Commerce | Tourism » Prof. dr. Vladimiras Grazulis - Cultural Tourism, The Phenomenon of Nations Approach, What Makes Lithuania Interesting for Europeans

Source: http://www.doksinet Cultural Tourism - the Phenomenon of Nations Approach. What Makes Lithuania Interesting for Europeans? Prof. dr Vladimiras Grazulis E-mail: vladimirasg@takas.lt ; tel:+370 699 27652 Master Jelena Ostik E-mail: jelena.ostik@gmailcom ; tel: +370 673 96673 Mykolas Romeris University Faculty of Politics and Management Ateities str. 20, LT-08303 Vilnius, Lithuania Abstract The article discusses the scientific problematics of cultural tourism, presents an overview of cultural tourism resources of Lithuania and the tangible and intangible cultural heritage that is most attractive to foreign tourists. In 2009 Lithuanian capital Vilnius was granted the European Capital of Culture, so the article briefly discusses the links between the events that were held with the international tourism development. According to the Spanish tourists‘ empirical research opinion, the analysis of cultural tourism in Lithuania was conducted. It has revealed that the tourists are

interested in the visited sites and objects of cultural tourism but because of lack of the offered services not all the tourists were satisfied with their trips. In order to increase its competitive opportunities Lithuania needs to improve the legal framework and develop a list of visited sites. Key words: cultural tourism, cultural heritage, cultural tourism development. Introduction Scientific problematics of the article, novelty and relevance. Lithuania in the context of international tourism is a quite new member and for most foreign visitors it is little-known yet. Such situation was determined by a complicated history, the main trouble was that since the WW II Lithuania was occupied by a foreign state and its name as an independent state disappeared from the world map. It had difficult consequences that still can be felt because till today, in some European countries (as Italy, Spain, France and others) a considerable number of people don‘t know very well where Lithuania is.

The development of international tourism became a very recent topic for Lithuania after its accession to the European Union when without any formal restrictions the influx of foreign tourists that wanted to discover a little-known country started. However this foreign tourists‘ influx reached Lithuania when it was not prepared sufficiently to receive a large number of tourists. As a consequence many foreign visitors are disappointed in a poorly developed public tourism infrastructure. (2007-2010 NTDP, the feasibility study) Unfortunately, many factors impede the development of tourism in our country: the lack of comprehensive tourist information, entertainment, as well as the unmet accommodation, food services, and others. (2007-2010 NTDP, the feasibility study), which poses many problems in our countrys image building. Although some studies are being prepared but they are mostly intended for a general situation in the context of European tourism (for example, M. Lehtimäki

"Cultural Heritage and Tourism" in 2009, “Tourism in the New Europe: The Challenges and Opportunities of EU Enlargement”, composed by D. Hall, M Smith, et al 2006, etc) Such findings let us make the conclusion that the unified and systematic approach to international tourism development processes in Lithuania has not been formed yet. There is still a lack of information about what Lithuanian tourism products attract mostly foreign visitors, what are the main objectives of their trips to Lithuania. According to the data of the statistical agency Eurostat, before the economical crisis the influx of foreign tourists grew up every year, the number of interested in Lithuania (from 2004 till 2007 grew up by 52, 09 %, http://www.tourismlt/turizmo statistika/apzvalgosphp), that is why today the cultural tourism in Lithuania is considered as the dominant type of tourism. The changing Source: http://www.doksinet situation in Lithuanian tourism market, in our opinion, encourages

examining the state of tourism and doing its market research. The first scientific publication on the subject is the Baltic States‘ Cultural Tourism Document released by Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian UNESCO commissions in 2003. Here presented the most important Lithuanian cultural tourism objects, an overview of their status, as well as the main problem which at that time inhibited the development of cultural tourism. Most of the problems set out in the document have already been resolved or are being resolved (there are more tourist terms, there is more information about cultural tourism sites in Lithuania in foreign languages, the service quality is also improving, etc.) But at the same time there is still a lack of scientific works that could represent the state of cultural tourism in Lithuania. So in this article, according to the results of the empiric research where the Spanish tourists took place, there is focused on the problems that are characteristic of a current

