Heritage consumption, new tourism and the experience economy

This chapter argues that there is more cultural heritage worth protecting and promoting than only the grand, tangible and ancient human past that has long characterized the supply side of most mass heritage tourism. As part of the co-creative turn in tourism and as a manifestation of the experience economy, many niche travelers are seeking extraordinary experiences beyond the normative mass tourism-based heritage experience. Increasing numbers of tourists desire to see how ordinary people live(d) and are seeking deeper and more meaningful connections with local heritage. This chapter utilizes the examples of rural tourism/agritourism and indigenous tourism to show how vernacular heritage is becoming a more important part of the experiential tourism product. Although people still want to see and experience the famous and iconic heritage places, they are becoming more invested understanding how the peasants and the poor lived, not just the rich aristocracy.