The Art in Every Environment: Why Art, Culture, and Relationships Matter for Sustainable Tourism

Abstract

This chapter will examine two questions. First, how can art and cultural heritage contribute to the health and well-being of a place within the context of the tourism industry? More specifically, can cultural tourism be a driver for community sustainability, that is, not only environmental sustainability but also social empowerment, cultural preservation, and economic vitality? To explore these questions, the author begins by establishing the ways art and environment are closely intertwined, while pondering how cultural production generally – along with the cultural tourists it attracts – can be a driver for sustainability in tourism settings. The benefits that the arts draw from the environment as well as the ways the environment benefits from the arts will be examined. In the next section, the author unpacks how cultural tourism, and more specifically art production, can be drivers for environmental sustainability through social and eco-entrepreneurship and the creation of a shared social value. In the third section, the author identifies some of the challenges inherent in government regulation and preservation of cultural heritage sites. The author argues that communication, cooperation, and relationship building, not just between governing bodies and private stakeholders, but with residents and tourists, should be prioritized in destination management and marketing strategies. In the end, the author proposes that this type of strategy is vital in order to move toward greater cultural, environmental, social, economic, and other kinds of sustainability in the tourism industry.

Citation

Scott, M.K. (2024), "The Art in Every Environment: Why Art, Culture, and Relationships Matter for Sustainable Tourism", Foerster, T.A., Koprowski, J.L. and Mars, M.M. (Ed.) From Local to Global: Eco-entrepreneurship and Global Engagement with the Environment (Advances in the Study of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth, Vol. 30), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 51-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1048-473620240000030005