natural ecosystems.
According to the above classifi cation, classifi cation 2 uses the phrase ‘National Park’.
It should be noted that UK National Parks do not fi t either descriptor, and are more correctly described as category 5. That they retain the
‘National Park’ designation is perhaps partially due to the fact that the IUCN came into existence simultaneously with the fi rst UK park.
Another explanation may be that the word
‘national’ instils a sense of ownership within the population.
The world had 30,000 protected areas by the year 2000, covered over 13,250,000 square kilometres of the land surface of the world – approximately the size of India and China combined! This represents a tremendous invest- ment by the countries of the world to protect biological diversity for future gener ations. A much smaller proportion of the world’s seas (barely 1%) are protected.
Protected areas perform many functions.
They are essential for conserving biodiversity and for delivering vital ecosystem services, such as protecting watersheds and soils and shielding human communities from natural disasters (IUCN, 2010). Many protected areas are crucial to local communities, especially indigenous peoples who depend upon a sustainable supply of resources. Protected areas provide an arena where people can get a sense of peace in a busy world. They can invigorate the human spirit and challenge the senses. Protected landscapes may also encapsulate important cultural values, with some refl ecting sustainable good practice.
Furthermore, they are important for research and education and contribute signifi cantly to local and regional economies, especially through tourism and related activities. The Convention on Biological Diversity calls on contracting parties to develop systems of protected areas, so their importance can scarcely be overstated.
The World Commission on Protected Areas, part of the IUCN, notes that protected areas face many challenges, such as external threats associated with pollution and climate change, irresponsible tourism, infrastructure development and ever-increasing demands for land and water resources. Moreover, many protected areas lack political support and have inadequate fi nancial and other resources.
National parks and other protected places are found in most countries around the world and are characterized by the great diversity found in each. Essentially this is to be expected, as for an area to attain this status it must have some unique characteristic or (generally) naturally occurring resource. Many national parks contain multiple attractions. In the case of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park in Japan, the park contains the volcano Mount Fuji, Shiraito Falls, the Atami Hot Springs, Lake Kawaguchi, the Izu Islands, the Aokigahara Forest and numerous historic buildings and temples. The park was originally designated in 1936 and extended in 1950, and has become the most visited national park in the world. Over 100 million visits are made annually, due in part to its vast land and sea area and in part to its proximity to the city of Tokyo, which is just 60 miles away from the volcano.
Although perhaps best known for its trademark volcano, the national park holds geographical, cultural and spiritual signifi cance.
Mount Fuji certainly attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims to its temples and religious sites, but it would be wrong to suggest that it is the most sacred mountain in Japan. Rather, Mount Fuji has become famous as a national symbol because it is the highest peak in the country (12,388 feet) and one of the most symmetrical volcano cones in the world. But it does have an ancient body of myths regarding its divine origins, resident deities and spiritual powers.
The beautiful peak has been venerated as the home of a fi re god, later the dwelling of a Shinto goddess of fl owing trees and the home of Dainichi Nyorai, the Buddha of All-Illuminating Wisdom (Hadfi eld, 2001).
At the base of the mountain is Aokigahara Forest, a dense area that is, according to folklore and legend, haunted by demons and ghosts. In the 19th century, poor families abandoned very young children and their elderly relatives here
and a century later it has become the world’s second most popular suicide location (after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco) (The Independent, 2000). Since the 1950s more than 500 people have lost their lives in the forest, mostly through suicide. Recent increases have prompted local offi cials to erect signs that attempt to convince potential suicides to re-think their plans. A growing issue concerns tourism activity within the forest. Due to the dense forest and rugged inaccessibility, the forest has also attracted thrill seekers. An increasing number of these adventure tourists mark their travelled routes by leaving coloured plastic tapes behind, raising concerns for the forest’s ecosystem (Okado, 2008).
Globally, there appears to be no consensus or standard as to admission charges to national parks. In the USA there is often a vehicle and occupant charge, although the entry booths may not be manned during low-season periods.
This off -peak ‘bonus’ may paradoxically be at traditionally high-season periods elsewhere in the country, as is the case during June to August in the Evergreen National Park in Florida.
Visitors arriving between these months will certainly not be devoid of a welcome; the swarming mosquitoes are always willing to greet the few visitors taking advantage of the free entry! In Poland, the Tatra National Park contains the Morskie Oko lake, which is completely frozen in winter. Here a variable entry charge is levied depending upon the season. In Israel, there are occasional days when all visitors are allowed to enter parks free of charge. In sharp contrast to this, UK National Parks are prevented from charging any fee at any time because the 1949 National Parks and Access to The Countryside Act dictates that all National Parks in the UK are free, to fulfi l the
‘second purpose’ of promoting opportunities for understanding and enjoyment. National Park authorities do, however, often charge for car parking. Being government agencies and therefore not allowed to make a profi t on any activity that they undertake, all profi ts are ploughed back into infrastructure maintenance.
Accessibility
It can quite naturally be seen that if access is the act of entering, accessibility is the ease of
Cultural Tourism and Accessibility 173
doing so. While there is some element of truth here, accessibility is much more to do with the interpretation of the disability discrimination legislation. Politically correct language suggests mainstream society does not see anyone in terms of levels of disability, but rather how facilities can be made more accessible. It would be entirely wrong therefore to speak of ethnic minorities in terms of accessibility, unless of course the group in question has a disability!
