THE TRANSFORMATION FROM HERITAGE CONSERVATION TO HERITAGE MARKETING: A CASE STUDY OF GREME HISTORICAL NATIONAL PARK

Methiye Gl TEL1 and Semih Halil EMR2

1

Instructor, PhD Student, Erciyes University, Faculty of Architecture, City and Regional Planning Department, Kayseri, 38039 Turkey, mgcoteli@erciyes.edu.tr 2 Assist. Prof. Erciyes University, Faculty of Architecture, City and Regional Planning Department, Kayseri, 38039 Turkey semur@erciyes.edu.tr

Abstract Being important factors in the development of tourism as an industry, heritage and traditions has played a key role in attracting consumers of tourism to significant locations. The tourism industry for commoditization of the past produces the heritage industry. The commoditization of heritage for consumption of tourists as a touristic product is increasingly being done in a globalized tourism industry that consumes the uniqueness and identity of the places. Nowadays governments and local administrations are interested in using heritage tourism for the regeneration and growth of domains as a positive change. This paper examines the transformation from heritage conservation to heritage marketing in Turkish tourism policies in case of Greme Historical National Park which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Key Words: Heritage Tourism, Heritage Conservation, Heritage Marketing, Commoditization of Heritage, Greme Historical National Park

INTRODUCTION In order to make a challenge, there is a growing appetite around world for the heritage in recent years, particularly heritage tourism and heritage marketing. National and local governments are engaging in heritage marketing as it is a major component of gross national product. Firstly, the leisure and tourism industry has sprout including a large-scale and a rapid growth in international tourism since 1950s. Meanwhile, there was an increasing awareness of environmental issues and a growing perception of a large scale preservation process to protect places and artefacts from destructions. Hence, it was encouraged many countries to stimulate their national cultural policies. The significant incident, that widens the scope of international cultural policies, was 1972 World Heritage Convention. In 1980s while mass-market tourism was expanding, the tourism industry began to exploit heritage sites for cultural consumption and turned them into attractions for commercial gain and into an element of marketing the heritage. Being important factors in the development of tourism as an industry, heritage and traditions has played a key role in attracting consumers of tourism to significant locations. They enhance the numbers of investment and the quality of life of places. Archaeological sites and monuments of the past have been leading touristic attractions which serve as the motivation for touristic visit to destinations. Hence the affinity of preservation and recreation of the past emerges the heritage centers.

Consequently, increasing attention has been focused on tourism industry as a significant potential growth sector for many developing countries. The tourism industry is seen as principal engine of growth for developing countries especially which has lack possibilities for rapid industrialization as well as low income. However, it is an outward-oriented growth sector what has a risky in any time regards to environmental circumstances, international tourism is continuing to rise over the past five decades. The mass market tourism which was developed as large scale, foreign owned, enclave type resorts, is based upon natural foundation assets like sandy beaches, clear seas1. These foundation assets irreparably damaged by excessive using actions. Besides its economical benefits, tourism has many shortcomings to illustrate environmental destruction, rising alienation, overcrowding, loss of cultural identity and social control to outsiders, overloaded infrastructures, a declining quality of life and access to scarce resources. In addition, tourism is viewed as exploiters of the native population and rapists of the land2. Nevertheless, tourism industry make local residents and governments frequently perceive that the economical benefits of the industry is worth the lost of social and cultural destructions. As a current trend, globalization is increasing through the worldwide convergence of consumer lifestyles and behaviors. Furthermore, there has been a trend to a global commoditization of heritage. The commoditization of heritage for consumption of tourists as a touristic product is increasingly being done in a globalized tourism industry that consumes the uniqueness, fragile environments and identity of the places. Nowadays governments and local administrations are interested in using heritage tourism for the regeneration and growth of domains as a positive change. On the other hand it is mentioned that tangible and intangible aspects of heritage (buildings, archaeological sites, folklore e.g.,) are a non-renewable resources of identity of places. However, they are in a no-return state of deterioration and consumption. As the rate of change resulting from tourism industry is accelerated, so do the rate of destroyed remnants of the past. The article is considers the transformation from heritage conservation to heritage marketing in Turkish tourism policies. In particular, it is hypothesized that commoditization of heritage that can be seen as generating a surplus in order to conservation of heritage, has an unforeseen results which not facilitate the vitality of heritage. Shortly, it sets out to determine how and in which circumstances the transformation of heritage conservation happened into the heritage marketing in case study from Turkey. Heritage conservation policies of Turkey are come to the point of marketing the city and its heritage which might have conclusions on irretrievable loss of non-renewable resources. It is manifesting the risky shift of presenting newly man-made sculptures and packing the heritage of Byzantine architecture of worship built in the post-Iconoclastic period, early period of Christian underground architecture historic townscapes and natural landscapes of Greme Historical National Park which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985. The scope of this research is focused on marketing of different aspects of heritage, particularly buildings, monuments and landscapes in Greme Historical National Park.

