Cultural Tourism in Central Europe

1. Dr. John Elsom Director, Arts Interlink, Hon. President, IATC Cultural Tourism in Central Europe

2. Leisure and recreation, Visiting friends and relatives (VFR), Business/ Professional Other. Cultural Tourism is a vital element across the market. 63% of leisure tourists to London include a visit to a heritage site in their stays. Cultural Tourism Festivals, Conferences, Heritage, Academic exchanges, Ecology and The arts Two London examples ~ Four Motives for Tourism

3. The Tower of London, Hampton Court , Kew, Kensington and the Banqueting House. 1 profitable, 2 viable and 2 needed restoration and roles. In 1989, bundled as a Charity, Historic Royal Palaces. An independent management company now runs them with a public service mandate. Now self-supporting as a group. Income: £33.8 million (US$48.43) Administration and fund-raising: £16.1 million. Visitor numbers: Tower: 2.3 million Hampton Court: 630,000 Funds for restoration, new exhibitions and marketing: £17.7 million (US$25.36) Five Palaces and a Dome

4. Built to celebrate 2000. Cost $1 billion - mainly from National Lottery. Intended to boost tourism, provide local employment, Regenerate Greenwich area and create a permanent centre for exhibitions and events. 6.5 million visitors came, but – 12.5 million visitors were required to cover the costs. The low income led to losses and political unpopularity, Future plans are still unclear. No developments are apparent. Further information from: www.nao.gov.uk/pn/9900936.htm What were the lessons? The Millennium Dome

5. GAINS AND LOSSES Historic Royal Palaces • A good public-private partnership. • Clear public service guidelines. • Economically viable bundling • A developing tourist market, • More restoration, • broader spread of events and • A demand-led approach. The Millennium Dome • 3 managements were involved, • Allgovernment supervised, • Sponsorship but no partnerships, • Political controversies, • Financial losses and • A supply-led. approach Too much of a theme park? Under-used as state amenities? 6.5 million an achievement? Development infrastructure in place?

6. UNESCO thinks so, The EU thinks so, The CECTA countries think so, Travel companies think so, obviously, Business conference organisers think so and so do most economists – For many reasons, among them  The world’s trade in cultural goods is $388 billion (rising) Tourism & Cultural Trade account for $800 billion. 5 countries dominate this trade. 4 are among the top 6 tourist destinations – China, France, UK and US. Germany lies 12th. Cultural trade and tourism support each other. More reasons  We Are All Agreed – that more Cultural Tourism in Central Europe would be a Good Thing -

7. 4 CECTA countries plan to join the EU – with unique opportunities for tourism. Lower costs, Exciting locations, Beautiful landscapes, Rich in arts and history. But we must also expect a difficult transition. A decline in traditional industries and crafts. More Western money seeking cheaper labour. Loss of national identities, The exclusion of minority cultures and traditions, Loss of literatures, art forms and ways of life. How is tourism doing?  The Enlargement of the EU

8. International Arrivals

9. International Visitor Spending

10. Patchy or poor transport, Lack of management expertise, Poor marketing Lack of investment, Effects of 2 World Wars and Cold War, leading to “Top-down” leadership and A supply-led approach. Solutions? Public-private partnerships provide management expertise And investment. Investment through partnerships is better than grant funding. Transport infrastructures can be developed piece by piece. The supply-led approach should shift to the demand-led. What has gone wrong?

11. Growth in tourism starts with the study of the markets. The shift in emphasis is from “we have historic sites that tourists should visit”, to “tourists want a holiday that we can supply.” The solution is not “The Habsburg Experience”. 32% of the market lies with short-break holidays of 2 to 3 days. Central Europe is ideally placed to take advantage of this demand. Through short-breaks, the wider market can be developed. Growth in tourism may not come as an invasion but in the form of a fleet of small boats - How can this be helped? From Supply- to Demand-Led

12. PPPs mean partnerships between the state and private companies. The government defines the public service guidelines. Private companies do not accept if the project is not viable. PPPs bring private money to the public sector and The deals may be struck on a local, national or international level. PPPs often require “bundling”, which may combine - Similar projects, dissimilar projects, or different companies into one franchise to decrease costs and improve viability Bundling is the key to effective PPPs, but needs matchmakers. The skills of matchmaking  ? Lessons from the Historic Royal Palaces

13. The matchmaker requires two specialist skills ~ An understanding of the culture concerned and of its local and international significance, A knowledge of management and the travel industry. In the case of the historic royal palaces, these were found in an enlightened civil servant, but There are many examples of where matchmaking has gone wrong - by pairing managements that do not respect the culture, with Artists or curators that do not respect managements. But the principles are clear and remain the same.  Matchmaking in Cultural Tourism

14. Good Bundling, Good PPPs, Good Public Service guidelines Matchmaking and Demand-led approach That is the way ahead. www.artsinterlink.com The Way Ahead