Lithuania. Looking back in a retrospect way at the history of Spain and Lithuania, it can be said that for many centuries different historical and cultural heritage of each country formed a distinctive and unique heritage. The Spanish culture is mainly linked to the southern neighbors‘- the Arab invasion and their dominance in Spain, even till the Middle Ages Lithuania, by contrast, was influenced more by its eastern neighbors and Poland. The object of investigation - the Spanish tourist interest in the Lithuanian cultural heritage and their opinion about the current state of cultural tourism. The goal of research - to identify and evaluate the Spanish tourists’ trips to Lithuania basic needs and discuss the perspectives of cultural tourism segment development. The tasks were: 1. To determine what tourist objects and cultural events in Lithuania are the most attractive for Spanish tourists. 2. To discuss the factors affecting the opinion of foreigners about Lithuania 3. To find out

the factors those impede the development of cultural tourism in Lithuania 4. To find out the possibilities for cultural tourism development and provide suggestions for improving the performance of this segment. The methods of research: approaches to cultural tourism discussed in a scientific literature, the legal framework‘s critical analysis, the respondents qualitative and quantitative analysis and discussion of results. The cultural tourism development opportunities in Lithuania: from historical background to todays current affairs Currently in Lithuania as in other countries the cultural tourism is developing mostly, that is why in a growing competitive environment the systematical approach to the country’s cultural heritage relation with tourism development becomes one of competitive advantages 1. 1 The word ‘‘culture“ comes from the Latin word “cultura“ which at that time explained the worship or religious procedures. Later the word was transformed into the concept

of the acquired knowledge that people use interpretating their experience and generating their social behavior (Baltic Cultural Tourism Policy Paper, 2003, p. 14). The acquired knowledge creates values, the relationship between people and influences their behavior The culture can now be seen as a set of different mental, physical, emotional and intellectual community or its part features, as well as art, literature, lifestyle, living along the way, the system of values, traditions and beliefs. Source: http://www.doksinet The cultural heritage became of a great interest after archaeological discoveries in Egypt, Greece and others at the beginning of the nineteenth century. These discoveries became the basis for the cultural heritage being examined as a new phenomenon, that later became the main object of travels. The cultural peculiarity of separate countries encouraged the representatives of one culture to be interested in alien cultures. The countrys cultural heritage borns

together with a state, so the culture that gives birth to tourism always interacts with it. Thus, the tourism encourages to promote the ancient culture, develop it and preserve for future generations. In literature studies the concept of cultural tourism in general is interpreted as a trip the goal of which is to get acquainted with the cultural environment that joins the landscape, visual and performing arts, local lifestyles, values, traditions, knowledge, participation in events related to the creative process and development of intercultural exchanges (Baltic Cultural Tourism Policy Paper, 2003, p. 14) Cultural heritage and cultural tourism relation by a large number of scientists is interpreted differently, so it causes a considerable confusion. Some authors (Zeppelin, Hall, Sharpley et al.) tend to talk about cultural tourism adding to that concept also heritage tourism as its key segment (“Staged Authentity and Heritage Tourism”, 2003). Lately, however, these two concepts

started to distinguish and now they are used separately (International Cultural Tourism (International Cultural Tourism, 2006), and Shashi Misiura Heritage Marketing, 2006). Cultural tourism is linked to cultural activities: acquaintance with different types of events, concerts, museums, various forms of art and others. The proponents of cultural tourism interpret it as satisfying human cultural needs <.> (Sigal, Leslie, 2006, p 6-7), that is why it is associated with various events, concerts, museums, different art forms and others. The heritage tourism proponents (Zeppelin, Hall and Sharpley, Ashworth, Goodall and others.) highlight that the main function of this kind of tourism is return to the past, so this tourism is associated with nostalgia and a willingness to try and find new forms of cultural landscapes. In general the heritage tourism is associated with what is passed on from generation to generation: the traditions, natural landscapes, buildings, artifacts, cultural

