Tourism and the Creative Economy (original) (raw)

The creative industries play a major role in generating, transforming and disseminating knowledge and have developed faster than the global economy as a whole in recent years, with trade in creative goods and services growing by 8.8% a year from 2002-11. They have the potential to stimulate economic growth and job creation, support innovation and entrepreneurship, aid urban and rural regeneration, and stimulate exports. The creative industries are defined here as: knowledge-based creative activities that link producers, consumers and places by utilising technology, talent or skill to generate meaningful intangible cultural products, creative content and experiences. They comprise many different sectors, including advertising, animation, architecture, design, film, gaming, gastronomy, music, performing arts, software and interactive games, and television and radio. New linkages and synergies with tourism have also emerged in tandem, offering considerable potential to grow demand and develop new products, experiences and markets. Integrating creative content with tourism experiences can add value by reaching new target groups, improving destination image and competitiveness, and supporting the growth of the creative industries and creative exports. As a new approach to tourism development and marketing, creative tourism expands the very concept of tourism as a whole, driving a shift from conventional models of heritage-based cultural tourism to new models of creative tourism centred on contemporary creativity, innovation and intangible content. Creative tourism also involves collaboration with a wider range of actors, leading to dispersed value networks rather than narrow value chains. Creative tourism experiences combine different creative content and engage with creative lifestyles, both in the destination and remotely, or even virtually, via new technology. The shift towards intangible content makes creative products more mobile and less attached to place, generating new policy challenges compared to tangible culture. It also offers opportunities to take advantage of new creative fields to develop new products/experiences and expand markets, apply new technology and distribute creative content more widely. The added value potential of such activities can be enhanced by measures designed to support content development, link creativity to place, build knowledge and capacity, and strengthen network and cluster formation. Strategies and integrated policy approaches are emerging at a national, regional and local level to capitalise on the growth and development opportunities from the convergence of tourism and the creative industries. However, a review of current policies and practices indicates that these linkages remain underdeveloped and awareness of the potential for growth and innovation is limited.