Tourism&Theatre. To be or not to be?

Authors

  • Lluís Santamarta Espuña Independent researcher

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1344/THJ.2019.1.8

Keywords:

Cultural Tourism, Destination Management, Tourism&Theatre, Touristic Product, Urban Destination

Abstract

This project seeks to study the Tourism&Theatre phenomenon. The main proposal of the research is to highlight strategies of how an urban destination can make, from its inherent theatre products and theatrical culture, a tourist attraction.

The methodology undertaken has been an exploratory search of qualitative information thanks to exhaustive in-depth interviews with theatrical and tourism professionals and companies. Currently, London and New York are the most successful examples of Tourism&Theatre destinations. However, examples from other western destinations are devising alternatives strategies.

Surprisingly, the conclusion that the project has unearthed is that tourism accessibility is the key to Tourism&Theatre phenomenon. In destinations where theatre is not yet a tourism attraction, tourist managers should focus on making the art form more reachable for tourist consumption (content accessibility, communication campaigns, distribution channels, etc.). Thus, the creation of a tourism accessibility company applied to theatre could be the most feasible strategy to adopt.

References

Albertí, X. (2016, June, 20). El turisme a Barcelona: la ciutat com a escenari. [Video file]. Retrieved from: http://www.cccb.org/es/multimedia/videos/el-turismo- en-barcelona-la-ciudad-como-escenario/224253 (accessed on 15 October 2018).

Barbieri, C. & Mahoney, E. (2010). Cultural Tourism Behaviour and Preferences Among the Live-Performing Arts Audience: an Application of the Univorous- Omnivorous Framework. International Journal of Tourism Research, 12(1), 481-496.

Bennett, S. (2005). Theatre/Tourism. Theatre Journal, 57(3), 407-428.

Chias, J. (2005). El Negocio de la Felicidad. Desarrollo y Marketing Turístico de Países, Regiones, Ciudades y Lugares. (1rst ed.). Madrid, Spain: Pearson Educación, S. A.

Huges, H. (1998). Theatre in London and the Relationship With Tourism. Tourism Management, 19 (5), 445-452.

Gapinski, J. H. (2006) Tourism's Contribution to the Demand for London's Lively Arts. Applied Economics, 20, 957-968.

Kennedy, D. (1998). Shakespeare and Cultural Tourism. Theatre Journal, 50(2), 175–188.

Leguizamón, M. (2013). Impacto Turístico del Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogotá. Pasos. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 12 (1), 73-87.

Loukia, M. & Amalia, K. (2014). Ancient Greek Drama and its Architecture as Means to Reinforce Tourism in Greece. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 148, 573-578.

Osácar, E. (2017). Cómo poner en valor el patrimonio cultural y natural en proyectos turísticos. In L. Coma & J. Santacana (coords.), Ciudad educadora y turismo responsable.. Gijón: Trea.

Smith, A. (2013, 4th of November). Theatre is a greater driver of tourism than sport – VisitBritain report. The Stage. Retrieved from https://www.thestage.co.uk/ news/2013/theatre-greater-driver-tourism-sport-visit-britain-report/. (accessed on 15 October 2018).

Theatre in Paris (n.d.). Theatre in Paris. Retrieved from https://www.theatreinparis.com/. (accessed on 15 October 2018).

Zieba, M. (2016). Tourism flows and the demand for regional and city theatres in Austria. Journal of Cultural Economics, 40 (2), 191–221.

Downloads

Published

2019-10-16

How to Cite

Santamarta Espuña, L. (2019). Tourism&Theatre. To be or not to be?. Tourism and Heritage Journal, 1, 132–143. https://doi.org/10.1344/THJ.2019.1.8

Issue

Section

Articles