traditions and others. (The same source, p 7-8) The presented review of the concepts interpretation associated with tourism doesn‘t constitute good reason to use cultural and heritage tourism terms in a separate way. We believe that the heritage is a key attribute of cultural tourism. Lithuanian cultural heritage consists of what was formed on the crossroad of different cultures. Difficult and contradictory Lithuanian history created a unique culture that was influenced by German, Polish, Russian and another nations‘ culture. So the source of differences and commonalities is hidden in the history. The last century’s Lithuanian occupation and another influence of foreign countries left some traces in a cultural life of the country. Because of these circumstances, the Lithuanian cultural heritage preserved till our days thanks to the village that was less influenced by foreign cultures. Lithuanian village has always been a source of Lithuanian nation community, ethnicity, cultural

vitality and authenticity (A Sidlauskas "Reflections of culture" (culture http://www.bernardinailt/straipsnis/2005-09-08-aleksandrassidlauskas-pamastymai-apie / 10858) Today‘s Lithuanian rural cultural environment is much more different from the urban cultural environment. Thus, the examination of the village‘s role is necessary because it contains authentic ancient tradition alive (Festivals: Mardi Gras, St. John Day, etc., crafts, folklore etc) For these reasons, Lithuania becomes an interesting destination for foreign tourists, including Spaniards, who have so far attributed to a new contingent of tourists in our country. In the register of Lithuanian cultural values 25,000 objects of cultural heritage are registred, between them more than 7000 are protected by the state. For the development of cultural tourism Source: http://www.doksinet the ancient palaces, defensive heritage objects, churches and monasteries, castles and manor houses, historical parks,

ethnographic villages and industrial heritage are important. Foreign tourists are mostly interested of course in the UNESCO World Heritage List included tangible and intangible heritage objects (Table 1). Table 1 Objects of Lithuanian heritage recognized by UNESCO Vilnius Old Town (1994) Archeological site of Kernave (2004) Tangible objects Struve Geodetic Arc (2005) Curonian Spit (2000) Cross craft and symbols of the cross (2001) Intangible objects Traditions of the song festivals and its symbols (2003) Source: prepared by the authors of this article according to the data of the National Comission of the UNESCO (http://portal.unescoorg/culture/en/files/23640/11033006043bct short1pdf/bct short1pdf) The sacred heritage also makes a contribution to the development of cultural tourism in Lithuania (http://www3.lrslt/pls/inter3/dokpaieskashowdoc l?p id=325084&p query=&p tr2 =). The rich sacred heritage of Lithuania, the abundance of museums 2, ancient crafts and festivals help to

reveal the uniqueness of Lithuania, the Lithuanian cultural identity, and as a result the curiosity and interest of other cultures grows, so this should be incorporated into the development of cultural tourism and travel programs. It appears that the Lithuanian cultural heritage is diverse, with Christian and European culture influence. The Christian culture is a culture that was born in a rural environment. The European culture is more considered as a urban culture, it is an open culture, because it is influenced a lot by other nations’ and races‘ culture. Thus, the Christian culture can be considered as an authentic Lithuanian culture that reveals its true features. Currently, foreign tourists in Lithuania are acquainted mainly with urban culture (for example, the ethnographic open air museum in Rumsiskes is rarely included in the tourist route programs), so the acquaintance with Lithuanian culture seems to be quite superficial. Meanwhile, as it is highlighted by many authors,

the identity is an important cultural (heritage) tourism attribute (Chabros D., Healy et al 2003, p 703) Lithuania is rich in cultural resources which are less used or not used at all. For example, such ancient rural tradition of mushroom picking, berry picking, traditional fishing, beekeeping, farrier might be involved in rural tourism programs. Moreover, the unique culinary and ethnographic Lithuanian heritage can be also distinguished because in every region it is different (Lehtimäki, 2009, p. 11) For the development of cultural tourism in the rural environment the more frequent cultural events should be revived, in this way there would appear more possibilities to know better each region of Lithuania and typical festivals traditions (2007-2010 feasibility study on the NTDP). Lithuanian cultural resources for their uniqueness (especially when compared with southern European countries) can be presented as the country’s competitive opportunities, so in order to revitalize and

