1. Understand what is cultural tourism. Read definitions, consult experts. Cultural tourism is NOT only visiting 200 years old churches in a broken bus or a car without air conditioning at 40 ° C (104 ° F). See my definition for cultural tourism in the 21st century.
2. Know what your clients want:
- people want to see things,
- people want to experience things,
- people want to buy things,
- people want to learn things
- people are conscious about preserving the nature,
- people want to enjoy LIFE (with capital letters) and
- contribute to the others' LIFE enjoyment (sustainable tourism).
3. Find the right partners to create the product. The usual suspects (tour operators, travel agencies, hotels, transportation companies and restaurants) are not enough. Your partners should be museums, galleries (people want to see things), spa centets and wineries (people want to experience things), local craft centers, small businesses producing souvenirs and gifts (people what to buy things), entertainment companies – theater, music, dance, (people want to enjoy life), eco-friendly companies – suppliers of green energy for your hotel, green car rentals, etc., (people are conscious about preserving the nature), local universities, libraries (people want to learn things).
4. Make a destination into a product. A destination (country, region, cultural monument, museum) is only a cultural tourism product if it is packaged correctly as a product. The Loire region (a destination) with its palaces and castles is very well packaged as product of cultural tourism. The Valley of thee Thracian Kings is not yet a cultural tourism product. It is only a cultural tourism destination, and not a famous one.
5. Find niches. It is not necessary that all the 300 million of US citizens visit the place of your cultural destination product. There are Roman history buffs, that will go at every road post of the Roman Empire. Find them and promote your prodict to them or to the touroperators that are selling them specialized Roman Empire tours. Each cultural product should have a specific niche market. For some destinations there are more than one. You must find these niches and create your product(s) accordingly.
6. Create the right infrastructure and services around your product. Although some believe that this is part of the «packaging» of the product, I think it is a separate endeavor. A road and an information center are not enough for the product to be complete. Restaurants, hotels, local transportation, rest areas, sourvenir shops, guide , translation, and photo services are only a few that will complete your product to be ready for the market.
7. Find the right market. Super destinations, like Paris, Rome, and London have a global market – as reach and as demographics. Everybody wants to visit at least these 3 cities before he or she dies. Unless your cultural product is related to the 10 most visited cultural destinations in the world, you need to define your market – by its geography (regions or country/ies from which the tourist will come), by its demographics (rich, poor, educated, nature concious, gourmet lovers, etc.) and draw a «portrait» of your ideal visitor. This will help you to not chase unrealistic markets for your cultural tourism product.
8. Brand your cultural tourism product as global, position it accordingly to the market. While your brand has to represent the emotional essence of your cultural tourism product, your positioning to different markets has to reflect the concrete needs of each market. Normally, the people travel because they cannot have exactly the same experience at home . Find what is missing in the target market and pull out the emotion that your destination or cultural tourism product can deliver it.
9. Advertise and promote your product. Everywhere, through all means. Of course, Internet and social netowrks, travel social networks specially, are the best place for «sincere» advertising, since the users are creating it.
10. Innovate. Find different aspects and angle to present your product. Even for established products, find innovative techniques to deliver information, avertising and make sales.
11. Be responsible. The product of the cultural tourism shouldn't destroy cultures and lifes of people who service it or who have created it. It shouldn't demolish culturla heritage sites, that have survived for millennia only to be a victuims to hordes of unedicated visitors. Incorporate in each of your product creation, promotion and sale clear rules of responsibility.
12. Think about the future. What will be the cultural interests of the next generations, what they will miss in their regions and how you will provide them new experiences? Is your product sustainable and are you providing soustanable benefits to your vendors and providers? If not, soon you will not have product for the cultural tourism.
