Tourism and cultural revitalisation: local perspectives

Many tourism studies have highlighted the issue of cultural revitalisation and/ or how it should take place without considering the opinion of local people, especially in the developing world. This paper, which is based on a study undertaken in Benin, Nigeria, explores the views that the local people hold of cultural revitalisation through tourism. This qualitative research employed a semi-structured interviewing method in collecting data from community members, heritage managers, and local government employees. The analysis of the interview material highlighted three key ways in which participants viewed cultural revitalisation: cultural revitalisation as a means of rediscovery, cultural revitalisation as a means of imparting fresh life into cultural heritage, and cultural revitalisation as a possible means of takeover by outsiders. The findings of the study suggest the importance both of considering local people's views during tourism development and gaining a nuanced conceptualisation of cultural revitalisation in research.