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Sustainable Tourism and Culture: A Symbiotic Relationship
Sustainable Tourism and Culture: A Symbiotic Relationship
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Abstract
Cultural Tourism offers a strong motivation to preserve the elements of cultural heritage in tourist destinations. It
helps to preserve cultural elements as important tourist attractions. Cultural tourism’s notion is unlimited to visiting
monumental attractions only, but it has also become an interactive experience with the social fabric of the community
through attending exhibitions, festivals and events, and the purchase of traditional local products. Thus, the human
capital factor in tourism is linked to the quality of tourism products. With the growth of international tourism, the
importance of sustainable tourism development has emerged to protect natural, cultural, and human resources, in
addition to achieving economic development. As non-sustainable tourism development has led to the deterioration of
tourism resources. This research paper examines if cultural tourism contributes to decrease tourism seasonality and
achieve sustainable tourism development in cultural heritage sites. A case study of Aswan was selected. Aswan has
unique and important elements of cultural heritage (Tangible and Intangible), but it still faces many problems like
tourism seasonality, besides its tourism is still weak compared with other cities that have the same tourism potential.
Based on a literature review and analytical study of global examples that achieved sustainability in cultural heritage
sites, a field study of Aswan was conducted to evaluate the current status of cultural tourism, besides illustrating the
challenges of achieving sustainability. The major result that has emerged from the study is paying attention to cultural
tourism is the possible solution to the challenges that Aswan tourism faces. Finally, the paper concluded that
investment in human capital creates opportunities for cultural tourism which in return resolves one of tourism’s major
challenges: seasonality.
© 2020 The Authors. Published by IEREK press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of ESSD’s International Scientific
Committee of Reviewers.
Keywords
Cultural Heritage; Cultural Tourism; Sustainable Tourism; Human Capital; Seasonality; Aswan.
1. Introduction
Tourism is mainly perceived as a major industry that contributes to 10% of the world’s GDP, along with a wide range
of job opportunities (EENCA, 2017). It also considered among the most important means of cultural exchange, as it
provides an experience for tourists to learn about the cultures inherited in local society as well as cultures from
contemporary life (UNESCAP, 2008). Hence, tourism has been considered as a tool for attracting visitors to cultural
sites and venues, and culture is considered as a source of attractive opportunities for cultural experiences to tourists
(EENCA, 2017). Unfortunately, tourism could have damaging multiple effects on cultural heritage sites (UNESCAP,
2008). However, cultural tourism could be viewed as part of the solution to such tourism problems. According to
Richards & Raymond (2000), cultural tourism had witnessed significant growth in recent decades, as tourists had
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El-Khadrawy / Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
become increasingly interested in learning about the culture, heritage, and history of the destinations they visit.
Therefore, cultural tourism creates a growth market, and cultural tourists are seen as desirable tourists in cultural
destinations. Consequently, this had led to tremendous growth in the number of cultural places around the world in
the last twenty years, which had led to the emergence of competitions between cultural places with each other and
with other types of tourist attractions. Due to these competitions, some cities began to search for innovative solutions
to develop cultural tourism, increase income and jobs, and at the same time support culture of local communities.
This had done by adopting new and innovative strategies that rely on human capital (Richards & Raymond, 2000).
Many researchers including El-Sayed (2006), Lut & Vlad (2010) and Esu (2012), agreed that the main factor of
success and achieving competitiveness in the tourism sector is "human capital". Where human capital in tourism is
the essence of the tourist offer, due to the nature of tourism services that requires a direct interaction between the
tourist and the tourism workers. Therefore, developing human capital leads to improving tourism services, and
consequently, the ability to compete with other tourist countries.
Egypt has diversity in the tourism field and possesses many tourism assets. At the same time, cultural tourism in
Egypt is a competitive, unique, and non-recurring type of tourism. Due to the existence of the successive civilizations,
which resulted in unique social and architectural cultures stemming from the natural environment, in addition to the
local community traditions that considered as one of the most important attraction elements (Ibrahim, 2013).
Furthermore, Egypt is one of the most populous countries in the Middle East. It also has the advantage of being a
young country, due to having a large number of young people under 30 years old, representing around 61% of its
total population (MPMAR, 2016).
