PhD Study : Cultural heritage tourism in difficult environments: the primacy of World Heritage Sites

Summary

Cultural heritage is often the foundation against which any tourism development in destination regions occurs; it is also one of the dominant reasons which drives international travel and tourism.  It is what makes destinations unique and provides the USP against which they are marketed and maintain a competitive advantage.  Cultural heritage exists regardless of context, and where the environment is labelled as difficult and challenging it is often the principal factor that encourages tourism planning and development to take place.  As such this project aims to examine the role that cultural heritage plays in tourism development.

Scholarly attention within tourism academe on the above has focused on understanding how the industry responds to unexpected events; often human-induced in character.  Unexpected events has led some scholars to envisage a new relationship between chaos and unpredictability (Faulkner, 2001; Ritchie, 2004).  Planning and subsequent development in this context requires that both shocks (rapid-onset events) and stressors (slow-onset events) are understood (Sharpley, 2005).  Vulnerability from a tourism perspective is a measure of the extent to which it is affected, disrupted or displaced as a consequence of both shocks and stressors.  To this end, considerable attention in the scholarly literature has been given over to understanding of what is meant by crisis, destination vulnerability and resilience planning.

Cultural heritage exists at many different levels; the highest level is that of being considered to have ‘universal value’; unique in the world and which is often accorded through UNESCO to be given World Heritage Status.  Sites that have gained this status have high tourism value and many destination regions position them as integral to their Unique Selling Point (USP).  For regions that have faced a turbulent past or are emerging from one, the ability to showcase cultural heritage of that scale is critical in the development of a tourism industry, or in the recovery of an existing tourism industry.

This project looks at destinations that have had a turbulent past, or have faced a short period of unrest and stress, where the tourism industry has had to develop resilience strategies to survive and where the development and showcasing of their cultrual heritage; often labelled as ‘universal’ has been critical to that recovery.  Destinations of note include regions that have faced political instability (short and long-term).  In particular, focus is given over to gaining a better understanding of resilience in the context of both the tourism industry and the communities in destinations, as well as exploring the relationship between sustainability and resilience, where the latter is dependent on the maintenance of a cultural heritage that has local to global tourism appeal.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

• Sound understanding of subject area as evidenced by a comprehensive research proposal
• A comprehensive and articulate personal statement

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

• Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
• Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
• Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living