develop better the cultural tourism, the village historic importance in the cultural 2 In the country there are also three national museums, 15 Republican museums and three district museums, 63 municipal museums (Regional and Memorial), 18 departmental museums and seven Non-state museums (20072013 NTDP). Source: http://www.doksinet heritage of the country should be given back to it, more attention should be paid on tangible and intangible heritage. The development of tourism in each country is affected by the existing legal framework, so it is necessary to discuss about the current situation in Lithuania. In 2003 The Baltic Commission for the UNESCO in its cultural heritage tourism states analysis noted that in Lithuania the international tourism development is hampered by an inefficient regulation of legal system. One of the key problems is lack of terms defining the types of tourism (Baltic Cultural Tourism Policy Paper, 2003). Unfortunately, until now the Lithuanian Tourism Law

doesn‘t have any definition of the term ”cultural tourism“, that is why many legal acts interpret and use this term in their own way (for example, the NTDP, Lithuanian Law on Tourism, Law on Protected Areas of the Republic of Lithuania, etc.), which is characterized as one of the key problem in the development of tourism in Lithuania. Another major problem is a deficit of a close cooperation between the public and the private sector. The poor co-operation between the two sectors is observed trying to protect the cultural values. The public sector does not allocate enough of funds and doesn‘t pay much attention on their protection, moreover, it does not prepare the necessary legislation (2007-2010 NTDP feasibility study), and the private sector, using the loopholes in the legislation, often seeks to profit by converting the cultural heritage objects in a money factory (Baltic Cultural Tourism Policy Paper, p. 60) It is assumed that public authorities should encourage more the

private sector to understand their mission in the social aspect focusing more on the continuing benefit for the future generations. Methodology of research The survey used an anonymous questionnaire and a depth interview with the Spanish tourist groups (over 150 people participated). The choice of the respondents target group depended on the fact that Spain, according to the statistics, belongs to those countries which tourists do not visit Lithuania very frequently (http://www.tourismlt/turizmo statistika/aisphp) Thus, such a type of research can help to determine what Spanish tourists expect in their trips to Lithuania and what should be modified in the cultural tour programs in order to attract more tourists from the southern countries. Although the respondents’ opinion does not reflect the general opinion of all the Spanish tourists that visit Lithuania, but the data obtained during the investigation is important in a qualitative sense because it represents some trends in this

tourism segment and helps to evaluate more objectively the current state of cultural tourism in Lithuania. The investigation realized by the authors of this article lets make the conclusion that the representatives of other cultures can evaluate the cultural heritage of Lithuania in quite a trustworthy way, the Spanish opinion may be important trying to engage these tourists and other from southern countries thereby increasing the flow of foreign visitors from further countries. Spanish tourists‘trips to Lithuania evaluation According to the data of authors study, more than half (53 percent) of Spanish travelers to Lithuania are 55 years old or more. Older tourists because of the sense of security and some other factors in most cases prefer group travels. The second group in frequency of trips consists of people aged from 25 to 35 years old. It should be noted that younger than 35 years old tourists often want to travel individually. Almost all the age groups are dominated by women

In each trip the number of women exceeded the number of men by 30 percent. The motives that encouraged the Spanish tourists to travel to Lithuania are represented in (P. 1) Source: http://www.doksinet 1 picture Spanish tourists‘ trips to Lithuania motives (in percents) As it can be noticed, several motives are important for foreign tourists. More than 2/3 of respondents (even 78 percent) as the main motive of their trip to Lithuania indicated the desire to get acquainted with a little-known heritage of a small nation and people. Another motive was also to know the nature (57 percents of respondents). Almost the same percent of respondents (54 percent) as their main motive of trip indicated the visit to the former Soviet Republic, the desire to see what peculiarities it has. 42 percents of all the participants of this research responded that their trip was more motivated by a desire to get acquainted with a typical architecture of Lithuanian towns and villages. Although Vilnius was