This research aims to examine if cultural tourism contributes to decreasing tourism seasonality, overcome political
issues and terrorist attacks, and achieve longlasting advancement in cultural heritage sites. The Methodology of this
study is based on the integration between three main approaches: The first one (descriptive approach): is based on
literature review concerning the paper topic, the second one (analytical approach) is based on a comparative analytical
study between Three cities from different countries focusing on developing the cultural tourism, and the third one
(case study) is based on field study took place from 6th -8th of March, 2019, interviews with hotels owners & workers
in Gharb Soheil, shop owners in Aswan market, tour guides & tourism companies, Aswan Municipality employees
and a random sample of Aswan residents including youth, women & men.
Nomenclature
CH Cultural Heritage
CT Cultural Tourism
ECoC European Capital of Culture
GOPP General Organization for Physical Planning
TD Tourism Development
ST Sustainable Tourism
STD Sustainable Tourism Development
UNWTO World Tourism Organization
2. Literature Review:
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The cultural heritage sites are major tourist attractions, therefore, cultural heritage is the key asset for cultural tourism
endurance (UNESCAP, 2008). The European Association for Tourism and Leisure Education "ATLAS' defines CT
as: "All movements of persons to specific cultural attractions, such as heritage sites, artistic and cultural
manifestations, arts and drama outside their normal place of residence" (EENCA, 2017). And UNWTO defines
cultural tourism as “A form of tourism motivated by representations of peoples and their cultures” (UNESCAP, 2008).
Hence, CT's concept emphasizes culture and its environment, locals’ standards and traditions, arts and entertainment
resources including cultural pr8oceedings, museums, and legacy areas and socializing with the local residents
(CHERPLAN, 2013). Therefore, heritage and arts are considered to be "primary elements" of cultural tourism.
Whenever tourism and heritage harmonize, tourism returns would be used to ensure the endurance of heritage
environments. Hence, CT can boost the community and help maintain cultural and social benefits (EENCA, 2017).
Previous international initiatives and conventions emphasized the significance of culture in sustainable development.
UNWTO in 2001 adopted the “Global Code of Ethics for Tourism” (CHERPLAN, 2013), that embodies the milestone
of (ST). The key themes of cultural and eco-tourism according to UNWTO are (CHERPLAN, 2013): first, the
contribution of tourism to create mutual esteem between people and their societies; second, tourism acts as an
important factor of sustainable development, third, as tourism exploit cultural heritage, it also contributes to its
enrichment. Fourth, an equitable share of socio-economic benefits that tourism activities generate should be targeted
to local residents.
UNESCO’s latest initiative on “Culture: A Bridge to Development” aimed to improve cultural heritage in all its forms
as a prevailing tool for a sustainable multilayer development approach (UNESCO, 2011). According to UNESCO
(2015), culture represents a key aspect that fosters sustainable urban development, this takes place through urban
identity and environmental protection, encouraging relevant activities to attract visitors, and creating a flexible
economy.
According to UNESCO (2012), the outcome document of UN’s Rio+20 Conference highlighted the importance of
cultural diversity; “We acknowledge the natural and cultural diversity of the world and recognize that all cultures and
civilizations can contribute to sustainable development” (article 41). The document accentuated the importance of
the occurrence of a robust relationship between people, their environments and their cultural heritage (30); it also
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El-Khadrawy / Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
strengthened the importance of financing cultural tourism-related projects (130 and 131); “the need for conservation
of the natural and cultural heritage of human settlements, the revitalization of historic districts, and the rehabilitation
of city centers” (134); it also affirmed the vital affiliation between culture and biodiversity (197) (UNESCO, 2012).
After the literature review, the importance of culture could be emphasized, as it’s considered as a basis of sustainable
tourism. It helps to conserve the cultural heritage, ensure economic returns to local communities, and provide
motivation to maintain the heritage and cultural practices. Also, it involves a large number of people including the
local population, stakeholders, and tourists. We also illustrated the importance of human capital in sustainable tourism
development, as an investment in human capital through training and education reflected in the improvement of
tourism services and the ability to compete with other tourist destinations.
3.2. Egypt Strategic Policies & Programs to Achieve Sustainable Tourism Development:
a) Human Capital (MPMAR, 2016):
− Allowing different incentives either through financing development projects or tax minimizing.
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El-Khadrawy / Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
− Develop human skills through subsidizing labors training in the tourism sector and relevant activities.
− Encouraging technical education exclusively tourism and hotel education.