J. Brohman, New Diractions in Tourism for Third World Development, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol.23, No.1, 1996, pp.48-70. P. Wilkonson, Strategies for Tourism in Island Microstates, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol.16, 1989, pp.153-177. 2 V. Smith, W. Eadington, (edits), Tourism Alternatives; Potantials and Problems in the Development of Tourism, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1992, pp.9.

FROM HERITAGE CONSERVATION TO HERITAGE MARKETING The meaning of heritage is connected to preservation activity: The impulse to preserve the past is part of the impulse to preserve the self. The past is the foundation and collective identity. Objects from the past are the source of significance as cultural symbols3. Heritage includes tangible and intangible aspects like historic buildings, monuments, objects and sites linked to history, food, drink, music, literature. Every aspects of heritage are nonrenewable resources of the past which stimulates the awareness and consciousness of people to their own country. In relation to we need to protect the heritage in order that it can be left to future generations to find in it their cultural roots and identity. Heritage depends on continuities of identity and community. For that reason, it is relevant to the sense of place. The sense and the character of places are realized and strengthened with the ascribed value to them. Therefore, heritage attracts the people, visitor, investment and so on. Hence, heritage gives a unique and irreplaceable asset to the place. According to Lowenthal heritage is everywhere and it is a prime lure of tourism4. Relationships between Heritage Tourism and Heritage Conservation Advances in technology, changing in human expectations and pursuit of personal interest has increased the demand for other forms of tourism except conventional forms of tourism. Undoubtedly, heritage tourism has grown in popularity, occurring at the same time of who has disposable income to spend in order to learn and experience about the heritage of cultures in their leisure time. In this context, heritage tourism has been viewed as tourism centred on what we have inherited, which can mean anything from historical buildings, to art works, to beautiful scenery5. There are mutual benefits between heritage conservation and heritage tourism in a sustainable manner. As the number of visitors in the heritage site is raising; the revenue is gained from the touristic activities and the preservation of heritage vitality is achieved. Consequently, willing to protect and promote the heritage of countries is the main of aim of policies.. The policies of heritage tourism were encouraged by most of the countries in order to achieve the sensitive balance between heritage conservation and vitality and also participation of local people to the tourism activities is encouraged. By the way, concrete activation steps were realised in heritage conservation. While defining the heritage tourism as a source of revenue, sometimes the shift in conservation priorities causes conflicts/dilemnas between heritage marketing and conservation. The Transformation: A Paradigm Shift on Heritage Conservation to Heritage Marketing Heritage conservation, that was led regeneration, makes probable the economic investment including heritage industry sector. Heritage tourism creates value by leveraging heritage for commercial purposes. As a consequence the concern of tourism industry for commoditization of the past produces the heritage industry, in particular the built environment sector. Therefore, archaeological and historical sites have been reconstructed for touristic visits. As heritage
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K. Robins, Tradition and Translation, National Culture in its Global Context in Representing the Nation: A Reader, D. Boswell and J. Evans (eds), Routledge, London, 2004, pp.11. 4 D. Lowenthal, The Heritage Crusade and Spoils of History, Viking, London, 1996. 5 P. Yale, From Tourist Attractions to Heritage Tourism, ELM Publications, Huntington, 1991, pp.4.

