Urban tourism, heritage and culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Urban tourism, heritage and culture - Essay Example Cultural and heritage centers are remarkable for contributing towards tourism industry, and generating income to towns and communities. Ð ¡ultures and heritages may be remarkable for construction of historical narratives regarding a culture, or concerning particular communities. In most cases, promotion of heritage centers and cultural heritages are not meant for tourism, but to preserve identity of communities for long periods. This heritage may be a form of symbolism, representing spectacular events, which may have shaped the lives and history of the people concerned. The main aspect in conservation of heritages is to maintain these symbols, and the unique characteristics of the preserved heritages are responsible for attracting both local and international tourists, as unique images of identity. Attraction of tourists to heritage sites leads to increased income generated through tourism activities in these regions, and urban tourism may result from this tourist activities. Many a uthorities have therefore reconditioned cities and towns near heritage centers to attract more tourists with an aim of not only preserving heritages, but to increase income in the tourism industry. In this report, the Amiens Cathedral of Notre- Dame in France will be considered as a precious heritage center that has been recognized and listed under UNESCO’s global heritage centers. Historical Background Amiens Cathedral, located in the heart of Picardy is among the largest Gothic churches constructed in the 13th century. The cathedral particularly stands unique in its construction, coherence of its plan, amazing fine displays of sculptures in the principle facade and the South transept, among other spectacular aspects (UNESCO, 2012). The cathedral was initiated in 1152 under the auspices of Bishop Evard, who made huge collections from clergy and people for this noble function (Brown 1846, 100). The cathedral was designed by Robert Lusarche as the architect, but the bishop and Lusdarche did not live to see the completion of the Cathedral that was completed in 1288 (Brown 1846, 100). However, the cathedral was first designed under the Romanesque architecture but was destroyed by fire in 1218, making reconstruction to be carried out in 1220 (UNESCO, 2012). Many of the statues and decorations in the cathedral were completed around 14th century; many years after the completion of the cathedral. The Amiens Cathedral is very different from other cathedrals and buildings in England, and other European locations in many aspects; including both style and design (Brown 1846, 101). This Cathedral is documented to be more advanced and perfect compared to other Gothic architectural works that were prominent during this period (Brown 1846, 101). The French cathedral is in many aspects different from many other cathedrals designed according to the Gothic architecture in this period, making it the most remarkable Gothic architectural work in history. The cathedral was r ecognized in 1972 by UNESCO under the World Heritage Site Agreement, but was to be officially listed as a world heritage in 1981 (Durand 2012, 9).This recognition changed the entire Amiens area, with the town being reconfigured as a tourist’s destination, leading to growth of more tourism infrastructure, consequently attracting thousands of tourists in this area, considering that France is one of the global leading tourist destinations today. Heritages leading to urban tourism Jenkins (1999) uses the word destination image a number of times and in different contexts. The image of any tourist destination is firstly designed in the cognitive opinion of the events, typical features, and character of the place. Increasing the information related to the image of such cities or places through organic means leads to enhanced clarity as Jenkins further elaborates, and this enhanced clarity leads to more tourists flocking these