− Establish training centers in the tourism sector according to international standards.
b) Tourism & Culture:
According to MPMAR (2016), the first objective of the strategy is to encourage culturally relevant businesses
including entertainment and traditional crafts. The second objective is to ensure the efficiency of tourism bodies
along with minimizing the terrestrial gap of amenities provided due to location. The third objective is to preserve
Egypt’s heritage through protecting, maintenance, and increasing awareness as well as attracting national and
international visitors and supporting local cultural activities. Polices & programs will be as follows:
4. Global Experiences:
The following part is a presentation of global cities aimed at achieving sustainable tourism development through the
development of Cultural Tourism. Three cities were selected, two of them were chosen from UNESCO World
Heritage List, and the third one won the title of the European Capital of Culture in 2012.
Maribor titled as the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) in 2012 (Maribor, 2015). The preparation period was 6
years before the title-year. In 2010 the City Council of the Municipality of Maribor established the public institute
“Maribor 2012” to be responsible for the inclusive process of planning and executing the “Maribor 2012 – European
Capital of Culture” project (Maribor, 2015). The ECoC criteria require the nominated city to host hundreds of top-
level cultural events spread out throughout the year, and to develop physical infrastructure (cultural venues,
accommodation capacities, and transport connections), also to develop “human infrastructure” which is needed to
host the ECOC. The criteria also require significant engagement with the citizens of a city: involve schools,
universities, youth clubs, civil society organizations, and the engaging of the private sector in the cultural and creative
industries (EUROPEAN-COMMISSION, 2012).
1 http://population.city/slovenia/maribor/
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El-Khadrawy / Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
According to Maribor (2015), multiple stakeholders carried out 308 programs and projects in Maribor in the title year,
including the local community, the Slovenian, and international partners. In addition to nearly 5,300 events took place
in 2012 and included more than 30 different countries. “Maribor 2012” mission and vision were based on cultural
promotion as this approach represents essential factors focusing on the importance of having a strong bond gathering
individuals, cities, regions, and countries. It also targeted the founding of strengthening social relations through
various cultural ventures. The plan also integrated different segments of the local community in the cultural projects
after providing the required training and attending cultural awareness programs (Maribor, 2015).
400000 348000
Tourists & Overnight Stays Numbers
ECoC 2012
350000
Preparation Phase 281700
300000 264000
250000 215000 220000
190000
200000 161000
150000 124000 135000
178686
80000 147000 156500
100000 123000
100000
50000 85000
49000 57000 69000
0 40000
2000 2003 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2015 2016 2017
Figure 1 Illustrating the tourists & overnights numbers from 2000 to 2017 in Maribor 2 (Adapted by the researcher)
From the above, we can notice that ECoC brought new opportunities to Maribor, it revitalized the city center through
various cultural festivals & events spread out throughout the whole year and proven that cooperation is a key step to
achieve sustainability, as local community involvement played an important role in the ECoC project’s success, after
providing them with the required training. It also was able to attract more visitors, which consequently lead to
recognize Maribor as “one of the top ten tourist destinations in Europe” (Maribor, 2015).
Figure 2 Maribor key steps to achieve tourism sustainability (Adapted by the researcher)
2From 2000 to 2011 statistics are from (Horvat, 2012), and from 2012 to 2017 statistics are data collected & adapted by the researcher from Slovenia official
website https://slovenia.info
3 https://populationstat.com/mexico/morelia
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Morelia being rich with exquisite architectural, cultural, and historic sites along with its beautiful natural destinations
has led to its being among the most visited tourist destinations in Mexico. It also has a wide variety of entertainment
facilities such as; theaters, museums, cinemas, and bars. It also has an international airport, and a bus terminal with
nine lines that offer transfers to the entire state, as well as major cities across Mexico (Alfaro, et al., 2012). In 2005
Morelia City established the “Council of Cultural Sites of the Historic Centre of Morelia”, to be responsible for the
Development Program of the Historic Centre Urban. Morelia’s plan targeted its transformation into a world-class
sustainable city that would take place through economic progress, residents’ quality of life improvement, adequate
use of public services and spaces, and environmental management. In addition, tourism was introduced as an
important factor for economic revenues by Mexico’s development policies (UNESCO, 1991).