the first city of Eastern Europe that was granted the European Capital of 2009, only 3 percents of all the respondents came to Lithuania because of the cultural events of the program ”Vilnius the capital of culture 2009“ 3. The respondents highlighted that the organizers of the program did not put enough 3 The 2009 was very important to Lithuania also because of the milennium of Lithuania, that is why the status of the European Capital of Culture also obtained a special significance. During the “Vilnius - European Capital of Culture 2009“ program more than 1,500 cultural and artistic events took place, they were visited by over half a million residents of Vilnius and foreign visitors from Germany, Russia, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Japan, USA, UK and others. For the implementation of the program 10 million euro were absorbed, the money was provided by the Ministry of Culture, Vilnius City

Municipality and the European Commission. In the program a lot of attention was paid to the Lithuanian cultural heritage events‘ presentation, among them there should be mentioned the Bartholomew Fair that revitalized the ancient craft traditions, "Baroque Dialogues" the arts program that interpreted the European Baroque‘s art heritage, International Folklore Festival "Sound sound kankliai“. Evident traces in the citys cultural life left the "Art in Unusual Places", "LUX Festival of Lights," Kaddish (Requiem) for Holocaust victims show, "Street Music Day," "Let There Be Night!" programs. The latter two projects of the program, that had their debut in 2007, reached a climax in 2009 attracting crowds of spectators and became an integral part of the capitals cultural life tradition the continuity of which is also expected later. Some moments of the street music and „Sound sound kankliai“ festivals In the program

"Vilnius - European Capital of Culture 2009" more than 400 foreign media representatives from Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Ireland, Great Britain, Portugal, USA and other countries were introduced. Such an Source: http://www.doksinet efforts in order to present properly some concrete events of the program outside Lithuania. It is clear that organizing such events a formal advertisement is not enough, it is necessary to look for another, more effective measures, for example, many tourists noticed a lack of information about cultural events in Spanish language. Some tourists had another motives, for example, sex tourism, shopping etc. Only 1 percent of all the respondents visited Lithuania when it was a part of Soviet Union, that’s why their trip was motivated by a desire to come back and see what has changed since then in economical, political and cultural life of Lithuania. As it can be seen Lithuania is not a well-known site for Spanish tourists yet, so it attracts

them more as some exotics. But strategically such a reason, most probably, can not be a permanent attraction for tourists, that is just a temporal state. Other important motives of Spaniards are: Soviet heritage and nature that is different of Spanish landscape. So in order to attract more Spanish and foreign tourists to Lithuania it is necessary to prepare events and projects linked to the historical heritage, adding to them some objects from the soviet period and nature. In the 2nd picture it is designated what cultural tourism sites are the most attractive for Spanish tourists. As it can be seen, Spanish tourists like mostly the National and Historical Park of Trakai, first of all the Trakai castle (91 percent), another most attractive objects to them are the Curonian Spit and the old town of Vilnius. Because of its difference with Spanish nature, every fourth Spanish tourist is impressed by Lithuanian nature, the abundance of forests and lakes. Moreover, as a presumption to

preserve Lithuanian nature, the tourists designate the importance of nature and urbanization processes‘ compatibility. 2 picture The most attractive for Spanish tourists cultural tourism sites in Lithuania exclusive Vilnius has received since its independence. Realizing the program "Vilnius - European Capital of Culture 2009", certain difficulties appeared. It was supposed that Vilnius that year could get much more foreign visitors if the funds for the implementation of the program were more focused on marketing. Source: http://www.doksinet During the research it was also focused on what cultural objects and events are mostly preferred by Spanish visitors (2 table). The research helped to determine that all the objects and events offered by travel agents seem to be interesting for Spanish tourists. Table 2 Lithuanian cultural objects and events mostly appreciated by Spanish tourists Cultural objects Amber Gallery in Vilnius Amber Museum and Botanical Garden in Palanga

