Why Do Cultural Tourists Visit Sports Grounds - Melbourne Cricket Ground - Case Study Example

Why Do cultural Tourists Visit Sports Grounds Name Course Tutor Institution Department Cultural tourism refers to a sub section of tourism in which tourists are interested in the culture of a region particularly with regard to lifestyle in the region, religion, history, architecture or art which are important in shaping the lives of the people of the region (Sharma, 2005). Cultural tourism has been confused to mean tourism which happens in the rural areas however; this is not the case since in many instances cultural tourism happens in the urban areas. The large cities and urban centers usually have cultural institutions and facilities including museums, war memorials, theaters and even sports arenas which draw cultural tourists. It has been established that cultural tourists will generally be better spenders than the average normal tourist and hence there is a huge market and policy shift in order to tap into this growing segment (Ooi, 2012). Sports tourism just like indigenous cultural tourism may be an avenue through which people can showcase their values and lifestyle. A recent OECD repot established that cultural tourism is increasingly becoming more popular around the world. People will usually visit cultural tourist sites in order to gather new experiences or information regarding different cultures or to satisfy their cultural needs (Raj, Griffin & Morpeth, 2013). Cultural Significance The cu8ltural significance of a site is one of the most significant of aspects that may make a sports arena a great cultural tourism site. There are many sports arenas which have great cultural significance due to their being representative of the beliefs or values of the people (Swarbrooke, 1998). A good example of this is the Maracana Stadium in Brazil. Brazil is considered the spiritual home of football, and the Maracana its spiritual homeland. The great atmosphere inside the ground during matches is one of the great cultural events which people would want to be associated with and hence they would travel to Brazil in order to go to the Maracana. Another good example is the Yankee Stadium in New York which is also deemed a place whereby every Baseball fan has to step on as it is deemed the home of Baseball (Talwar, 2006). The Super Bowl a name synonymous with American culture is held here and hence this is a place of great American cultural significance. Commemorative Focus Many sports arenas which are cultural tourism spots will usually have a commemorative focus. Sports arenas which have seen the firsts of say important events in country or people’s history will usually have a commemorative focus. For instance Wembley Stadium in London advertises itself as a place wherein people who take a tour can walk in the footsteps of the legends of the England 1966 World Cup winning team. A commemorative focus will sometimes be inters of the sports arena having been the place from which a team hailing from a certain region won major honors (Woodside, 2008). For instance Melbourne Cricket Ground has a commemorative focus with the ground becoming some sort of museum for the different sporting achievement of Australian sportsmen, clubs and teams (MCG, 2014). A commemorative focus is usually important as a focus of cultural tourism given that this is an aspect of the sports ground which does not fade away. For instance the Stade de France is the commemorative place for the emergence of France as a world power in football since for the first time France won the world cup from the stadium. Tourist Drawing Power The tourist drawing power of a sports ground is also an important element for any ground which intends to promote cultural tourism. Tourist drawing power will usually be as a result of the development of a unique culture value or lifestyle that differentiates a certain people (Ritchie, 2014). A good example of this is The Camp Nou in Barcelona Spain. Barcelona Football Club has established itself as one of the best teams not only in Europe but also all over the world. This has been done by adherence to the pure style of football nicknamed Tikitaka. Tourists flock to the Camp Nou since they associate with the culture values and philosophies of the football club. In the same way cultural tourists are drawn to Wimbledon stadium seeking to associate with the origin of the sport of tennis. Tourist drawing power is usually adopted through having a certain attribute, philosophy or quality which is against the norm (Saayma, 2012). Sites Operational Processes Operational processes at the site are usually a very important determinant of the success of a cultural tourism sports arena. Operational processes will normally include aspects such as how visitors are conducted around the cultural sports ground when they visit i.e are they given an escort that shows them around the complex or are they just left to wander on their own (Hinch & Higham, 2011). Operational processes are a critical component of the user experience given that tourists will spread word of their experience by word of mouth and hence operational processes have to be tailored to suit the users. The adoption of processes which are deemed to be more welcoming and reflect the philosophy and culture of the sports ground will result in the attraction of more tourists (Smith, 2007). A good example of this is the Barcelona way which asserts that Barcelona is more than a football, club and more of a family which enhances feelings of cultural association. How the Sports Arena has Become so well Known In order to be successful as a sports cultural tourism center it is important that the sports ground distinguishes itself in terms of its cultural practices, values and