tourism is seen as a regeneration of a heritage sites, heritage marketing can be described as though revalidation and revitalization of an area or site. The irreparably damages on heritage will occur the irretrievable loss of non-renewable resources of the past. It is mentioned that the aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him/her but allows the organization to achieve its goals6. Therefore, the central to our understanding of heritage marketing is becoming the customer. A product which is marketed can be a physical, functional or symbolic product. Tourism product is composed of the overall tourism product that includes all the service elements consumed by the tourists and the commercial activities that are part of the overall tourism product7. As for Middleton, the attractions, comprising natural values (landscape, seascape, beaches, wildlife, climate, etc.), built environment (historic, new, places of worship, museums, etc.), cultural activities (and social attractions) are elements of tourism revenue where holiday tourism visits are served8. Therefore, we can say that a heritage product includes heritage sites and heritage attractions. Similarly, Misiura argues that when the three levels of product is applied to the heritage product, the core becomes what the consumer expects in terms of the tangible or intangible; the actual is the added-value facilities; the augmented includes benefits such as other facilities and services, brand characteristics or feelings9. Marketing a heritage product might not generate a profit in the commercial sense. Similarly, marketing may allow conservation of heritage and the regeneration of locality. Some commercial activities alongside the heritage sites or attractions can be placed primarily for commercial gain and profit making. Although some could not anticipate non profit organizations in heritage sites as they need to make a profit in order to survive their presence. As marketing process is related to identify suitable target markets or audiences for a product or service, heritage marketing process is concerned to find out what the consumer wants and to deliver it. On the part of heritage marketing, it is priority in heritage industry that heritage attractions and brands must address the needs of their visitors/customers. From the heritage marketing view of, heritage attractions or other heritage consumer brands must appeal to the aspirations, needs and motivations of prospective and regular customer10. Since the heritage is wanted by any types of consumers, heritage becomes ideal for marketing11. However, considering the sovereignty of the consumer in heritage tourism can create harmful affects due to the craze of customs emotions. Hence, heritage marketing depends on limited, non-renewable and irreparable resources, that cannot be oriented as a market goods which shaped by consumer demands or aspirations. Some researchers have seen heritage marketing as a method to manage demand and take control of the potential of the place in order to not damage the attractions by overuse and generate income, raise awareness12. And the other researchers have seen heritage marketing as a method to strip locals of their dignity by sanitization and commoditization of the aspects of heritage13. In short, heritage conservation has gradually superseded by heritage marketing. A paradigm
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V. Middleton, (1998), Sustainable Tourism, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. V. Middleton, (1998), ibid. 9 S. Misiura, Heritage Marketing, Elsevier, London, 2006, pp.148. 10 S. Misiura, Heritage Marketing, ibid, pp.81. 11 S. Misiura, Heritage Marketing, ibid, pp.82. 12 S. Misiura, Heritage Marketing, ibid, pp.181. 13 S. Misiura, Heritage Marketing, Elsevier, London, 2006, pp.181.