KGB museum Hill of Crosses Hill of Witches in Juodkrante Cultural events Sea Festival in Klaipeda Unfortunately, it is necessary to note that the travel agents very rarely offer to foreign tourists to visit other cultural tourism objects. Without any doubt such cultural heritage sites‘, as an architectural ensemble of Vilnius University, Pazaislis Monastery, cultural reserve of Kernave, ethnographic open-air museum of Rumsiskes, Grutas Park of Soviet-era statues and more, implementation into the programs of the active tourist facilities would certainly enhance Lithuania‘s, as a tourist destination, attraction. It is likely that for the same purpose the acquaintance with the Lithuanian countryside‘s typical culinary and ethnographic heritage, traditional crafts and popular Lithuanian ethnic festivals can successfully serve. As a result, many foreign tourists coming to Lithuania in groups are deprived of opportunities to know another Lithuanian historical and cultural heritage,

thus reducing the countrys competitive opportunities in the tourism market. It must be acknowledged that this situation can be explained in a number of reasons, among them poorly market research executed by travel agents. In order to determine reserves for the development of cultural tourism in Lithuania the Spanish tourist opinion about the quality of services was examined, according to such criteria as service quality and price ratio, the availability and adequacy of information, accommodation, meals, etc. 3 picture.) 3 picture Spanish tourists‘ service quality assessment in Lithuania (percent) The quality of provided services in many cases is evaluated highly enough, for example, guides‘work, accommodation facility services, access to information in visited sites, service quality and price the 70 to 80 percent of respondents rated as excellent and good. However, Source: http://www.doksinet among the services provided to tourists there are also some poorly evaluated, in

particular it is referred to the catering services that have to satisfy different groups‘ needs (food is not very diverse, it is quite poor) and leisure opportunities. Every tenth respondent is dissatisfied with transport services, according to them, the vehicles that are often used are old and therefore not very comfortable, and every eighth Spanish tourist missed information about services in his native language. Frequent respondent notes that the tours offered by travel agencies are too elongated and not informative enough, the visit to a museum or a similar place is rarely provided. Conclusions Research of Spanish tourists’ trips to Lithuania lets us make the conclusion that Lithuania is mostly visited by older than 55 years old people. The main motive of their trips is to see and know a little-known culture in the world; moreover, Lithuania is interesting for them as a former republic of the Soviet Union. They are also admired by Lithuanian nature Tourists visiting Lithuania

most often participate in sightseeing tours where they get acquainted with some cultural tourism sites (Vilnius Old Town, Trakai NIP, Curonian Spit) and some objects that are located there. But tourists from Spain are not acquainted with other valuable cultural tourism objects (for example, the monastery of Pazaislis, Kernave cultural reservation, Ethnographical Museum of Rumsiskes, Grūtas Park et al.), also with Lithuanian rural culinary and ethnographic heritage, traditional crafts and popular festivals. As a result, tourists coming in organized trips do not get acquainted sufficiently with other Lithuanian historical and cultural heritage, which reduces the countrys competitive opportunities in the tourism market. Although the majority of Spanish tourists that participated in the research agree that the quality of services (catering services, accommodation, guide services) is quite high, it was determined that there are also some disadvantages, for example, not very appropriate

food, old vehicles, lack of leisure opportunities etc. The majority of Spanish tourists are in agreement that Lithuania can be proud of its peculiar cultural heritage which attracts foreign tourists and makes them visit the country, but in order to increase their number a new approach to Lithuanian competitive opportunities in tourism market is needed. The main obstacles to that is poorly developed legal framework (for example, in Lithuanian Tourism Law there is no definition on the term ”cultural tourism“), moreover, there is the insufficient cooperation between public administration institutions and private tourism sector. Suggestions Focusing on the importance of international tourism development, forming Lithuanian competitive opportunities and trying to increase the foreign tourists‘ trips number to Lithuania it is suggested: 1. Public institutions have to do consistently the monitoring of country’s competitive opportunities in tourism market, improve the legal framework

in time, form a flexible this economy segment development and tax politics. 2. Travel agents should react in time on always changing circumstances, focus more on renewing travel programs adding to them new travel routes with other important objects and cultural events: ancient castles, thematic museums, churches and monasteries, palaces, ethnographic villages with folkloric festivals. For Spanish tourists it is necessary to give more tourist information about Lithuania in Spanish language in such a way demonstrating the exclusiveness of Lithuania. In order to determine the main motive of foreign tourists‘ trips to Lithuania and the travel agents in such a way could specify cultural tourism programs the five steps model offered by the authors could help: Source: http://www.doksinet 1 step Be interested in a foreign country, be focused on which sex and age groups tourists use to travel more 2 step According to the historical context determine the cultural differences between

