Cultural Tourism in QUB - Essay Example

Running Head: Cultural Tourism in QUB Executive Summary Queens Belfast [QUB] is one of the leading institutions in the UK. Like all modern day Universities it aims at providing an all rounded education to its students to enable them fit into the world more snugly after their studies. As part of this effort the QUB encourages Cultural Tourism among its alumni, their friends and visitors in general to the campus. This enables the university not only to showcase its culture but also to encourage cultural exchanges between its community and visitors. This paper examines this aspect of cultural tourism with the aim of establishing whether the University has really attained the qualification of being termed as a cultural tourism destination. There is also the undeniable possibility that it is still just a brand with significant equity among its students, staff, alumni and physical environs, but it is not yet a cultural tourism destination per se. The efficacy of either argument is the main thrust of this report, which concludes that with some few limitations, QUB has indeed established itself as a real tourism destination. This conclusion derives from arguments presented with accompanying evidence drawn from the documented facts about the institution that systematically and logically lead to the findings made. TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE 1.0 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………1 2.0 A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIVERSITY SETUP...…………….2 2.1 THE UNIVERSITY AND ALUMINI POPULATION……………………3 2.2 VISITORS TO THE UNIVERSITY………………………………………..3 2.3 CULTURAL EVENTS……………………………………………………..4 3.0 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TOURISM EQUITY……………………….6 3.1 INFORMAL ADVERTISING BELOW THE LINE……………………...6 3.2 ABOVE THE LINE ADVERTISING……………………………………...7 4.0 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………..9 List of Figures Figure 1 Title p 8 Monthly Web Visit Trends to QUB Website List of Appendices Appendix 1 Title p 12 Number of Alumni By Country Introduction Cultural tourism is a branch of tourism that deals specifically with the culture of a people (Richards, 1996). It specifically constitutes tours aimed at studying the lifestyle communities, in particular geographical areas with a unique and peculiar culture of their own. This culture includes the history, art, architecture, religion, clothing and foodstaffs of the target community that shape their overall way of life (OECD, 2009). Cultural tourism takes place both in urban and rural areas. Most urban destinations are especially cities with long histories preserved in buildings, museaums and theatres. Tourism in rural areas mostly showcases the traditions of indigenous communities including festivals, rituals, beliefs, value systems and lifestyle in general (OECD, 2009). Brand equity is defined as the aspirations, characteristics and values a brand stands for (Bowen et al, 2005). In order to promote QUB as a brand equity, all that it stands for and that which gives it a unique individuality and essence needs to be well known. In this way tourists can be attracted to sample what it has to offer (Palmer, 2008). Queens University Belfast [QUB] is has a well-established network comprising students, staff, alumni and other interested parties. This network thrives on the basis of a well-established continuous interaction system. This network constitutes a significant equity that makes it not just an institution but also a well-known brand throughout the UK and internationally. This equity is further enhanced by the buildings and general environment of the university that is attractive both to visitors and potential students. The very essence of the equity is to attract visitors who come not only as tourists, but also as fact finders on what the university is doing to encourage this tourism trend (QUB, 2009). This paper examines critically the extent, if any, to which QUB has established cultural tourism as a practice in the institution. It also seeks to explore any areas that may have been left out in the course of making such an establishment (QUB, 2009). 2.0 A Brief Description of the University Setup Queen’s University Belfast [QUB] was established in 1849. It is located in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It offers various academic degrees across a wide subject range, availing over 300 degree programme choices to scholars. It is a member of various prestigious University associations in the UK and worldwide. In the UK it is popularly known as Queen’s or simply QUB and is popular destination for students seeking higher enlightenment (Taylor, 1988). The main campus is located near the center of Belfast with two other campuses Stranmillis and St Marys on the outskirts of the city. The academics are run through 20 schools in three faculties. This arrangement is necessary to help cope with the large population of students that QUB caters for (QUB, 2009). The university also runs various outreach training programmes for members of the community in various areas of Northern Ireland. Most of the buildings of the different campasus are spread across the city streets and one may not easily distinguish them from other unrelated buildings thus making the university an integral part of the community (Clarkson, 2004). Times