shift in the notion of branding and the brand loyalty of cities is quickly superseding the heritage conservation for public advantages and human inheritance. In marketing, the concept of branding is a process by which simple, specific and consistent messages or images are conveyed to the mind of consumers. Created or nurtured values by branding, in particular country branding which can shape or produce economic, cultural and political changes, can include many aspects of heritage. Through branding of heritage sites and products, tourism marketers exploit the real values in term of tangible and intangible heritage aspects. Mainly, the uniqueness and identity are marketed by combining the heritage offerings of a destination and other benefits which consumers may want. Also, there is an increasing trend in uniting aspects of heritage with a modern-day emphasis. Making the destination brand live and reinforcing the brand may lead to alter the real values to promoted brand values of heritage, in the name of feeling the authenticity of a unique place simulacrum sites or places presented as authentic or historical to the present-day market. In this context, Heritage interpretation has been defined as the art of explaining the past by bringing it to life14. Therefore, interpretation should remain uncompromising in its authenticity and not lapse into pure entertainment. Otherwise, heritage interpretation can lead the danger of removing the spirit of a place15. Tourism and leisure activities depend on business trips are becoming increasingly popular in recent years. Business tourism needs the use of heritage site and or landscape, so that a unique setting or atmosphere can be created during the business meeting. Therefore, business tourism can be defined as another lucrative growth area for the marketing of heritage. Turkish Tourism Policies Governments are increasingly interested in using heritage tourism activities such as heritage tourism as a catalyst for positive change in economic and social aspects. Turkish government has come to a new point in tourism policies that shape the national, regional and local tourism attractions. The new point namely a paradigm shift which was proclaimed in 2007 by Ministry of Culture and Tourism as Tourism Strategies of Turkey 2023, deal with tourism management, tourism marketing and country branding, in particular city branding (destinations). According to the Turkish tourism vision, it is aimed to bring the tourism industry to a leading position in increasing the rates of employment and regional development with the adoption of sustainable tourism approaches, in addition to create Turkey as a significant destination and a world brand in tourism among the first five countries receiving highest number of tourists and highest tourism revenues in international market by 2023. The two actions of them, realizing the vision, tends to create tourism product based on tourist profile and to provide support for extraordinary accommodation facilities by conserving the regional architectural assets. It is planning to use heritage products and tourism resources in order to form tourism corridors, tourism zones, tourism cities and ecotourism areas, so enhance the tourism industry and also economic and social development of country. With this study, it is intended to plan the tourism settlements as a global brand and strengthen the city brand in an internationally competitive marketplace

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http://www.heritageinterpretation.org.uk S. Jenkins, (2003), Englands Thousand Best Houses, Allen Lane.

The strategies depend on conservation and utilization of natural resources in most economically and ecologically sustainable way. Strategy is based on planning to use tourism industry as an implementation tool for eliminating regional inequalities, alleviating poverty and development of employment opportunities. Assets-based tourism or destination based tourism development, which focuses on historical, cultural and artistic assets, is preferred instead of a hotel or other mass accommodation facilities. In other words, these strategies indicate niche-market, rather than a mass market. Concerning marketing and promotion, branding at destinations will be provided in line with the country branding. Also, promotional strategy concentrates on the common wishes and desires of consumers in various different markets. To tackle the constraints and to seed a better image of the country in international travelers mind is heeded immensely. With respect to strategy of city branding, it is considered to brand cities which has rich cultural and natural heritage, to convert them into a point of attraction for tourists and use all of the attractions of the cities at maximum level. By reviving cultural tourism in Turkish cities which are Adyaman, Amasya, Bursa, Edirne, Gaziantep, Hatay, Konya, Ktahya, Manisa, Nevehir, Kars, Mardin, Sivas, anlurfa and Trabzon, it is aiming to constitute a brand city of cultural tourism. It is devised to develop the national tourism by virtue of thematic regional destinations, along predetermined development axes. There are nine thematic zones encompassing more than one city. One of them is Cappadocia Culture Tourism Development Zone that comprises cities of Nevehir, Kayseri and Krehir, gained prominence with unique historical, cultural and natural assets of heritage and historic townscapes, landscapes. In Cappadocia Culture Tourism Development Zone, it is planning to build small sized boutique style hotels (i.e cave houses, pensions, small sized hotels) appropriately for natural and characteristic features of the region.

Drawing 1: Conceptual Action Plan of Turkey Tourism Strategies (Turkey Tourism Strategy 2023, Activation Plan 2007-2013)

Greme Historical National Park Case Study Greme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappodocia, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1985, is in Nevsehir Province of Central Anatolia, between settlements of Nevehir, Avanos and rgp of triangle zone. The Greme valley is an eroded plateau in a formerly active volcanic region. A dormant volcano Mountain Erciyes, Mountain Hasan and Mountain Akda dominates the valley landscape of the site. Cappodocia region consists of Andesitic tufa which was ejected from volcanic eruptions. Volcanic material have been eroded to form regular conical peaks or irregular masses reflecting the differential resistance to weathering (G. Drucker, pers. obs. 1985).

