Culture is future » Territorial attractiveness and social cohesion

Article - Creative tourism, social link 2.0

Thanks to social media, the tourists’ behavior changes and they look for experiences more cultural and more authentic. Cities try to make to most of this creative passion to strengthen their attractiveness.

The residents are the best ambassadors of the local culture

The tourism fueled by authentic experiences, artistic training or creative experimentations makes more and more enthusiasts. It started with platforms like Couchsurfing and Greeters, which enable the travelers to live their destination from the inside thanks to the complicity of residents who are prepared to welcome them and make them visit their city. The concept revives the old traditions of hospitality and gets people out of the standardized recommendation of most touristic guides.

Towards a locally anchored and individualized cultural tourism

Two young creators of Nectar&Pulse, Tanja Sieder and Carina Schiechl push further this interest in the shared cultural experience. Their digital platform allows every visitor to create his own personalized touristic guide, with practical advices given by “local soul mates” who, according to their interests and their personality, recommend their favorite museums, concert halls but also restaurants and stores. The internet user who is looking for travels and exoticism can choose a profile thanks to interviews of people who love their city and let them guide them.

Introduce and make durable local cultures and traditions, thanks to the passing on of authentic know-hows

This change of perspective – make creative activities while travelling – was caught by cities which want to strengthen their attractiveness through more and more creative propositions. Since 2000, this ambition has a concept, creative tourism, created by the professors Greg Richards and Crispin Raymond[1], which combine all the new behaviors of those who want to travel differently and actively. These innovators now have their network, the Creative Tourism Network, resulting from the initiative of three institutions representing three emblematic cities ; Barcelona (la Fundacio Societat I Cultural – Fusic), Paris (the Association for the development of creation, of studies and projects – ADCEP) and Rome (Osservatorio) gathering many active actors (local entities, non profit-making organizations, researchers …). The aims of the network are explicit : “Identify and support territories that have a potential and the intention to open themselves to creative tourism, through consultancy and promotion”. In other words, it considers the virtuous circle of creative tourism by encouraging the cooperation between the fields of tourism and culture, between private and public actors.

To go further :

- Couchsurfing

- Greeters

- Nectar&Pulse

- Touristes et habitants, Marseille 5 juillet 2012, Comptoirs du etourisme