Higher-QS World University rankings placed QUB at 88th out of the top 150 universities in Europe in 2007. It went on to comment that QUB is a leading institution in terms of innovation and education, and has a well established international reputation in academics. In 2008 The Sunday Times placed it even higher at position 37 overall (The Times, 2009). These rankings were mainly attributed to steadfast technology incorporation, focussed research programmes and a keen interest in excellence. All these factors have contributed continuously to enhance the reputation of the institution in the UK and the rest of the world (Clarkson, 2004). In June 2006, QUB made an investment of £259 million focussing on upliftign the facilities, staff recruitment and research programs. This left a mark on the place giving a facelift to some of the ancient historical buildings and generally sprucing up all over (QUB, 2009). Part of the program was meant to specifically promote the campuses as an attractive destination for visitors. Landmark buildings such as the David Keir and the 11 storey Ashby benefitted from this facelift (QUB, 2009). 2.1 The University and Alumni Population QUB has a staff population of 1,600; a student population of 24,560 consisting of 19,165 undergraduates and 5,649 postgraduates; and a total of 124,206 alumni registered in its database. They all hail form different nationalities world wide, though the vast majority of them reside and work in Northern Ireland (QUB, 2009). There are eight graduate associations in the university these are: Northern Ireland, Dublin, London, Scotland, Malaysia, Ontario, USA – West Coast and USA – East Coast. The associations coordinate the activities of graduates of the university and those who belong to them do so on the basis of their preference, but with particular reference to places of origin where possible (Clarkson, 2004). 2.2 Visitors to the University QUB has a visitors Welcome Center that coordinates and records the various visitors who come to the University. The visitors are recorded on the basis of their nationalities. The leading sources of visitors according to the center are Great Britain constituting 49% and Republic of Ireland constituting 23% (QUB, 2009). The rest come from other parts of Europe, America, Asia and the rest of the world. The nationalities of the visitors to the university reflect those of the visitors to Northern Ireland in general (QUB, 2009). The numbers have been increasing steadily over the years from 47,340 in 2007 to 72,486 in 2009. 40.5% of the visitors in 2009 came in the period between the months of August and November alone (QUB, 2009). Visitors to the campuses fall into various categories. They include large groups on guided university tours usually led by Belfast Inc QUB and Blue Badge tour guide organizations. The groups may consist of visitors from without or even staff members and their families touring in cruise ships. Others may be students on reunion weekends, individuals touring other parts of the UK who include QUB in their itinerary or simply sixth-former prospective students from the UK shopping around for higher education (QUB, 2009). Community groups from all around Northern Ireland also pay regular visits to the university to familiarize themselves and learn from the goings on. There are also tour groups of French German nationalities who pay visits from time to time (QUB, 2009). 2.3 Cultural Events QUB happens to be located in Belfast, a city with an ambivalent relationship between its rich cultural heritage and its dubious distinction of a past of violence. The city strives to promote the former and shed off the latter. QUB is part of this effort. In showcasing its rich cultural heritage, the university is in essence also promoting the culture of the city (Neil, 2001). Among the most distinguished characteristics of the city is that of shipbuilding. Belfast is known for its construction of mega ships for both commercial transport and cruise tours. The university itself tries to associate itself with this activity by including the docks, Peace walls, paramilitary murals and memorial sites among its destinations. This is part of a general concerted effort by the civic authorities to turn Belfast into a Renaissance City (Neil, 2001). In QUB itself, there are also numerous cultural activities and organizations. In September of every year there is the European Heritage Weekend, which attracts various groups to the numerous cultural activities that take place. These include the display of artifacts and sporting cum fun events. QUB students and staff also form part of the touring entourages (QUB, 2009). QUB also hosts the Belfast Festival at Queens and the Belfast Film Festival annually. In 2007 it held the Irish Student Drama Association Festival. In addition, the university runs the only arthouse cnema in Northern Ireland : Queens Film Theatre. It also has Naughton Gallery at Queens that is registered as a museum. The gallery is so reputable that in 2008 it was awarded the Times Higher Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts (Clarkson, 2004). Within the Lanyon building there is a statue of the great Physicist and Philosopher Galileo that is made of marble. He is depiccted in a sitting position. At the superstitious level, any student who touches the great man’s right foot is said to gain good