Marketing cultural resources: towards organisational best practice

Abstract

The importance of cultural resources for Ireland’s tourism industry is widely acknowledged. This study examines the reciprocal contribution of tourism for the sustainability of these cultural resources and the subsequent role of marketing. This research makes a worthwhile contribution to the development of thinking and practice around the marketing of cultural resources.

The importance of cultural resources for Ireland’s tourism industry is widely acknowledged. This study examines the reciprocal contribution of tourism for the sustainability of these cultural resources and the subsequent role of marketing. This research makes a worthwhile contribution to the development of thinking and practice around the marketing of cultural resources.

Marketing’s role in enabling sites to satisfy visitors’ expectations and manage their impacts without compromising authenticity is discussed. If implemented correctly, exposure and education can facilitate the appreciation of heritage resulting in tourism having a positive, rather than negative, impact on heritage sites.

The findings suggest that market research and marketing communication are vital in achieving a balance between targeting cultural tourists and tourists with no specific interest in heritage. However, they do not appear to be used to their full potential in Irish heritage attractions. An additional element of the marketing mix is identified, demarketing, a term first coined by Kotler in 1971. Demarketing may be consciously or unconsciously utilised in the efforts to control visitor volumes and impacts

A combined commitment to visitor research by the individual heritage sites could provide information to the representative organisations to facilitate target marketing aimed at sites capable of accommodating high visitor volumes. However, a change of mindset is required among heritage practitioners regarding the uses of marketing in general, which is achievable through education, study of models of best practice, assistance and feedback.