Annual EA Exhibition & Workshop

URBAN TOURISM:Opportunities for Cities with Low

Endowment of Historical/Cultural Built Environment Heritage

Eliud Liku Department of Architecture & Building Science – UoN

23rd July 2015

Presentation OutlinePreambleSubject FramingScholarly EngagementOpportunitiesConclusion

MisnomerLiterature available has tended to suggest that:

Urban tourism takes place only in cities with high concentration of historical/cultural buildings

Contemporary buildings/structures play insignificant part in tourism offering

The role of architects and urban designers in provision of tourist offering is limited to restoration of historical/ cultural buildings and provision of secondary tourism elements

This paper will attempt to show that these arguments need rethinking

Objective

The key objective of this paper is to arouse debate on the subject of

Urban Tourism amongst academicians in schools of architecture and urban planning in the region

DefinitionVarious scholars have different definitions of the term “Urban Tourism”:

A set of resources or activities located in a city and made available to visitors for the purpose of entertainment, business or for other reasons (Garbae R.X., 2013)

That it takes place in urban agglomeration with at least 20,000 inhabitants, and characterised by short stay of 1-3 days, and travel distance of over 100km

Historical PerspectiveUrban Tourism has been in existence for over 2000 years but remained unnoticed by scholars for a long time(the story of Paul in the Bible is a good case in point)

Became an important economic activity in the 1970’s after the collapse of manufacturing industries in Europe

Complexity of Urban TourismFairly difficult to isolate amongst other city

activities because of the shared consumption of urban facilities

It is vaguely demarcated from other city activities (Ashworth R.V., 2013)

It is a multi-dimensional industry, and therefore a system made of various features & components

It is both a social and economic activity (Moosivand J. and Farahani B.M., 2013)

It is pervasive; takes place in all cities

Top Urban Tourist Destinations(Master Card; 2014 Global Destinations Cities Index)

GLOBAL

City No. of Visitors

1. London 18.69 million

2. Bangkok 16.42 million

3. Paris 15.57 million

4. Singapore 12.47 million

5. Dubai 11.95 million

6. New York 11.81 million

7. Istanbul 11.60 million

8. Kuala Lumpur

10.81 million

9. Hong Kong 8.84 million

10. Seoul 8.63 million

AFRICA

City No. of Visitors

1 .Johannesburg

4.25 million

2. Cape Town 1.6 0million

3. Cairo 1.35 million

4. Lagos 1.33 million

5. Casablanca 0.99 million

Urban Tourism StudiesScholarly studies began to emerge in 1960s and

mainly by geographersToday is an area of study by many disciplines;

geographers, sociologist, economists, marketers, planners and policy makers

HOWEVER;Studies on urban tourism in the developing

world have been lacking (Rogerson C.M., 2010)

Schools of architecture have not actively participated in the subject

Types of TourismBased on the purpose of the visit, Ben-Delia et al

(2012) identified 4 types of tourism:Sea and sand tourismCulture tourismVisiting friends and relatives tourismBusiness tourism Culture and business have grown faster than the other two

The two take place mainly in urban centers

Attraction of TouristsScholars have identified three tourism elements:Primary; the key motivators Secondary; complementary Tertiary; supportive

Attributes of key motivators:Destination personalityVariety of offerings

Destination PersonalityDestination must have personality to attract tourists

Traits (Ekinci & Hosany, 2006)Excitement and convivialitySincerity/authenticitySophisticationBeautyCompetence

Destination Personality (cont’d)Current literature is silent on the role of

tourism planners in destinations personality acquisition

Tourists use their instincts to bequeath personalities to destinations. (Lovelock B., 2004)

Historical events play a key role in the process of personality acquisition

It can be argued that destination personality is acquired by default and not design

Destination Personality (cont’d)A tired farmer who left his boots hanging on a fence led to creation of this artifact by tourists(Lovelock B.,2004)

Offering VarietyTo be attractive to tourists, a city should provide destinations with personality as well as variety in its offerings

Some of the urban features that have been used as vehicles for achieving offering variety are:Contemporary structuresStreet activitiesWater fronts

Contemporary StructuresLondon EyeDesigned by Julia Barfield and David MarksLeading tourist destination; built in 1999Attracts 3.75m tourists per year, more than the Great Pyramid of Giza and Taj Mahal

Contemporary Structures (Cont’d)Guggenheim Museum in BilbaoBuilt in 1997Designed by Frank Gehry Had 4 million tourist visits in the first 3 yearsA case of duality in tourist offering

Building and the exhibits are both artifacts

Street Activities

Street Market – Cape Town

Court Yard Market - Nairobi

Water Fronts

Intaka Island -Canal Walk -Cape Town

Nairobi River

Paradigm ShiftArchitects and urban designers need to get

involved in the debate of urban tourism and make the necessary interpretation and connection between urban design and tourists’ needs

Tourism policy makers and planners need to change from being reactionary to proactive in provision of primary tourism element offerings

Is it possible to bequeath tourism elements with “destination personality” through design?

Call to ActionArchitects and Urban Designers should take their

rightful position and make positive contribution in the discourse of urban tourism offerings especially in the areas of “destination personality” and “offering variety”Indeed there are enormous opportunities for urban tourism in cities with low endowment of historical/cultural built environment heritage

Contemporary buildings/structures have potential to serve as attractions for tourists

Thank You