Picture1: Greme National Park

Greme National Park has a size of 95,76km and is covered with volcanic ashes, forming layers of soft tufa. Only where some remains of the resistant rock covers the tufa, it still exists and forms pilars, towers and needles. The height of those rock pilars, called fairy chimneys, may be up to 40m. high. The valley is also called Valley of the Fairy Chimneys. The soft tufa is very good for building housings in, as it is very soft and contains numerous caves. There are also numerous cave churches and houses and also built underground. Many churches have impressive frescoes.

Picture2: Castle of Uhisar and its Pensions around

Under continuous human occupation for at least 16 centuries, from the 4th to 13th century AD, a relatively harmonious landscape has developed, which is integrated into and makes use of the spectacular natural setting. An unusual feature of this area is the network of excavations in the volcanic formations dating back to the fourth century. The 'fairy chimney' and exposed cliff 7

faces have been part excavated and tunneled so as to form churches and various chambers. These caves served as refuges, residences, stores and places of worship. (G. Drucker, pers. obs. 1985). Greme Valley and its surroundings comprise an area of spectacular landscape which has been entirely sculptured by erosion. The sanctuaries cut into the rock provide irreplaceable evidence of Byzantine art from the post-iconoclastic period. Dwellings, troglodyte villages and underground towns date back to the 4th century and represent a traditional human habitat.

Picture3: Greme City Center and Castle of Uhisar including small sized hotels and pensions

In the site, the town of Greme has an open-air museum where many preserved houses and churches can be visited.The area was established as a historical national park in order to protect and develop the national and cultural elements of the area for scientific and aesthetic reasons. Study Findings The Cappodocia Site was chosen as a case study to examine the interrelated issues in heritage marketing and economic and environmental perspectives. In the study, qualitative method was used and focussed on relations between tourism, heritage and local structure of the site. The touristic activities in the site is examined and economically marketting the heritage is defined as a relation between local structures.

Picture4: Greme Hotel and Pensions in Uhisar

Cappodocia Zone is most iconic site which is protected by the Law of Conservation by Turkish Government in a first level priority. Priorities are linked with each other for all of the zone in order to provide interaction between the functions in the site. The first priority is the to protect and to conserve the culture and the environment both. Urban growth is controlled with special 8

planning techniques and prosedures. All urbanization except town centers is forbidden in the site. It is aimed to conserve the natural structure of the site while heritage tourism is encouraged and tourism services are offered in a World Heritage context. The town centers called rgp, Uhisar, Ortahisar, Greme, Avanos and Zelve are the main urban centers for touristic service and activities. The heritage site has its own enthusiasm which is shaped by the characteristics of tufa, nature and history and from the view of tourism, careful management and delivery of the touristic product is needed. The tourism activities observed in the site mainly grouped as two main titles. Night and Daily activities. These activities are contributor of tourism industry, firms and organizations. Tourism service needs, mostly, provided by small sized cave houses and pensions. All of them take place in and near urban centers and they settled near the values of heritage. These services are achieved by local people and market. Revenue is distributed between local firms and small private enterpreneurs. Houses, pensions and small sized hotels can be viewed in the same scene of heritage values. There are three or more big hotels near Nevehir outer border of the site Daily touristic tours in the site provide the interaction of tourists and hotels to the site. Daily activities mainly, consists of visual and physical attraction between tourists and the heritage of the site. Photograph safari, balloon trips, open air museum visits and tracking in the site are the main activities in the title of sightsee and exploration the site.. Economically, wine is the cultural heritage in the site also. Pottery in Avanos (using the mud of Kzlrmak river), Carpet weaving are also the main source of revenue for local people and small sized firms in the region.

