Newcastle University

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

In relation to heritage organisations/agencies, museums and art galleries, the aims of the 'Heritage Tourism Management' module are to provide an introduction:

To an intellectual framework for understanding the definitions, concepts and philosophies surrounding heritage tourism and its management;

To an awareness of heritage tourism from a historical perspective, in terms of organisational structures and in relation to current policies and contexts;

To some key issues in heritage tourism including, sustainability, benefits and negative impacts, public interest and the different types of heritage tourism;

To an understanding that heritage tourism is about process and systems and not simply about products;

To the consideration of stakeholder involvement and an understanding of the tools to involve them in relation to work undertaken at different levels - from World Heritage Site through to community-based initiatives;

To an understanding of heritage tourism in terms of different contexts - for example in relation to urban, rural and site-specific environments;

To an intellectual framework in order to understand the consumption of heritage tourism products and activities;

To an understanding of the approaches, practices and tools used in impact assessment and control; and,

To an opportunity to gain a deeper knowledge required to work in the heritage, museums and galleries sector in relation to heritage management and tourism on graduation.

Outline Of Syllabus

In relation to heritage management and tourism, the 'Heritage Tourism Management' module considers the sometimes controversial and always delicate relationship between heritage and tourism, along with the theories, issues, practices and tools related to effective heritage tourism management. In this module there is a shift from managing the heritage resources for tourism to managing the tourism processes, venues and products in terms of how tourists make use of and 'consume' heritage. The module will encourage you, the student, to look at the growth of the tourism industry and how it has affected the heritage, museum and art gallery sector. It takes account of the the opportunities and threats posed by tourism to the ‘heritage industry’ and considers international and national policies, charters and legislation regarding heritage tourism. The module addresses the differing requirements of local, national, and international tourism and questions if all of these can be addressed by the same facilities and approaches. It discusses the affect that varied tourism strategies have on the interpretation of heritage sites. It notes that heritage agencies and individual sites are becoming increasingly reliant upon tourist revenue to survive and maintain their programmes of conservation and formal education. However, at the same time, the increase in tourist numbers threatens the ambience of sites and, in some cases, their very fabric. This leads into coverage of a range of key issues related to the practice and processes of heritage tourism management. The module will consider the different challenges and opportunities faced by heritage tourism managers in the field in different geographical locations, including the differences between managing resources in urban and rural contexts, and how best to respond to these. It will introduce the key elements of heritage tourism management planning and processes, the variable use of heritage sites, and the effective engagement with stakeholders and communities. The module will also consider the roles of risk assessment, and monitoring and evaluation in heritage tourism management.

Topics to be covered in the module include: 1) defining heritage tourism and understanding the links between heritage and tourism; 2) histories of heritage tourism management, the development of heritage tourism organisations and agencies, and, current situations, challenges and policies; 3) key issues and the different types of heritage tourism; 4) heritage tourism development as a process, needing planning and management, which involves different stakeholder groups; 5) understanding heritage tourisms in relation to World Heritage Sites, urban and rural environments, and, in relation to specific sites, buildings and institutions; 6) different tourist consumers and marketing for these different groups, packaging heritage tourism tours and products, and, customer care; 7) understanding impacts from tourism, and, balancing conservation, community needs and access; and, 8) considering appropriate ways forward internationally, nationally and locally.

The module will introduce you to a range of theories and practices through the online material and activities. You will also be provided with a case study that should help you to contextualise and think about the use of the theories and practices within an actual context. The module topics, learning material, activities and case studies should provide you with enough information to explore examples from your own country. You will be expected to visit heritage sites, museums and galleries near you and critically examine and evaluate them against what you have learnt in the module.

