Last Thursday I was pleased to be the opening speaker for the Indiana Cultural Tourism Conference in Indianapolis. The event drew arts, culture, heritage, convention/visitors bureaus, and other related professionals from around the state to learn and share the changing nature of their work.
Since they asked for an ’emerging trend’ discussion that relates to cultural tourism, I prepared a talk on the changing nature of ‘place,’ and the increasing importance (thank goodness) of physical location even when accessing online resources.
The audio and the slide deck for the presentation are included below, via SlideShare. The audio isn’t great (just off of my iPhone, placed at a distance). But I hope it gives you the gist of the 30-minute talk.
Thanks to the good folks at IUPUI’s Tourism, Conventions, and Event Management program for hosting. They run a good show.
I can’t agree more with the thought that cultural tourism adds a dimension to the tourism industry that involves visitor experiences in art, culture and heritage, as well as the special characteristics of unique places. Besides, as far as I know, during the Indiana Cultural Tourism Conference, the Efroymson Award for Excellence in Cultural Tourism Development was bestowed to encourage and share exceptional practices with Indiana leaders in cultural tourism development. That was a great event. Hope to find more information about it and further actions.