About partners for livable

CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM DURING TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES
Well-planned and implemented culture heritage tourism development projects can have significant 
economic and social benefits, some of which are assessed in the next chapter. But how are these potential 
returns affected by an adverse economic climate? The effects of a deep recession on employment, 
discretionary income and consumer confidence cause tourists to reduce the number of trips they take and 
the amount of money they spend. Similarly, tough economic times tend to dry up the financial resources 
available from government, private sector and nonprofit sources to support cultural heritage tourism 
projects. While these factors make it difficult to develop and promote cultural heritage tourism, there are 
things communities can do even in such circumstances. 
The decline in trips to destination magnets such as New York City or Disney World can create 
opportunities for lesser-known and less-expensive attractions. Many tourists “trade down” during a 
recession and take trips closer to where they live. Communities might benefit from this by doing more to 
promote their attributes to local regions that are within a day’s drive. 
Communities that are trying to develop new attractions instead of improving the marketing of existing 
ones might be reassured by the fact that much of what needs to be done at the initial stages does not have 
to be financially onerous. For example, before designing a project, the community should inventory its 
existing cultural assets and tourist infrastructure. Much of this activity can be done as a service project or 
by other groups of volunteers. 
Partners’ emphasis on community building as a central aspect of cultural heritage tourism takes on a 
particular urgency during an economic downturn. In tough economic times, collaborative participation by 
everyone in the community is especially necessary to make the most out of what resources exist. While 
the argument is developed in greater detail in the next chapter, Partners believes that communities are 
most successful in developing cultural heritage attractions as a way to improve their quality of life when 
they do so in a way that strengthens the community at the same time. 
“Partners’ definition of 
cultural heritage tourism: