Constructing a Cultural and Heritage Tourism Infrastructure Definition of Tourism: The sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business suppliers, host governments and host communities in the process of attracting and hosting these tourists and other visitors. (WTO)

Culture and Heritage Heritage generally refers to something transmitted or acquired from a predecessor: legacy, inheritance or tradition. Culture generally refers to customary beliefs, social forms and materiel traits of a racial, religious or social group.

Cultural and Heritage Tourism For purposes of this discussion Cultural and Heritage tourism focuses on the traditional venues, material products, social processes and cultural patterns of tribal, ethnic, community, regional, familial, and occupational groups. It also impacts the ways in which living people establish continuity with a significant past.The folk life aspect is often described in genres, symbolic forms and enactments such as ritual, song, dance, craft, foodways, theatre, verbal art, decorative art, vernacular architecture, belief systems, folk medicine and other traditional sciences, occupational lore, games, myth, legend and celebration.

The Stake Holders Stakeholders include the Tourists, the Business Providers, the Host Government and the Host Community The primary responsibility for cultural and heritage infrastructural development falls on the the Host Community, the Host Government and the local Business Providers.

An Infrastructural Development Strategy Current tourism development thinking must offer holistic approaches and interdisciplinary solutions. Cultural and Heritage tourism offers a framework within which many of these fields can be combined into economically sustainable and environmentally friendly commercial entities. An indication of the interdisciplinary nature of the field is reflected in the diversity of the fields of specialization and impact.

Samples of Affected Fields Preservation/ Restoration, Urban Development (Catalytic phenomenon) Historical Preservation/ Museum development Community Education/ Involvement Education Institutes Public/Private Partnerships Community Based Development Landscape and Viewscape Development Music, Arts, Theatre Small Business Development Transportation/ Accommodations