philosophies. A very good example of this is the way retired manager Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United used to say the Manchester United Way. A sports ground associated with certain qualities such as raucous support or the attitude of never giving up usually develops strong cultural significance (Reisinger & Turner, 2013). Old Trafford became so well known as the place where it was hardest to beat Manchester United. Sports arenas also become well known for hosting important events. For instance the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing is one of the world’s most known stadiums and a cultural center since it hosted the main Olympics events. Association with winning of trophies or winning teams also makes a sports arena well known beyond its geographical vicinity. Why Cultural Tourists Visit Melbourne Cricket Ground Classification of the Attraction The Melbourne Cricket Ground may be classified as human made buildings, structures and sites which have been designed for a given purpose unrelated to the attraction of visitor’s for instance religious worship yet they now attract cultural tourists who make use of these facilities as leisure amenities (Hanley & Walton, 2010). This definition given by Swarbrooke fits the Melbourne Cricket ground given that the ground was never intended to be used as a cultural tourist attraction. Built in 1853 the Melbourne Cricket Ground was intended to be the home ground of the Melbourne Cricket Club. Over the years it was expanded and has become the largest stadium in Australia and the tenth largest in the world. It has hosted so many other events apart from cricket like boxing, football crusades, cycling and tennis (Holiday in Australia 2014). Due to the multitudes of events and historical happenings which have occurred at the Melbourne Cricket Ground many people in Australia have some kind of attachment to the ground and deem it to be a place of cultural significance. At present many people visit the stadium whenever there are cricket or rugby games even if they are not going there to watch since they simply like the atmosphere and are proud to be in the stadium deemed a national cultural symbol. Structure of the Attraction According to Gunn and effective tourist attraction will be composed of the nucleus, inviolate belt and the services zone. The nucleus is the core resource upon which the attraction is founded. The inviolate belt refers to the space that is left around the site in order to make it stand out and the zone of closure is the range of facilities and services which serve and facilitate the activities of the attraction for instance transport toilets and other amenities (Richards, 2011). According to Gunn all of the three aspects of structure must function well in order for the attraction to continue being an effective tourist attraction. The nucleus of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is the stadium. This is the place upon which people feel a sense of achievement upon entering the edifice. The MCG is serviced by the Jolimont Railway station, tram, bus as well as a pedestrian bridge. It is located at Melbourne Sports Precinct at Yarra Park and this forms the Inviolate Belt which one must cross before reaching the stadium. The zone of closure is the facilities such as the trains and the taxis which service the stadium and these are many at MCG. MCG’s Relationship to an Australian Era The Melbourne Cricket Ground is of great historical and cultural significance to Australia. As a nation with passion for sports and especially cricket, the stadium represents the best moments of cricket for the nations. The first game of Test Cricket to be ever played was played at the grounds in 1877 as well as the first ever ODI in 1971. As the home of the Melbourne Cricket Club, the oldest club in Australia makes it hold a special place in sporting connoisseurs in the country (Sharma, 2005). The ground has been a place of great pride for Australia since it made history as the main stadium hosting the 1956 Olympics. In 2006 the Commonwealth Opening and Closing Ceremonies including the main events were held in the stadium. As a nation committed to the preservation of cultural heritage the stadium stands for this as well. The outer area of the Park known as Birrarung Marr is named by the Wurundjeri Aboriginals that were the original inhabitants of the place (Ooi, 2012). It is also the place wherein the greatest era of Australian Cricket was experienced and all the legends of the 70s period are to be seen on their pictures and portraits on a tour of the MCG. Visitor Experience My visitor experience at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was an enjoyable one. I had learnt a lot about the ground and had even attended a cricket match there before. However going as a tourist was a different experience since I was not going to support a team but as a person seeking to understand the culture of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I found it very easy to travel to the ground given that it was only 5 minutes by train from Melbourne City center to the stadium. My tour guide seemed very knowledgeable regarding the stadium and I was very happy to have him show me around. I was shown how the stadium was built and renovated over time to become what it is today. Nevertheless I did find that the experience and mood on match day was much better than when one was a cultural tourist being taken on a tour. Being shown the Melbourne Cricket Ground way of doing things was not as exciting as doing them on the terraces. I found that when I toured the ground as a fan of the Cricket team I got more satisfaction even as I did not get to learn and obtain information of the cultural heritage of Melbourne