Rhythms of Living Cultural Heritage: Co-Creating Memorable Tourism Experiences

Iintroduction

The concept of intangible or living cultural heritage has gained significant recognition and appreciation, particularly when viewed through the lenses of cultural diversity and destination marketing. The concept of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) encompasses more than just immaterial aspects. In addition to practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills, intangible cultural heritage encompasses tangible elements such as cultural spaces, buildings and architecture, instruments, and other artifacts (UNESCO, 2023a; Lenzerini, 2011). These intangible components play a significant role in the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage. By recognizing the importance of both intangible and tangible aspects, intangible cultural heritage aims to safeguard and promote the diverse cultural expressions and traditions that contribute to the richness of our global heritage (UNESCO, 2023a).

Folk music is an example of intangible or living cultural heritage that plays an important role in preserving and promoting cultural heritage. Folk music refers to traditional music that is created and passed onwards orally within a specific region. It reflects the history, practices, traditions, beliefs, and values of that region. Folk music is performed using traditional instruments, such as violins or bagpipes, and may involve storytelling, dance, and communal engagement (Kõmmus, 2019). Examples of worldwide-known folk music include Flamenco from Spain, Samba from Brazil, Bluegrass from the USA, Rajasthani Folk music from India, Irish Traditional Music from Ireland, and Scottish bagpipe music. In Finland, Kaustinen style fiddle music played by violin and other traditional string instruments represents living cultural heritage preserved also by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). All of these examples demonstrate how folk music is a vital and enduring component of the region's cultural identity and destination branding. Therefore, it also has implications for the tourism industry.

Cultural heritage tourism can be explored from both the perspectives of visitors and tourism management (Campos et al., 2018). From the tourism management perspective, the objective of cultural heritage tourism is to facilitate the implementation of sustainable tourism strategies, thereby preserving and enhancing the cultural distinctiveness and identity of the local community. The triple bottom line framework of sustainability, encompassing economic, social, and environmental dimensions, is commonly employed in discussions surrounding sustainability (Elkington 1994, 1998). However, cultural heritage tourism places particular emphasis on the cultural dimension of sustainability (Dessein et al., 2015).

From the tourist perspective, cultural heritage tourism involves an extended customer journey from before visiting the location, including traveling to a specific location, visiting the location in order to engage with and gain an appreciation for its cultural heritage as well as the phase after the visit (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016). In cultural heritage tourism, the emphasis is on exploring historical sites, traditions, festivals, arts, crafts, and other aspects that reflect the local culture and heritage, as well as establishing connections with these spaces (Minkiewicz et al., 2014; Seyfi et al., 2020). Many of the earlier studies on cultural heritage tourism focus on the middle part of the tourism journey, that is the experiences while visiting the site, neglecting the pre- and post-visit phase.