Audit of Existing Heritage Trails - Essay Example

Justify and design of a new heritage trail Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Audit of existing heritage trails 3 Potential for the development of new heritage trail 5 Identify a trail theme 6 Geographical and historical context 6 Map of the trail 7 Conclusion 7 References 9 Appendices 10 Appendix 1: 10 Appendix 2: 11 Appendix 3: 11 Appendix 4: 12 Appendix 5: 13 Introduction This study is centred towards analyzing a particular destination and determining its future heritage trail. Heritage sites enrich a destination and make it more attractive for tourists. Tourism industry is a major source of income in many regions. There are widespread efforts undertaken by tourism ministry to restructure or develop a better location. In this study a particular destination shall be focused on known as Gozo in Mediterranean Sea. This island is famous across the globe for its Maltese archipelago. Gozo forms a part of South European region and is known for its free-standing structures, scenic hills, etc. This island encompasses a strong cultural heritage and even there is existence of island identity. Heritage tourism faces a major challenge in the form of preserving resources efficiently which is utilized during building such heritage sites. Sustainable development can be considered as a central component when it comes to developing attractive tourist location. Discussion Audit of existing heritage trails Gozo has its existence from 5000 BC. Farmers founded this island when they were travelling from Sicily. Gozo became one of the most important places in terms of cultural revolution. Ġgantija temples were developed during Neolithic period. These temples are presently regarded as the oldest free-standing sculptures. Gozo Island spans over 67 square kilometres. This location is famed for its wide array of interesting locations and characteristics. Apart from Ġgantija temples there is another famous man-made structure at Gozo known as Calypso Cave (Veal, 2002). There are two famous beaches at Gozo which plays a significant role to attract large base of customers. They are Ramla Bay and San Blas. This island’s population is closely knitted to their traditional culture. It comprises of various heritage sites such as archaeological sites, chapels, museums, fortifications, churches, etc. These sites are responsible for adding cultural, natural and historical value to Gozo Island. Some of the heritage sites at Gozo are shown in Appendix1. ecoGozo vision is a new agenda which has been framed by the government in order to safeguard heritage and culture of this destination. Efforts are been made to conserve these heritage sites and enhance their accessibility to public. Two heritage trails have been developed at Gozo in recent years. One such trail was built at cliff sides of Munxar and Xlendi, whereas another was formed at Santa Lucija’s countryside (Island of Gozo, 2014). Both these heritage trails expand over 7.5 km. They go along countryside paths, streets and lanes. These two heritage trails link to archaeological sites, natural landscapes, heritage buildings, rural or coastal environment and historic public spaces. Information panels are incorporated within these two sites in order to provide sufficient information to all visitors. Gozo Island is famous across the globe simply because it encompasses natural features rather than including any form of artificial structures. Charm of these localities is well promoted through heritage trails established in Xlendi and Munxar. Ferry is a common form of transport which serves as a connector between Malta and Gozo. Tourism ministry is not only inclined towards preserving culture of Gozo but even takes step towards sustainable tourism development. Visitors are able to enjoy and experience historical background of this location. Natural landscapes surround the Gozo Island and travellers can have memorable experience of its folklore and cultural heritage (Ministry for Gozo, 2014). To certain extent opportunities for physical activities are also provide by this destination to tourists. Potential for the development of new heritage trail Gozo Island encompasses traditional beliefs and culture. There are sculptures present in this destination that are regarded as oldest architecture in the world. Natural beauty of this location makes it an ideal location for heritage trail (Pike, 2002). The tourism sector is rapidly growing in this region and is influencing government to focus on sustainable development. There are new heritage trails being developed and is providing a scope for future development. Foreign visitors come every year to Gozo Island and remains spellbound for its widespread cultural heritage (World tourism Organization, 2014). There are number of benefits associated with development of such heritage trails and this in turn indicates potential for future heritage trail development. Foreign visitors do pass positive comments about such trails and simultaneously they are perceived positively by tourist operators. Gozo Island not only highlights simple artefacts but even is inclined towards creating an interactive experience. All these heritage trails located across Gozo Island provides various activities and health recreation opportunities (Crouch and Ritchie, 2005). Diverse and holistic experience helps to attract tourists to Gozo Island. Local heritage is well safeguarded in Gozo Island so it provides an opportunity to develop such trails in future years. Potential for heritage trail development is high in Gozo Island because local people are continuously involved in promoting culture and heritage. Tourism ministry is able to construct such heritage trails through constant support from local population. It forms a source of income for people living in this island. On the other hand, Gozo Island is not densely populated in comparison to other destinations in Europe (Govers, Go and Kumar, 