these are the groups that are most capable of organizing cultural events to stimulate tourism. The local social customs and traditional music and literature are a rich and wealthy source of information that can be used to broaden the tourists’ knowledge of the host country and its culture. Tourists can experience the local heritage through plays, musical concerts, and shows performed by the scouts in historical areas or amongst the archeological sites.

2 Cultural Centres and Clubs: Cultural centres play an important role in promoting cultural tourism locally and internationally. These centres can organize exhibitions and a variety of other cultural activities, such as public lectures and musical concerts, to attract tourists.

3 Exhibitions: Photographic exhibitions of tourism sites play an important role in promoting those sites. Visitors will be attracted to the photos and the knowledge they provide about these sites, which will motivate and encourage people to travel and personally visit them. Exhibitions showcasing traditional crafts, artwork, fashion and cuisine can greatly promote the local cultural heritage.

4 Conferences: People can also experience cultural tourism through participating in conferences, workshops, attending historical and religious festivals and reviving folkloric, traditional and artistic activities, as well as through organising group and official visits. Many countries host scientific meetings, conferences and symposiums to promote tourism in the host country.

To be continued

Amrit Volunteers