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Urban tourism Edit Entry Comment(0)

For a long time, tourism was associated with centrifugal flows of urban residents going to the countryside or the seaside for a holiday or an excursion. The concept of urban tourism only entered the research agenda in the 1980s, when it became obvious that many cities were developing into important destination s. Business travel and city trips have always existed, but the leisure motives have become more important and the numbers of urban tourists have increased considerably.

The delay of interest in urban tourism can be explained by a neglect in urban studies to assess the importance of leisure, recreation and tourism in an urban environment. Further, there was a lack of understanding of the urban tourism system. The difficulty of separating this from non-tourism functions in the wide range of urban activities and the tendency to explore the issue of urban tourism in case studies rather than by conceptual studies have contributed to the slow progress of urban tourism research. Contrary to other destinations, where the product (the supply side) as well as the range of activities could be well described, in the multifunctional urban system the identification of the tourism function and the multipurpose character of many visits is far more complicated. Understanding urban tourism and the product life cycle of urban destinations implies an integrated approach in the analysis of forms and functions. Research into new methods to identify the role of tourism and tourists in the urban environment is now in full progress and is the objective of many comparative studies.

The recent popularity of publications on urban tourism covers aspects such as trends in demand, creating urban attractions and clusters, urban planning and policy issues, impact studies, product-place marketing and resource and visitor management. The concepts which were introduced to understand tourism as a system needed to be adapted to the urban context. Cities can be seen as a spatially concentrated spectrum of opportunities (the Tourist Opportunity Spectrum, also referred to as recreation opportunity spectrum) in which one can distinguish core elements and secondary elements. The first group refers to the mix of attractions which are unique and interesting and thus capable of attracting tourists to the place, whereas the second group includes the range of urban facilities which support the touristic experience, without being a first motive for the visit. The group of primary elements of the urban product

includes both the setting of the place (urban morphology, built heritage, green spaces, waterfronts) and the offer of facilities which allow for different activities, such as the cultural resources (museums, theatres, exhibition halls and so on), sport facilities, the amusement sector (such as casinos and theme parks) and the agenda of festivals and events. These core attractions are supported by facilities in the hospitality sector (hotels, restaurants, pubs) and in the retail trade, including shopping facilities and street markets. The latter group can be considered to be the added value to the urban tourist experience. In some cities, the shopping opportunities are becoming so attractive to the extent that they can be considered as a core product for the market of shopping tourism (the Mall of America in Minneapolis, USA, is quickly assuming this core position). In most cities the core products belong to the public domain, whereas the supporting facilities result from initiatives in the private sector. This interdependency partners is typical for the supply side of the urban tourism product.

Historic cities, in particular, hold many opportunities to develop tourism products based on cultural heritage resources. The trend towards tourismification of cultural heritage responds to a

growing market for cultural tourism. The markets for city trips and for cultural tourism and shopping tourism are growing and are strongly interrelated. Several surveys indicate in the ranking of motives of urban tourists, the predominant role of visiting a unique and interesting place. Visiting museums, discovering interesting architecture, learning about the history of a place and, above all, seeing the well-known landmarks have become important aspects in the experience. This type of behaviour is typical for city trips and short breaks and also penetrates in the market of business travel. However, distinguishing the market segments in urban tourism remains a difficult exercise because of the complexity of motives and behaviour patterns.

Seeing the high potentials of urban tourism and the wide range of facilities which benefit from such earnings, many cities are now exploring the possibilities of developing tourism as a lever to diversify and stimulate for the urban economy. This has become a key instrument in many urban revitalisation projects, in urban waterfront development plans, in the upgrading of cultural activities (such as festivals and events), in the conservation of historical