Morelia includes the “Conservatorio Musical”, a 277 years old music school that encompasses various numbers of
artists in different specializations (Alfaro, et al., 2012). Morelia also has fifteen universities, six of them offering
tourism as an undergraduate program, and two as an area of expertise. Four universities offer seminars and courses
related to tourism, and one of them has established a research center for tourism (CIETEC), which has conducted an
annual survey from 2010 to 2014 to study the profile of tourists visiting the state in an effort to provide information
for decision-makers. And the result was that city is primarily a domestic destination since 85 % of tourists are
domestic tourist stays an average of 3.5 days, and international tourists (15%) stay an average of 10 days, visiting
museums or attending cultural festivals & events (Medina, 2014).
With the changes of the administrations of the state government and the municipality of Morelia in the second half
of 2015, new vision-related to tourism management of the city was set. The main idea was “to make the Historic
Center a vibrant heart of the culture and citizenry that attracts more visitors”. This vision promoted various actions
and projects in the last two years; such as the rescue of the public spaces of the city for the benefit of its inhabitants,
celebrating the 25 years of the recognition of Historic Center of Morelia as a World Heritage, and position Morelia
within the Wedding and Romance tourism segment. The following figure 3 illustrating the tourist numbers from 2000
to 2017 (Pardo, 2017):
1800.0
Terrorist attack on Morelia
1700.0
1600.0
Cultural Heritage Center
1400.0
Tourists Numbers by (1000)
1200.0
819.4 885.0
1000.0 781.9 813.2 816.1
720.7 702.9 738.3 705.3 721.5 717.0
800.0 803.0
529.8
600.0 746.6 767.5 742.2 723.3
Pope
400.0 Francis
200.0 USA forbid citizens from traveling Visited
to Mexico due to insecurity issues Morelia
0.0
Tourists
Figure 3 Illustrating the tourists' numbers from 2000 to 2017 in Morelia (Pardo, 2017) (Adapted by the researcher)
From the above, we can notice that Morelia faced tourism sustainability challenges, which represent in seasonality,
terrorist attacks in 2008 and insecurity, violence, and instability issues in 2012 through the mixture of two
characteristics. a) The development of Human Capital, as human capital in Morelia considering as a strengths point,
due to its adherence to the customs, traditions, and expressions of regional culture, as well as its training education
through specialized tourism programs. b) Morelia's political intention to strengthen the tourism sector through CT
development. In addition to the beauty of the city’s architecture, natural and cultural attractions as well as the
festivities related to the intangible heritage which provided an important foundation to develop the tourism sector.
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El-Khadrawy / Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
Establishment of
Cultural Tourism Council of Cultural Sites
of the Historic Centre of Human Capital
(Festivals & Events Morelia
(Training & Education)
throughout the Whole Year) (Development Program of
the Historic Centre Urban)
Figure 4 Morelia key steps to achieve tourism sustainability (Adapted by the researcher)
Fez conservation strategy encompasses all intangible and tangible heritage. The renewal project was based on the
rehabilitation and revitalization approaches and the restoration of heritage sites with the partnership of multiple
investors. The plan also targeted infrastructure upgrading. Accordingly, Fez’s image changed from a stagnant,
depleted city into a livable and evolving city. During the period of 1981 to 2005; different investments and
conservation projects took place; an overall budget was conceded including a 52.9% for infrastructure, 22.1% for
rehabilitation projects, 11% for the restoration of monuments, 6.6% for environmental protection, 4.9% for cultural
and tourism development and finally 1.3% and 1.2% respectively targeted for training and institutional support
(Radoine, 2008).
Recently, Morocco framed its development strategies to encompass CT as its main target through the development
of historic quarters, resulting in a distinctive city for tourism attraction. The development notion sought to attract
tourism-related to historic sites and various cultural events (Alami, et al., 2017). To achieve the conservation strategy,
the Morocco government created a new institutional framework in 1989 (ADER-Fès) to be responsible for the
development of Fez. “ADER-Fès” set a vision of Fez’s heritage revitalization through the enhancement of inhabitants’
quality of life (Radoine, 2008). Fez’s CT has evolved in the recent years, it had transformed to an economic touristic
hub attracting multinational immigrants to settle, work and mainly found guesthouses; that had multiplied through
the past 20 years from one guesthouse back in 1997 up to 112 guesthouses in 2016 (Alami, et al., 2017).