luck form the gesture. There is also no shortage of clubs and societies in the university that promote different cultural activities. These include the Queens University Belfast Boat Club [QUBBC] and Queens University of Belfast Ladies Boat Club [QUBLBC], both of which are housed at the QUB boathouse next to River Lagan close to Stranmillis (Clarkson, 2004). There is also the QUB Dragonslayers Gaming Society who organize a large gaming convention known as the Q-con every June. Also present are cultural societies such as An Cumann Gaelach and Ulter-Scots. QUB is also quite proud of its mountaneering club that has produced a number of renowned summit conquerors of such mountans as Everest and the alps (QUB, 2009). In sports, QUB has not been left behind either. It has the Malone Playing Fields located 3.2 kilometres from the main campus. The fields comprise of 17 pitches for rugby, football, Gaelic football, hockey, cricket, camogie and hurling. There are also netbal and tennis courts; and an athletics arena with the famous Mary Peters track (Clarkson, 2004). 3.0 The Establishment of Tourism Equity With all the resources and rich heritage above, one would think that the university automatically qualifies to be a great tourist destination. However, nothing would be further from the truth. The fact is that a lot of effort must go into marketing the brand equity above to attract visitors. It is one thing to be attractive and quite another to inform other people about it. With competitive industries like tourism, advertising is not usually left far behind (Cooper, 2005). The fact that so many visitors are recorded to visit the institution every year means that some level of advertising actually takes place. Advertising itself can take place formally; that is through a well planned, structured and executed campaign; or informally. Another way in which the institution reaches out to society is through its choice of staff. The current Chancellor Kamalesh Sharma, for instance, hails from Asia and is a useful link to Malaysia, China, India and other international markets. The other members of staff also hail from a wide variety of countries and paly a similar role (QUB, 2009). 3.1 Informal Advertising below the Line Advertising below the line usually refers any campaign that does not employ the main information channels such as the press, electronic media and billboards. This kind of advertising includes the use of word of mouth, posters, public lectures and so on; to get the message across (Cooper, 2005). There is obviously a lot of below the line advertising taking place in QUB. The first and most obvious is word of mouth. There are very many people ewho hear about QUB through its students, staff and other people associated with it in one way or another. Previous visitors to the place also put in a good word here and there that deliberately or inadvertently make others want to visit the place (Neil, 2001). This method of advertising is difficult to quantify and so one may not rate its levels of success. However, it is an invaluable form of advertising. If people are not talking about anything, it cannot become a brand and will therefore not sell. Conversely, when people talk about it then its is becoming well known and therefore attractive. This is especially important in a university in a city like Belfast with such an infamous history of conflicts and guerilla like terrorist activities. The good image beign created by the university over the years has therefore benefitted both itself and the city alike (Clarkson, 2004). The university does not rely on the good word alone though. It enforces the message using brochures, research and publications. The university also relys heavily on its exchange programmes with other universities that allow students to carry out part of their studies in countries such as Austria, Finland, Germany, Belgium, France and the other parts of the UK. Such programs enable a candid sharing of views and attracts return visits as a mutual gesture from the places visited (Bowen et al, 2005). In addition the university uses its numerous festivals to attract visitors and farmiliarize them with the goings on within. This enables other people to gain knowledge and interest in it when they on coming for such visits. Another avenue for similar promotion is the sporting events. Many people are attracted to the various tournaments that are held regularly, which help to promote knowledge about the institution. This encourages sports tourism in a shrinking world in which playing fields are the exception rather than the rule (Palmer, 2008). 