This is an applied project where you will research cultural tourism at a popular tourist city. The project will consist of a research proposal (5 points) and a PowerPoint presentation (10 points) plus a four-page paper (20 points). Select a tourist city from the sign-up list or your own, evaluate/examine its global (or regional or national) significance, and identify what you believe to be the major problems and opportunities in cultural tourism development facing that destination in the early 21st Century.
Once you have selected your topic, do the following:
- First, carefully discuss and define the cultural tourism aspects in your selected city
- Discuss the history and significance of the tourist industry in and to the place you have chosen using whatever information is available.
- How significant is cultural tourism to the economy, among other things? Analyze the impacts (both positive and negative) of cultural tourism you have selected through in-person/virtual interviews
- Based on your research, assess the significance and potential for cultural tourism, both globally, and in the area you selected. Include an assessment of what is needed to enhance and facilitate such tourism
- Include figures, maps, and graphs for better visualization of the story, data, and situation that you present in the paper with proper reference. Note that it will carry extra points on how you represent your arguments in a visual format
- A bibliography and in-text citations must be included; APA style format is required.
Please include the following elements in your final paper and presentation:
- What are the unique characteristics of the cultural destination that you selected?
- Briefly describe three popular cultural attractions in the destination and the primary activities of each
- What are the main factors leading to the development of cultural tourism at the destination?
- What are the impacts (both positive and negative) of cultural tourism?
- What difficulties did they confront in developing cultural tourism?
- Did they overcome these difficulties? And how?
- What opportunities do they have in developing cultural tourism?
- How to sustain cultural tourism development? What is needed to enhance and facilitate such tourism?
- How the cultural aspects can be integrated into the development plan in that location?
It is highly recommended to visit the city that you selected and virtual/onsite interview some of the stakeholders in developing cultural tourism, such as policymakers, tourism officials, tourism managers, local residents, and tourists. Phone/email stakeholders are also viable options to collect data.
Your final paper should be at least four text pages in length (excluding tables, maps, title page, and bibliography), double-spaced typewritten (12-point font, word-processed). You should include a minimum of five sources, excluding data sources (you must include your data sources but these do not count toward the five references). Be prepared to create a minimum of 10 slides of PPT presentation and give a (5 minute) in-class oral presentation on your project. The paper must be presented in an academic essay format. There should be a separate final page including the list of references you used. Proofread carefully (you will be marked down for spelling, grammatical errors, etc.). The presentation should be based on the paper, with power point slides, graphs or tables to present details and/or illustrate what is found. The paper and PPT files should be submitted to the dropbox on Elearning by their due date of Apr. 10.
A project research proposal (2 pages briefly introducing the structure and content of the project and research methods) is required to be submitted to the dropbox on Elearning at the beginning of the semester (Due Feb. 23).
Requirement for Research Proposal
a. Select a cultural tourism destination/a city
b. Develop research questions you would like to pursue
c. Identify your approach for collecting and analyzing your data
d. Identify key literature you will review
e. Develop an outline for the final project paper
Please pick a city from the sign-up list (a link will be shared with class) or select your own (make sure you will be able to collect data). Pick early as there will be no duplication.
Examples of tourist attractions in Michigan and nearby states
- Traverse City, Michigan
- Cherry Festival
- Beaches
- Traverse City Film Festival
- Old Mission Peninsula
- Dennos Museum
- Front Street (Main street for shops and restaurants)
- The Village at Grand Traverse Commons (A former asylum converted into a shopping and food center)
- Lansing, Michigan
- Michigan History Center (Lansing, Michigan)
- State Capital
- Silver Lights in the City
- Old Town
- Common Ground Music Festival
- Impressions 5 Children’s Museum
- Pennsylvania
- Hershey Park
- Gettysburg National Military Park
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History
- Eastern State Penitentiary
- The Philadelphia Zoo
- Phipps Conservatory
- Iowa
- Amana Colonies
- Greater Des Moines Botanical Center
- Lost Island Waterpark
- National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium
- Buffalo Bill Museum
- Maquoketa Caves State Park
- The Big House Grotto of the Redemption
- Detroit, Michigan
- Detroit Institute of Art
- Motown Museum
- Detroit Tigers (Comerica Park)
- Detroit Lions (Ford Field)
- Detroit Red Wings & Detroit Pistons (Little Caesars Arena)
- Eastern Market (Large Farmers Market, with restaurants, live music and food stores)
- North American International Auto Show
- Fox Theater (Historic Theater)
- Charles H. Wright Museum of African American Studies
- Ford Piquette Plant (The world’s oldest auto plant, museum)
- Youmacon (Anime Convention typically drawing over 20,000 people)
- Belle Isle (Contains Aquarium, park, and Dosslin Great Lakes Museum)
- DNR Outdoor Adventure Center (Adventure Center that simulates outdoors activities (Snowmobiling, kayaking, camping, etc.))
- Detroit Historical Museum
- Motor City Comin Con
- Illinois
- Lincoln Park
- Anderson Japanese Gardens
- Starved Rock State Park
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
- Magnificent Mile in Chicago
- Wisconsin
- The Field Museum (World famous natural history museum)
- The Harley-Davidson Museum, Milwaukee
- Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds
- The Dells of the Wisconsin River
- Copper Falls State Park
- The House on the Rock
- Hike on Wisconsin’s Wonderful Trails
- Exploring the Land O’ Lakes
- Waterparks, Wisconsin Dells
- Circus World Museum, Baraboo
- Kentucky
- Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory
- Daniel Boone National Forest
- Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
- Mammoth Cave National Park
- The Kentucky Derby Museum
- Lost River Cave
- Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Cleveland Indians (Progressive Field)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse)
- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
- West Side Market
- Cleveland Museum of Natural History
- Cleveland Botanical Gardens
- Columbus, Ohio
- State Capital
- Ohio State University
- Columbus Zoo (World Famous Zoo (formerly ran by Jungle Jack Hanna))
- Red, White and Boom (Fireworks Festival)
- Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) (Nationwide Arena)
- Dairy Store (Beloved Ice Cream store)
- Toledo, Ohio
- Toledo Museum of Art
- Toledo Zoo
- Metroparks Toledo
- Toledo Botanical Garden
- Toledo Firefighters Museum
- National Museum of the Great Lakes
- Imagination Station (formerly Cosi) (Science Museum aimed at children)
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Indianapolis Zoo
- Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Garfield Park Conservatory and Gardens
- Indiana State Museum
- Indy 500 (Most famous NASCAR race in the country)
- Indianapolis Colts (Lucas Oil Stadium)
- Indiana Pacers (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway (World’s largest auto race track)
- The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
- Monument Circle