Picture5: Hotels from Cappadocia ((Likya Lodge and Dedeman Hotels - Nevehir)

CONCLUSION In this context, Conservation-Tourism-Marketing are can be mentioned as the three component of the commoditization of past. But historical and cultural heritage assets of the nations are noncommodity elements. However heritage values can be easily 9

borrowed, observed by tourists, it can not be purchased exactly. Hence, the tourism policies relevant to the heritage are crucial in order to make the decisions for future and welfare of the heritage. From that point of view, controlling mass tourism and heritage marketing which can cause detriment of authenticity and deterioration of the heritage is definitely priority. Heritage tourism providers have to balance a great amount of factors that might affect the continuity between past and present. We can definitely say that aspects of heritage is profoundly sanitized and commodified in order to evoke ideas about past life, to bring history, and to prompt of memories so that make them appeal to individuals and groups. Increasing tourism revenues and tourist numbers can be seen as assessments of the tourism development policies. But, the real assessment is in terms of broader integrated tourism development policies aiming the benefits of local and host communities or countries and facilitating the participation of local residents besides not stimulating the cultural heritage due to economical gain. One can differentiate the assessment by putting the heritage in heritage lists.

PROTECTION CONSERVATION
HO E US S PE S N N IO S HO E T LS H US S O E PE S N N IO S VIS UALAN D PH IC YS AL IN E ACT N T R IO B T E S E AN E WE N IT D T UR T O IS S HO E US S PE S N N IO S

H R AG E IT E MAR E ING KT

Drawing 2: Conceptual Interaction Urban Centers and The Site

So, the heritage tourism strategies should be planned to the long term concerns of an international majority who regard the past and keep alive the past rather than the temporary interests of an elite minority who consumes what has been presented to them. Unless the first and the primarily goal of the tourism policies are create a surplus, cultural tourism can be both effective on protecting historical and cultural inheritance. We should underscore the point that the heritage tourism policies need not to be short-term, culturally destructive, environmentally unsustainable and in the way of the construction of a simulacrum of the built heritage and a plantation tourism landscape16. Man-made phenomena that were not originally designed to attract visitors, is not a true reflection of the situation or issue being presented. The un-real built heritage is often presented for the historical sites where the tourists come to seek the originality of the place. In addition to this, the simulacrum of the built heritage serves for the short term tourism policies which bring together the biggest and unforeseen risky.
16

D. Weaver, The Evolution of a Plantation Tourism Lnadscape on the Caribbean Island of Antigua, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, No:79, 1988, pp.319.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY BROHMAN, J., New Directions in Tourism for Third World Development, Annuals of Tourism Research, Vol.23, No.1, 1996, pp.48-70. GILMORE, A., CARSON D., ASCENAO, M., (2007), Sustainable Tourism Marketing at a World Heritage site, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol. 15 (May-July 2007), pp.253-264. GUNN, C., with Turgut Var (2002), Tourism Planning, Routledge, London. Http://www.heritageinterpretation.org.uk JENKINS, S., (2003), Englands Thousand Best Houses, Allen Lane. KARMOWSKA, J., (2004), Cultural Heritage as an Element of Marketing Strategy in European Historic Cities, Centre for European Studies, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. LOWENTHAL, D., The Heritage Crusade and Spoils of History, Viking, London, 1996. MIDDLETON, V., (1998), Sustainable Tourism, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. MISIURA, S., Heritage Marketing, Elsevier, London, 2006, pp.181. MORGAN, N., PRITCHARD, A. and PRDE, R., (2003), Destination Branding, Wiley, London. PRENTICE, R., Tourism and Heritage Attractions, Routledge, London, 1993. ROBINS, K., Tradition and Translation, National Culture in its Global Context in Representing the Nation: A Reader, D. Boswell and J. Evans (eds), Routledge, London, 2004, pp.11. SHACKLEY M., (ed.), Visitor Management, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 1988 SMITH, V., EADINGTON, W., (edits), Tourism Alternatives; Potantials and Problems in the Development of Tourism, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1992, pp.9. WEAVER, D., The Evolution of a Plantation Tourism Lnadscape on the Caribbean Island of Antigua, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, No:79, 1988, pp.319. WILKONSON, P., Strategies for Tourism in Island Microstates, Annuals of Tourism Research, Vol.16, 1989, pp.153-177. YALE, P., From Tourist Attractions to Heritage Tourism, ELM Publications, Huntington, 1991, pp.4.

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