With this in mind, it is inappropriate to consider accessibility only in relation to access to the rural environment, rather across the whole spectrum of tourism. In terms of heritage tourism, the issues would surround physical access to areas and automatic doors, whereas at any visitor attraction the importance of an assistant and guide speaking clearly could not be higher for someone who relies on lip-reading.
There are two important and allied con- cepts to bear in mind as this chapter concludes, both of which are very relevant in the study of cultural tourism, accessing the countryside and indeed most other forms of tourism, too. These are universal design and social inclusion.
Universal design
Universal design is the phrase given to the concept that if the needs and requirements of people with disabilities are taken into account at the design stage, the cost of including them is generally no more than 1% of the total build cost. The fi gure for making adaptations to existing buildings is obviously much higher (Fig.
12.6). The costs associated with heritage tour- ism, where the buildings were almost certainly
constructed several centuries ago for a purpose other than tourism, can often be considerable and may even be thought exorbi tant or prohibitive. Universal design should accordingly be at the heart of all new facilities at the earliest stage.
Social inclusion and exclusion
Social inclusion and social exclusion are two phrases that are frequently misunderstood within tourism management. The theory here suggests that if improvements are made for a group of individuals with a disability, there is a high likelihood that these improvements will benefi t an additional group or groups of visitors.
Conversely, if they are not made, this may reduce the enjoyment of another group of able- bodied visitors. Consider the case of automatic doors. The rationale for installing them in a building is to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act, but parents with pushchairs and shoppers with heavy bags greatly benefi t from this provision. This may infl uence the positive feedback at a facility that frequently attracts such visitors. Likewise, the visual displays found on all London Transport under- ground trains assist both deaf and hearing travellers alike. Disability is much too large an area to consider within this chapter, but there is a fi nal thought to consider. There is a theory that suggests there is no such distinction between able-bodied and disabled people; society as a whole is ‘temporarily abled’. It is perhaps a sobering thought that as aging runs its natural course, everyone becomes less mobile, suff ers failing sight and can hear less well.
Case Study 12.6. The Everglades National Park.
For many, an essential activity when visiting the Everglades is a trip out in an airboat. Taken at face value, the short trip appears to be the most unsustainable use of petroleum ‘gas’ available. The boat owners disagree.
There are many thousands square miles of inaccessible islands within the Everglades, many cut off by a very shallow depth of water and reed-beds. The depth is so shallow, in fact, that an outboard board motor would act as a plough and a conventional propeller would become tangled in seconds. Airboats skim the surface and have the potential to take tourists deep into the home of the wild alligator. Each trip undoubtedly disturbs the lifestyle and habits of alligators, but a licence is only provided on the basis of the operator having several distinct routes that leave areas undisturbed for several weeks or even months at a time. Because visitors rarely return without having seen, learned about and indeed stopped alongside several of these magnifi cent amphibians, there is a belief that they enjoy the human interaction. There is little doubt they would probably enjoy the experience more if the visitors jumped in for an even closer encounter!
In general terms, the word ‘access’ refers to the rural environment; one that can rarely be accurately described as natural. It has historically been linked to the evocative phrase
‘right to roam’ and been dramatically increased, some would say improved, over the past 10 years.
Calls for extending access further are matched by those stating ‘enough is enough’. Both are now minority views drowned out by the voices of those promoting a reasonable level of physical exercise. Much remains to be done in attracting wider participation in a countryside that is fi t for and accessible to the British public, (Mosaic National Parks, 2009).
Future Research
The area of culture and cultural tourism has grown since the early 2000s perhaps more than any other area of tourism. It is over a similar timeframe that the discipline of events manage-
ment has become identifi ed and accordingly where much contemporary research on culture and its artefacts will be found. There is, for instance, a thin line between where the Shrovetide Football event should be studied – from an events or tourism school. The links between access and culture appear to be growing stronger and are providing many texts and theories linked with, and symbiotic to, the needs of tourism management, and identifying oppor- tunities to research both of these areas, but and arguably more importantly, there is an ongoing need to understand the barriers that limit access to diff erent social and socio-cultural groups.
Conclusion
It will have become obvious that although culture and access are distinct concepts and entities in their own right, there are numerous Fig. 12.6. Yardenit baptismal site. Due to the high number of Christian pilgrims seeking to be baptized in the Jordan, the Israeli government have built this ‘hard’ site that, while not pretending to be authentic, is situated on one of short stretches of the river where the water fl ows naturally. Note the covered chute to the left where people with physical disabilities may be lowered into the water in a specially adapted
wheelchair. (Picture © Geoff Shirt.)
Cultural Tourism and Accessibility 175
areas where they are at one with one another.
For instance, a considerable cultural change has occurred within the rural community that accepts, indeed welcomes, the urban visitor into their life – especially when and where the host can gain fi nancially from the social exchange.
In many parts of the world the physical evidence of culture, the built artefacts, need to be accessed in order to obtain maximum benefi t for the visitor. It will also be noted that access needs to be undertaken with a responsible attitude that has sustainability at its heart. Thankfully, acculturalization is not an automatic result of access, although if it is not to occur, access must be managed and monitored carefully by both professionals and community representatives.
Review Questions
1. Consider the challenges surrounding the