Cultural Tourism is that form of touristic activity, in which the main motivation of the visitor is to visit cultural attractions in order to learn, to discover and to experience the cultural heritage of each touristic destination.
These cultural attractions are related to a group of distinct material, intellectual, spiritual and emotional characteristics of a society that includes arts and architecture, historical and cultural heritage, culinary heritage, literature, theater, music, photography, creative fields and living cultures with their lifestyles, their value systems, their beliefs and traditions. The cultural tourist, apart from the monuments and sights he will observe, will perceive around him a different culture, influenced and based on the historical events of the country, will know its myths, will taste the cuisine and will walk in the cobbled streets.
In the case of Poland, a country with a centuries-old historical course, traced back to the 5th century, is undoubtedly a country with a rich culture. This, after all, is evidenced by the sights located in the interior of the country. Statues-artefacts of famous artists and monuments dedicated to the Holocaust of Jews, castles and palaces, museums, old and new cities, historical centers, training centers, all these cultural creations make the country exquisite. In addition, seventeen (17) Cultural Heritage Sites of Poland are identified in the UNESCO World Heritage List, on the basis of their integrity, authenticity and uniqueness. These sites have been selected to be protected and preserved, as reference points of the country’s culture.
Every year thousands of tourists visit the country, who, in addition to their holidays, wish to see up close and admire all those cultural attractions that adorn the country. The main desire of a visitor, moreover, depending on his interests, is to get to know different cultures and to discover the historical traces of a region. It is essential to understand that cultural travelers do not prioritize “escape” from everyday life nor travel has as its main goal steril knowledge.The cultural tourist is the person who will manage to combine culture with tourism. However, today’s cultural tourist seeks a high level of satisfaction, wanting to satisfy his educational pursuits and curiosity, since he first knows the history of the monuments, and then decides to visit them, in order to get close and to admire them.
Cultural tourism, as a tool of cultural diplomacy, achieves acquaintance and familiarity with the cultural goods of a place. Cultural tourism, in fact, creates channels of communication and cultural transaction between residents of different countries and is an essential element of cultural, as well as economic, diplomacy. The contribution of the development of cultural tourism brings not only economic benefits but also highlights the cultural and natural resources of each region. In this way, good diplomatic relations between states are achieved, friendship and cooperation relations are sealed, increasing every year the percentages of tourists visiting countries, let alone countries with a historical course-cultural history
Papadopoulou Taxiarcha
https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/pl
Consola D. (12006), Cultural Development and Politics, Ed. Papazisis, Athens.