Cricket Ground from a professional guide. Visitor Communication of MCG My analysis of the visitor communication program that has been put in place by MCG was satisfactory. As compared to other sports grounds such as the Nou Camp or Wembley I do believe that MCG has better communication since it offered communication in all the major languages including some aboriginal languages. I found that this was very effective in not only bettering the visitor experience, but it also made people feel welcomed. Explanations of the facility in a tourist’s language made them have greater interest in wanting to know about the MCG. However I do believe that there is still room for improvement. I believe that the MCG may become even well known if it were to adopt a communication program which emphasized more on it s sporting history especially in cricket. Bibliography Sharma, K. K. (2005). Tourism and development. New Delhi, Sarup & Sons. The source offered a wealth of information the development of tourism into the subsectors such as cultural tourism. This was a very helpful book in obtaining wide perspectives of tourism in genera; MCG. (2014). MCG. Retrieved from http://www.mcg.org.au/History/National%20Sports%20Museum.aspx This was a very useful source from which I obtained much of the information regarding the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Being an official tourism site also helped a lot in general tourism work. Holiday in Australia. (2014). Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne. Retrieved from http://www.australia.com/about/culture-history/stadiums/melbourne-cricket-ground.aspx The official website of the ground it offered a lot of information which I had not gathered in my physical research at the grounds. I was able to contact staff and they were of assistance in finding a lot of information needed. Swarbrooke, J. (1998). Sustainable tourism management. New York, CABI Pub. Offered great insights on modern perspectives on sustainability in tourism and also expanded to talk of other subsectors of tourism such as cultural and environmental tourism. Ritchie, B. W. (2014). Sport tourism: interrelationships, impacts and issues. Clevedon, England, Channel View Publications. This one offered a wealth of information regarding the cultures and tourism practices in different sports arenas around the world. It also contrasted the successes and weaknesses of the different approaches. Saayma, M. (2012). An introduction to sports tourism and event management. [Matieland, South Africa?], Sun Press. This article gave very basic information on cultural tourism. It is good as a refresher course on cultural tourism and helped a lot in setting the tone of the report Richards, G. (2011). Cultural attractions and European tourism. New York, CABI Pub. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10060542. This article gave critical insights into the running of tours in European football clubs and how that can be replicated. I found it far too much practical with little theory to back it up. Hanley, K., & Walton, J. K. (2010). Constructing cultural tourism: John Ruskin and the tourist gaze. Bristol, Channel View Publications. Was a ore historical account of how cultural tourism has been growing over the year. It offered important insights into the sports tourism industry and also information on MCG. Reisinger, Y., & Turner, L. W. (2013). Cross cultural behaviour in tourism: concepts and analysis. Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann. The book offered cross cultural conceptions regarding the need for people to have information and to feel part of a group which is universal. This they established by offering examples of grounds that maintained a strong sense of family. Smith, M. K. (2007). Tourism, culture and regeneration. Wallingford, UK, CABI Pub. This book offered a series of examples and case studies on how cross cultural tourism management has resulted in the betterment of service and the building of better sports arenas. Hinch, T., & Higham, J. E. S. (2011). Sport tourism development. Bristol, Channel View Publications. This text offered possible routes that sport tourism may possibly contribute to the development of cultural tourism. It was a good read though some terms were quite hard to decipher at first mention. This book offered alternative means through which cultural tourism may be enhanced or revived in areas where it has been deemed problematic due to cultural differences. Woodside, A. G. (2008). Advances in culture, tourism, and hospitality research. Volume 2 Volume 2. Bingley, UK, Emerald JAI. Talwar, P. (2006). Travel and tourism management: (in 4 volumes). Delhi, Isha Books. This book Offered Asian perspectives on cultural tourism. Though not sports tourism it was important in the theoretical concepts it offered regarding cultural tourism. Raj, R., Griffin, K., & Morpeth, N. D. (2013). Cultural tourism. Cambridge, MA, CAB International. This is a good book on how cultural tourism is the new frontier and how it stands to be a leading generator of tourist revenue in the near future. It also offered guidance on how cultural tourism in sports may be tapped for the above mentioned purposes. The text was of great import as it emphasized on the aspect of cultural tourism and hence was very through in discussing the theoretical underpinnings of cultural tourism Ooi, C.-S. (2012). Cultural tourism and tourism cultures: the business of mediating experiences in Copenhagen and Singapore. Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School Press. It Offered a lot of information especially regarding cultural tourism in Asia and in Europe. This was of great assistance in offering different perspectives on cultural tourism which was very helpful. Read More