3.2 Above the Line Advertising No tourism equity can survive on the basis of informal advertising alone. In order to build its reputation, Queen’s has to endeavor to advertise itself using the more formal methods. Of great assistance are courses offered at the institution itself on advertising, marketing and cultural tourism promotion. The institution is thus lucky to have experts in all these fields readily available to them within its immediate environs (Neil, 2001). It has done fairly well in using these experts to launch campaigns through the print and electronic media from time to time. Another useful and modern avenue of reaching people through advertising is the Internet. Through the university website, the institution has manged to reach people in as far away places as Asia and attracted them to its programs (Neil, 2001). Figure 1 below shows the monthly record of visitors to the university website, which is on a rising trend. Monthly Web Visit Trends to QUB Website 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Jan 2209 5864 7659 10710 9048 7610 Feb 2424 7046 6810 8427 8832 7005 Mar 3228 7913 9648 9359 8071 10878 April 4659 5764 7850 8317 11181 7768 May 3167 5665 8505 10714 9804 7593 June 3908 6913 8564 9469 14927 8224 July 4391 8221 8408 12695 12868 12807 Aug 4510 6464 10446 8890 8524 12199 Sep 4587 8445 7900 8969 9378 11374 Oct 3798 8330 8266 9759 9237 8061 Nov 2927 8487 10108 9322 8605 10195 Dec 5051 8866 9599 9268 9104 Courtesy of However, the obvious limitation of this use of the Internet is that it over-emphasizes academic programmes at the expense of promoting cultural and sports tourism. This emphasis is of course well justified in that the main purpose of the institution is to promote and propgate knowledge, but the university administration would do well to remember that tourism is on the cards as well, as a means of generating that much needed extra income ( Neil, 2001). This shortage of aggressive advertising of cultural tourism is easily identifiable as one of the main weaknesses of the institution’s goal of building up its brand equity as a cultural tourism destination (Palmer, 2008). The website is inundated with academic programs on offer and this is sometimes the very antithesis of tourism. Wheras academic programmes are a serious affair that could change ones life and social standing; tourism is a leasure affair mostly for those who have already made a life for themselves, sometimes without having studied in school so much. This makes the website a very unlikely source of information related tourism for many people. Consequently, it would help so much if a little more space was fully dedicated to tour promotion, such that those who are not interested in academic programs may also seek information from the site. It is a delicate balance between academics and tours, but a way must be sought to find it (Neil, 2001). Alternatively, the institution would do well to utilize other avenues to promote its brand equity away from from its website, such as opening and promoting a different website totally and purely dedicated tourism (Neil, 2001). 4. Conclusion Queens University Belfast has so far done a good job in promoting itself as a brand equity for cultural tourism. With improvements, especially on formal advertising, it can create a stronger brand which will work even better for it. Though such an effort must not be taken at cross purposes with its academic programs, it is still necessary to build a stronger brand. The university itself is so strategically located that such an effort wiuld be of great benefit to it. So what they have done so far is commendable, but there is indeed room for improvement. References Bowen, J., Makens, J. and Kotler, P. (2005). Marketing for hospitality and tourism. 4th edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Clarkson, L. A. (2004). A University In Troubled Times: Queens, Belfast, 1945-2000. Dublin: Four Courts Press.  Cooper, C. et al. (2005). Tourism principles and practice. Harlow: Prentice Hall Neil, W.J.(2001) “Marketing the Urban Experience: Reflections on the Place of Fear in the Promotional Strategies of Belfast, Detroit and Berlin.” Urban Studies, Vol 38 Nos 5-6. OECD (2009). The Impact of Culture on Tourism. Paris: OECD Palmer, A. (2008). Principles of service marketing. 5th edition. Maidenhead: Mcgraw Hill. QUB, (2009)."About Queens ". Retrieved 2009-12-29.  Richards, G. (1996). Cultural Tourism in Europe. CABI, Wallingford. Taylor, R. (1988). "The Queens University of Belfast: The liberal university in a divided society". Higher Education Review 20 (2): 27–45.  The Times (2009). "The Times Good University Guide 2008". The Times. . Retrieved 29-12-2009.  Appendix 1 Number of Alumni By Country Albania 1 Hungary 9 Guyana 4 Russia 6 Algeria 11 Iceland 6 Hong Kong 199 Rwanda 1 Andorra 3 India 91 Singapore 225 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 Argentina 5 Indonesia 8 Slovak Republic 6 Saudi Arabia 23 Australia 355 Iran 9 South Africa 63 Serbia 2 Austria 6 Iraq 14 South Korea 7 Seychelles 3 Azerbaijan 1 Ireland 5194 Gambia 3 Philippines 2 Bahamas 4 Israel 10 Germany 108 Poland 11 Bahrain 1 Italy 51 Ghana 18 Portugal 8 Bangladesh 5 Jamaica 6 Gibraltar 5 Qatar 7 Barbados 6 Japan 25 Greece 47 Romania 19 Belgium 49 Jordan 56 Spain 275 Bermuda 4 Kenya 28 Sri Lanka 22 Botswana 5 Kuwait 2 St Helena 1 Brazil 15 Lebanon 3 Sudan 34 British West Indies 1 Lesotho 1 Sultanate of Oman 1 Brunei Darussalam 111 Libya 3 Sweden 28 Bulgaria 1 Lithuania 1 Switzerland 36 Cameroon 2 Luxembourg 8 Syria 2 Canada 614 Macedonia 1 Taiwan 77 Central Africa 1 Malawi 5 Tanzania 8 Chile 4 Malaysia 1254 Thailand 46 China 469 Malta 11 Trinidad and Tobago 11 Colombia 5 Mauritius 10 Turkey 9 Croatia 1 Mexico 15 Turkmenistan 1 Cyprus 9 Monaco 1 Uganda 19 Czech Republic 6 Namibia 1 Ukraine 4 Denmark 8 Nepal 3 United Arab Emirates 29 Egypt 15 Netherlands 43 United Kingdom 83182 Estonia 3 New Zealand 94 USA 894 Ethiopia 2 Nigeria 62 Venezuela 1 Falkland Islands 1 Norway 64 Vietnam 2 Fiji 1 Pakistan 42 Yemen 1 Finland 6 Papua New Guinea 2 Zambia 8 France 143 Peru 3 Zimbabwe 9 Courtesy of Read More