Course:LIBR559A/Prentice, R. (2001)

Citation

Prentice, R. (2001). Experiential Cultural Tourism: Museums & the Marketing of the New Romanticism of Evoked Authenticity. Museum Management and Curatorship, 19(1), 2-26.

Annotation

Professor Richard Prentice was a historical geographer and professor of tourism at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. He describes how museums have been moving toward the mission of purpose and why things are over how things are. With changes in culture and societies, museums must continue to evolve and keep track of these shifts to meet the needs of patrons. There must be a push towards integration. From the tourism aspect, pressure is on to have the best advertisements and media to bring people in. Through this advertising, there has been much growth within museum collections and in the number of museums themselves. There is an over-supply of collections. This inundation of relics has led to a lack of authenticity and difficulties in truly representing the materials on display. It is creating a massive threat of competition amongst museums. Prentice defines cultural tourism as “tourism constructed, proffered and consumed explicitly or implicitly as cultural appreciation, either as experiences or schematic knowledge gaining” (8). People want to experience other cultures and travel to do so, museums that lack to tap into that are excluded the large tourist populations that visit their areas. it is important to market to non-local visitors. Shifting to more of an experience than simply coming and viewing the objects is crucial to the livelihood of museums. People want to take home stories of their adventures and simply retelling something they saw, rather than what they did, does not have as much appeal as it once did. By reexamining their exhibits and interactive elements, museums can see a resurgence in interest. This way museums can influence their patrons and tourists. Many people are thoughtful and will ask questions if given the right motivation. Museums are perfect arenas to do so and should work towards engaging visitors to educate and promote change. The issues that arise have to do with the fact that tourists can come from all cultural and social backgrounds. It would be impossible to advertise in a way that would be enticing to all. Cultural tourists are looking for authentic experiences, either directly in the places they visit, or indirectly through exhibits in galleries, museums, and the like. This work would be beneficial to institutions that receive a high volume of tourists and wish to make their experience more enjoyable, and for those that are hoping to expand their visitor set to bring in more tourists. The emphasis is surely on advertising and marketing, which is an area that can be underrepresented in museums. It is a good starting point for museums to take and adapt to their specific institution and who they are hoping to attract.

Professor Richard Prentice. (2008, December 10). Retrieved from http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/professor-richard-prentice-1-1151017

Areas / Topics / Keywords

Musseums, Visitor Experience, Social Inclusion, Cultural Tourism, Advertising and Marketing

Kelly Murphy