Human Resources
Interaction with the tourists on level learning, participating in crafts and arts activities can require language skills, art, crafts, dance, history and other specialty coaching skills. Do you have enough human capital able to create this unforgettable atmosphere and enchantment for the participating travelers? Small cities, isolated locations and non-English-French-German-Japanese-Spanish speaking destinations can find difficult to assemble teams to lead the creative tourism efforts.
Photo: Chole, a guitar player in a tourist bar in Ohrid. It was not a evening scheduled performance - he just came and started to play - for free. We started to sing with him. The bartender had to stop the jazz music, which is part of the bar atmosphere. Photo: Stevan Olson
Attitude
Skills, infrastructure, and location are not enough. The “human factor”, being crucial in the experience economy, depends a lot on attitude. Do you have a local population who will support creative tourism activities, or is already hostile to the tourist crowds invasion because of overexploited cultural heritage sites or events?
Photo: Spring | Easter folklore festivals in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. The girl in the photo, after an exosting performance of "horo" dancing with the tourists, agreed to pose for picture. When I aksed her for permission to post the picture on the Internet and explained to her that the photo will be probably seen worldwide, "even in America", she was delighted and brought other girsl from the dance group to pose for pictures. Photo: Rossitza Ohridska-Olson