2007). Modernization within regions makes it impossible to hold on to traditions, culture and heritage. However such high degree of modernization is not observed in Gozo Island and this tends to be a scope for developing further heritage trails. The main aim while building these trails should be to uplift culture of this destination. Identify a trail theme The trail theme of any destination should be designed by taking into consideration taste and preferences of visitors. There are different themes for different heritage sites. All these themes are closely associated with culture of a particular location. For instance, culture at Northern Europe is completely different from that of Southern Europe. It should be kept in mind that tourists are attracted more towards original culture of a destination in relation to those created artificially (DeLacy, Jiang, Lipman and Vorster, 2014). Gozo Island is well-known for its local heritage and this factor should be uplifted in future heritage trail development. The trail theme for the current construction would be Gozitan villages. These villages comprise of large number of factors which will be attractive for visitors like food, clothes, old architecture, carriages, etc (Kotler and Keller, 2011). A proper Gozitan village shall be constructed at Munxar to make tourists believe that Gozo Island’s traditions and culture are still alive. On the contrary, visitors would appreciate more natural beauty rather than artificial beauty. Munxar is a famous location in Gozo Island and is surrounded by cliffs. This will be an ideal location for the new heritage trail. The central point of attraction of this site is Gozo’s traditional cuisine, Maltese people, local dresses in outrageous and colourful costumes, local cheeselet, old churches, etc. Geographical and historical context Munxar is a location in Gozo Island and forms an essential part of Malta. It is a village situated in Gozo Island. The total population in Munxar is 1446 and it encompasses its own village council. The term Munxar is derived from an English word bucksaw that means teeth of a saw and it has been engraved in village flag. Munxar also has a parish church built up of Maltese stone. The geographical location of Munxar is outlined in the map given in Appendix 2. First record related to existence of Munxar was founded in 16th century. Initially the area was known as Monxiar meaning bucksaw. Its name was derived from parallel position of two valleys from this village. During 16th century Munxar had a population of about 200 inhabitants. Xlendi and Monxiar were considered to be parts of the same village Sannat. Megalithic temple remains were founded in Monxiar during that time period. In geographical context Munxar had been a major part of Sannat’s neighbouring village (Lam and Hsu, 2006). Munxar was a small location but with time it has grown into a developing location. The village is known for its traditions, culture and extraordinary sculptures. Other monuments located at Munxar also form a major attraction for tourists. Map of the trail The theme trail is of a local village of Munxar encompassing carriages, Maltese people, local food, architectural buildings, etc. A blueprint of this heritage trail has been given in Appendix 3. First map of this trail highlights different features which would be present within this local Gozitan village. These features will be rice field, factories, cemetery, houses, ponds, pillar of the village, monastery, public hall, etc. It has been further elaborated in Appendix 4. This design has been modified in Appendix 5 including a church that would be constructed out of Maltese stone. Conclusion As per this study tourism industry can prove to be a backbone for many countries. It helps to generate high revenue margins and enhance culture of a particular region. There are wide array of factors that has to be taken into consideration while designing a new heritage trail. For any destination its originality plays a vital role in attracting large base of visitors. In this study Gozo Island had been chosen as the destination where a new heritage trail can be designed. This island is famous for its culture, heritage and sculptures. It is known for encompassing the oldest free-standing sculpture across the globe. A heritage village can be constructed in Munxar located in Gozo Island to uplift its local culture and traditions. This village shall comprise of traditional food, clothes, church, houses, local people, carriages, way of living, etc. These factors will tend to bring foreign visitors more close to culture of this destination. References Crouch, G.I., and Ritchie, J. R., 2005. Tourism competitiveness and societal prosperity. Journal of Business Research, 44(1), pp. 56-162. DeLacy, T., Jiang, M., Lipman, G., and Vorster, S., 2014. Travel, tourism and green growth: concept, policy and practice for sustainable tourism. New York: Routledge. Govers, R., Go, F. M., and Kumar, K., 2007. Promoting tourism destination image. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 46(5), pp. 156-178. Island of Gozo., 2014. About Gozo. [online] Available at: http://www.islandofgozo.org/about [Accessed 29 January 2015]. Kotler, P., and Keller, K., 2011. Marketing management. UK: Prentice Hall. Lam, T., and Hsu, C. H. C., 2006. Predicting behavioural intention of choosing a travel destination. Tourism Management, Vol. 27(4), pp. 203-267. Ministry for Gozo., 2014. Tourism. [online] Available at: http://mgoz.gov.mt/en/Pages/Home.aspx [Accessed 29 January 2015]. Pike, S., 2002. Destination image analysis – a review of 142 papers from 1973 to 2000. Tourism Management, Vol. 23(2), pp. 113-145. Veal, A.J., 2002. Leisure and tourism policy and planning. Wallingford: CABI. World Tourism Organization, 2014. Why tourism? [Online] Available at. http://www2.unwto.org/content/why-tourism [Accessed 29 January 2015]. Appendices Appendix 1: Appendix 2: Appendix 3: Appendix 4: Appendix 5: Read More