Sport NZ Sport and Recreation Knowledge Library: New Zealand-based sport and recreation research

Fantastic mountains on our doorsteps: touristic place promotion and urban identity in Christchurch Research Completed

Title

Fantastic mountains on our doorsteps: touristic place promotion and urban identity in Christchurch

Lead Author

Schollmann, A., Perkins, H., and Moore, K

Organisation(s)

Lincoln University, Otago University

Publication Year

1998

Contacts

Department of Tourism, Otago University: tourism@otago.ac.nz

A thesis by Andrea Schollmann on the subject of place promotion is available in the Lincoln University Research Archive: http://hdl.handle.net/10182/2386

Abstract

Place promotional theory is often concerned with the nature of the post-industrial city and the making of heritage products from industrial remnants. The debate emphasises the sameness of ‘heritage’ from city to city, based on the commodification of a constructed past for the purpose~ of touristic consumption. In this paper, we argue that Christchurch heritage promotion has unique characteristics that distinguish it from the heritage promotion discussed in the literature. In the New Zealand context, it is inappropriate to interpret place promotion, and in particular city promotion, using only cultural categories reflecting the British or North American experience. An investigation of the promotion of heritage in the urban context of Christchurch identifies unique features, based on two important differences: First, the forms of urban settlement in postcolonial societies such as New Zealand are different from those described in the ‘post- industrial’ city contexts of Europe and North America. Second, urban identity in New Zealand is more difficult to negotiate in the context of national place promotion that has historically relied on natural imagery and that continues to appropriate natural rather than built environments.

Keywords:

Promotion, Tourism, New Zealand, Christchurch, Mountains, Parks, Place promotion, Heritage

How to access

Advances in Research - Proceedings of the 3rd New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference

Areas of Focus

Settings (location)

Provision (delivery type & infrastructure)

Mountains, National Parks