This module can be taken as a stand-alone credit-bearing module, or it can be used as a 'building block', via the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) regulations at Newcastle University, towards building a postgraduate qualification in Heritage Management and Tourism.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the module a typical student will have:

Gained an understanding of the key consumers/users (from tourists to formal learners) of heritage and their motivations and needs;

A basic understanding of the nature of the tourism industry and its organisational structure from both historical and contemporary contexts;

A knowledge of the mechanisms for alleviating tourism threats to the heritage sector and on customer care principles;

A basic understanding of the components of a management plan and the processes required to develop a plan;

A knowledge of the resources required for the effective management of heritage;

A knowledge of the different strategies required for effective stakeholder and community participation in heritage management;

A basic understanding of the workings of heritage conservation in an urban setting; and,

A basic understanding of the roles of risk assessment, and monitoring and evaluation in heritage management.

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of this module a typical student will have:

Developed the cognitive skills to reflectively engage with different sources of information and literature in heritage, museum, art gallery and tourism studies in relation to 'Heritage Tourism Management' issues in a questioning and well-informed manner;

Developed the cognitive skills to critically examine and evaluate theories and practices in relation to actual examples and case studies in different geographical, economic, social, cultural and political contexts;

Developed the cognitive and practical skills of analysis and appraisal by relating the information acquired through the module to specific problem-solving tasks in their own country; and,

Gained relevant subject-specific theoretical and practical skills, i.e., developed the ability to apply the professional knowledge gained above in a real-life work context.

Further enhanced the key skills, as indicated in the Graduate Skills Framework below.

In addition, by the end of this module a typical student will have:

Gained an understanding of the cognitive skills required to develop lists of the benefits and risks associated with heritage tourism;

Developed the cognitive and practical skills needed to structure, produce and evaluate integrated heritage tourism plans for applications for World Heritage Sites or to place intangible cultural heritage expressions on the World Heritage List;

Developed the cognitive and practical skills needed to structure, produce and evaluate integrated heritage tourism plans to help facilitate local community-based heritage tourism initiatives;

Gained an understanding of the cognitive skills required to develop standards and procedures to evaluate customer care; and,

Developed the cognitive and practical skills needed to structure, produce procedures to evaluate and measure the balancing of conservation, the meeting of stakeholder needs, and the provision of access to tourists.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The module will be divided into 8 Units, with 5 learning sessions in each (40 sessions in total). Each session will average out at three hours of expected work and should be able to be completed in one sitting on a single day. As the module will be delivered through an e-learning platform, students will learn through guided independant study.

The module will include:
• Reflective Learning Activities - based on online resources and activities to deliver the module aims and content and to facilitate the acquisition of the necessary knowledge and skills so that students can achieve the learning outcomes by ensuring that they engage with information, case studies and local examples;
• Skills Practice - based on online directed personal site and study visits, students will be expected to consider what they are learning against practical real-life contexts;
• Independent study - based on their own experiences, students will be expected to compare what they are learning in theory and practice with their understandings of the situations in their home country;
• Student-led Group Activity - based on the use of online discussion boards, students will be expected to engage with each other and share their learning experiences in relation to the learning outcomes, thereby enhancing group learning, critical debate, negotiation skills, and a certain amount of team work and the development of interpersonal skills;
• Assessment Preparation and Completion - based on four different online assignment activities to test what students are learning in theory and practice in relation to the learning outcomes along the way; and,
• Assessment Preparation and Completion - based on students completing and submitting one professional report where they will be required to show that they have achieved a combination of the learning outcomes. In particular, through the report, students will have an opportunity to show that they have developed an understanding of the module input and how it relates to work in practice.

All the teaching methods will require a high level of self-motivation, discipline, critical engagement and time management.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

This module is designed to introduce students to the need for effective heritage tourism management in a range of different areas in the heritage, museums and art gallery sector, and to provide them with some basic tools to use in 'real life' situations. The two formative online computer assessment activities (total of 20% of the module mark), will help us and each student to monitor his/her understanding and progress as he/she works through the module. The final assignment (80% of the module mark), written in the form of a report, will test the knowledge and skills gained by setting scenarios that heritage, museum and art gallery managers face on a daily basis. The report will allow students to build up specialist knowledge relevant to heritage management and tourism.

General Notes

N/A