In 2013, the government has implemented a project named “Ziyarates Fez”. The project was based on the adaptive
reuse of locals’ homes into guesthouses where families offer the visitors one or more rooms, this would facilitate
interactions between different cultures and experience the local life. Allowing the pilot project, the “Ziyarates Fez”
project for the first time to be legal was according to an agreement between different governmental institutions and
NGOs (Alami, et al., 2017). The project aimed to involve tourism in human development through the following
undertaken actions: restoration & upgrading of residential houses, services quality control, local’s training on tourism
importance, and grant funds for guesthouses’ furnishing. Above all, training was provided to all families in the project
about "tourism professions" including; welcoming guests, cooking, bedding and house-holding, ensuring the security
of tourists, and accompaniment (Alami, et al., 2017). The Moroccan government initiated robust policies in order to
avoid mass tourism in Fez, to reduce the socio-cultural impact on the local population (Alami, et al., 2017).
Fez also adopted a project named: "Fez, Capital of Traditional Arts and Showcase of the Craftsmanship of Morocco"
targeting the exploiting of Fez’s extraordinary cultural products and branding the local crafts and their high-end
images including: 'zellige', ceramics, brassware and textiles, and traditional clothing (Alami, et al., 2017). The
following figure 5 illustrating the tourist numbers in Fez from 2009 to 2017:
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El-Khadrawy / Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
Arab Spring
1000.0 Revolutions 947.7
Tourists & Overnight Stays Numbers
600.0 504.3
by 1000
200.0
0.0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Tourisrts Overnight Stays
Figure 5 Illustrating the tourists & overnights numbers from 2009 to 2017 in Fez (Morocco, 2019) (Adapted by the researcher)
The cultural tourism project in Fez had developed opportunities for local authorities, and improved the living
conditions of the population. Through the restoration and rehabilitation processes and the upgrading of Fez
infrastructure, developing human capital through training, and developing the national handicrafts. Fez achieved
sustainable tourism development by achieving economic revenues to the local community through their direct
involvement in cultural tourism projects and heritage conservation projects.
Ziyarates Fez
(Development of High
Cultural Products)
Figure 6 Fez key steps to achieve tourism sustainability (Adapted by the researcher)
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El-Khadrawy / Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
Unfortunately, although Aswan has all the above-mentioned tourism possibilities, which can qualify it to be one of
the most important tourist destinations in the world, it was affected by the tourism seasonality, terrorist attacks, and
political issues, which led to a significant drop-off in tourists’ numbers in Aswan, especially after the 2011 revolution.
The following figure 7 illustrating the situation of the tourism sector in Aswan from 2008 to 2017:
1200.0 1073.1
Tourists & Overnight Stays
2011 Revolution
1000.0
708.9 729.0
800.0
Numbers
by 1000
600.0
660.7
400.0 256.2 266.5 298.4
442.2 213.3 186.8 206.5 236.7
430.0
200.0
152.5 136.8 133.0 159.6 175.5
0.0 114.9 115.6
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Figure 7 Illustrating the tourists & overnights numbers from 2008 to 2017 in Aswan 4 (Adapted by the researcher)
From the above figure, we can see that the average overnight stays in Aswan are ranging from (1.6 to 1.7
nights/tourist) before and after the revolution. In addition, and according to Aswan statistics (Aswan, 2016), the global
tourism ratio decreased from 92% in years (2008 and 2010) to be 28% in 2014.
Aswan Workforce: The workforce in tourism sector represents only 2% from the total workforce in Aswan, and the
main workforce is in industries sector with 25%, followed by agriculture sector with 6% (GOPP, 2017), most of the
tourism workforce changed from the tourism sector to another sector after the 2011 revolution, most of the tourism
bazaars in Aswan Market changes the selling products from tourism souvenirs to household and clothes (Site Visit).
Aswan Cultural facilities: Aswan has only one cinema, one theatre, one culture palace, one sound & light show,
three museums (CAPMAS, 2018). In addition, there are only five annual international festivals held in Aswan during
the period from November to March each year.
Aswan Infrastructure: The current infrastructure in Aswan hadn't been renovated for 70 years (Soliman, 2018).
In May 2017, the General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP), set future vision & development projects for
Aswan Governorate according to Egypt's Vision 2030 and National Strategic Plan for Egypt 2052. The vision
included projects in the following categories: road development & beautification, construction of new hotels & eco-
tourism hotels, construction of handicrafts villages in Abu Simbel, Edfu, and Com Ombo, in addition to the
development of river marina berths.
