Cultural events and cultural tourism development: Lessons from the European Capitals of Culture.

Abstract

One of the major forms of cultural tourism development undertaken throughout Europe has been the staging of a growing number of cultural events. The event of European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) is probably the best example of the new trends of cultural tourism in Europe; which is therefore used in this article to demonstrate some of the key issues surrounding the event-led strategy for cultural tourism development. Based on case study; historical approach and document analysis; this study reviewed systematically the cases; documents and literatures of ECOC over a 20-year period. The research findings point to a number of ways in which the ECOC constitutes a boost for the development of cultural tourism in terms of realizing experience economy; enhancing city image; facilitating urban regeneration; promoting cultural production and consumption; as well as establishing partnerships.