Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
In the current political climate there is clearly a threshold on how much
government, whether local or national, will continue to subsidise heritage
conservation activities or restrict private sector activities without there being an
adequate return to either directly the government stakeholders or indirectly to the
wider region.
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facilitation is productive while confrontation leads to little real progress in
con
s
ervation.
Creative outcomes can now be achieved through cooperation and understanding
of the mutual needs of stakeholders. Indeed, one of the basic needs for many
heritage management agencies is to recognise the range of stakeholders that may
exist for a particular site. As Strong (1997) recognised:
I think we must remind ourselves frequently that heritage only has legitimacy if it
represents the values of the community. The whole community, not just the
heritage mafia or the local historical society, but all those ordinary people who
appreciate these reminders of the past as they go about their daily business.
(Strong 1997:1)
Indeed, Strong went on to note that 'Heritage identification and assessment is too
important to be given to a group of experts, it should involve the whole
community' (1997:4).
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Redu
c
ing uncertainty, reduces time and costs and increases viability.
This fourth principle is extremely important for heritage conservation, particularly
where the private sector is involved. Unfortunately, many heritage management
agencies do not have a clear understanding of the economics of conservation, they
do not have well-structured strategic plans which are open for evaluation, neither
do they have an appreciation of the effectiveness of their expenditure in relation
to their conservation objectives, if they have such objectives at all. Moreover,
public heritage organisations typically do not have good estimates of forecasting
expenditures and costs to meet objectives for given timelines. Indeed, their
timeline often appears to be 'infinite'. They do not have good visitor records or
details of expenditure patterns. They also fail to factor in costs of annual upkeep
and maintenance. If they were operating on a commercial basis many of them
would be bankrupt. From the private sector's perspective time is money, even a
casual observer of the economic behaviour of investors and commercial operators
realise that certainty is vital. However, heritage agencies trying to develop
partnerships often seem to have no understanding of the needs of business.
SERVICE QUALITY ISSUES IN URBAN TOURISM
The competitive nature of urban tourism is increasingly being reflected in the growth in
marketing and promotion efforts by towns and cities as they compete for a share of
international and domestic tourism markets. Such competition has led to tourists'
demands for higher standards of service provision and improved quality in the tourist
experience. As Clewer et al. (1992) note, certain urban tourists (e.g. the German market)
have higher expectations of service quality than do others. But developing an appropriate