4 From 2008 to 2014 statistics are from (Aswan, 2016), and from 2015 to 2017 statistics are data collected & adapted by the researcher from website
https://www.egypttoday.com
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Figure 8 Illustrating the development projects in Aswan Governorate (GOPP, 2017) (adapted by the researcher)
All the proposed projects concentrated on traditional tourism, industrial, and agriculture sectors and didn't include
any project concerning cultural tourism or human capital in Aswan. In contrast, Egypt's Vision 2030 set objectives to
achieve sustainable development in the tourism sector included: Develop human skills for tourism workers and
establish training centers in the tourism sector. Develop cultural industries including cinemas, theaters, music, and
traditional crafts, protect & develop heritage crafts through financing & marketing (MPMAR, 2016).
5.3. Recommendations:
From the literature review, and global experiences cities, there are key steps to achieve STD in Aswan, and overcome
tourism seasonality; this would take place through terrorism eradication, and political life stability, along with
achieving the vision that was set for Aswan to be a "Capital of African Culture and Economy". The following are the
summarized key steps:
1. Developing Aswan cultural tourism, through the strategies and programs aimed at
engagement of the local community, enhancing their quality of life through economic
growth, urban regeneration, and participating in cultural events.
2. Establish an institution to be responsible for the development of cultural tourism in Aswan, and to manage
and coordinate the cooperation between different bodies and stakeholders, government sector, private sector,
and the local community.
3. Develop Cultural Structure; such as cinemas, theaters, libraries, and festivals & events throughout the whole
year (not only in the winter months).
4. Develop Human Capital in Aswan through education and training. And the establishment of training centers
specialized in developing human skills for workers in the tourism sector and related services.
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El-Khadrawy / Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
5. Set policies and regulations to maintain Aswan’s heritage and cultural tourism through security and safety
regulations, periodic maintenance and increasing public residents’awareness, and city branding to attract
both local and international guests.
6. Imitate Ziyarates Fez project, and apply it in Gharb Soheil to be registered in a legal framework through the
government, and provide the required training to the local community, to be a world-class cultural tourism
village.
6. Conclusion:
From the literature review, the global experiments, and the work field conducted in Aswan, the following results were
achieved:
− Culture Tourism could be considered as a basis of sustainable tourism. It helps to conserve CT, attain profits
to the hosting societies, and increase incentives to preserve legacy and artistic practices. It also could be
considered as a part of solving tourism concentration problems, through redirection of cultural tourists to visit
less popular destinations or go at less popular times of the year.
− Human Capital’s role is important in achieving sustainable tourism development, as an investment in human
capital through training and education reflected in the improvement of tourism services and the ability to
compete with other tourist destinations.
− All the global cities examples shared certain key steps to achieve sustainable tourism development, such as;
developing cultural tourism through the festivals and events spread throughout the whole year, renovation and
rehabilitation of urban fabric, establish an institution to be responsible for the development of cultural tourism,
develop Human Capital through education and training, in addition to engaging the local community in cultural
programs and improving the quality of life of the inhabitants.
− Aswan considers as one of the most important tourist destinations in Egypt, where it has all elements of
attractions, whether natural or cultural, in addition to the huge investments represents in full-service hotels.
Unfortunately, Aswan was affected by the tourism seasonality, terrorist attacks, and political issues especially
the 2011 revolution. Therefore, the General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP) set future vision &
development projects for Aswan. However, all the proposed projects concentrated on traditional tourism,
industrial, and agriculture sectors, and didn't include any project concerning cultural tourism or human capital
in Aswan.
− To achieve sustainable tourism development in Aswan, there are key steps need to be achieved, such as;
establish an institution responsible for cultural tourism in Aswan, develop cultural structure (cinemas, theaters,
libraries, and festivals & events …etc), develop human capital through education and training, set policies and
regulations to maintain Aswan’s heritage and cultural tourism, in addition to develop handicraft products
through financing and marketing. Which consistent with Egypt's Vision 2030.
− Paying attention to cultural tourism is a possible solution to the challenges that Aswan tourism faces (tourism
seasonality and terrorism).
− Investment in human capital creates opportunities for developing cultural tourism, this is the right way to
benefit from all the existing natural and cultural assets in Aswan (tangible & intangible) and resolves one of
tourism’s major challenges: seasonality.
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