Lithuania and a foreign country from which the tourists come 3 step 4 step 5step Determine the natural differences and similarities of Lithuania and a foreign country Find out the tourist cultural expectations and other priorities (food, leisure etc) Prepare specialized touristic routes programs adopting them according to the tourists‘ country of origin, their contingent and expectations Source: http://www.doksinet Literature 1. Statistics of Accomodation, [revised 2010-05-12]. http://www.tourismlt/turizmo statistika/aisphp 2. Baltic Cultural Tourism Policy Paper, [revised 2010-05-13]. http://portal.unescoorg/culture/en/files/23640/11033006043bct short1pdf/bct short1pdf 3. Chabra D, Healy R et al Staged Authentity and Heritage Tourism – Oxford: Elsevier – 2003 – 703 p. ISBN 978-0-75056-3481 4. EUROSTAT statistics, [revised 2010-05-11]. http://epp.eurostateceuropaeu/cache/ITY OFFPUB/KS-QA-09-042/EN/KS-QA-09-042-ENPDF 5. Grigas R. Modern Village and Culture, [revised

2010-05-03]. http://www.lkdtclt/ download/kulak/1999/994/21pdf 6. Gudavičius E Mindaugas / Lietuvos istorijos institutas – Vilnius: Žara, 1998 359 p 7. List of Lithuanian UNESCO objects, [revised 2010-04-24]. http://whc.unescoorg/en/statesparties/lt 8. Lithuanian Tourism Statistics, [revised 2010-05-13]. http://www.tourismlt/turizmo statistika/apzvalgosphp 9. Lehtimaki M Cultural Tourism and Heritage: Opportunities, Impact, Cooperation and Administration. – 2009 – 151 p 10. Misiura S Heritage Marketing – Oxford : Elsevier – 2006 – 280 p ISBN 978-0-75066-3182 11. 2007-13 National Tourism Development Program, [revised 2010-05-01]. http://www3.lrslt/pls/inter3/dokpaieskashowdoc l?p id=325084&p query=&p tr2= 12. National Tourism Development Program‘s of 2007-2010 Feasibility Study, [revised 2010-0513] http://wwwtourismlt/informacija/ntp programaphp 13. Amendments to the IVA, [revised 2010-05-02]. http://www.eltalt/zinute prphp?inf id=1190223 14. Sigala M, Leslie D

International Cultural Tourism: Management, Implications and Cases (second edition). – Oxford: Elsevier, 2006 – 244 p ISBN 88-7754-549-6 15. A short review of Lithuanian Statistics [revised 2010-05-11]. http://www.tourismlt/turizmo statistika/apzvalgosphp 16. Šidlauskas A. Reflections about the Culture, [revised 2010-05-11]. http://www.bernardinailt/straipsnis/2005-09-08-aleksandras-sidlauskas-pamastymai-apiekultura/10858 17. Hotel industry was pressed by a few problems, [revised 2010-05-02] http://www.marketnewslt/naujiena/viesbuciu versla prispaude is karto kelios problemos 2010-05-02 18. European Capital‘s of Culture events expanded the landscape of Vilnius http://www.eurepmfalt/indexphp?237156950 Vladimiras Gražulis, Jelena Ostik Source: http://www.doksinet Cultural Tourism - the Phenomenon of Nations Approach. What Makes Lithuania Interesting for Europeans? Summary The article discusses the importance of tourism as the possibility to get to know other nations. The

authors suppose that the cultural dimension of tourism has always been the main object of travels and also the goal of the tourism. The culture and tourism regularly interact It was noticed that in the middle of the XX-th century, as the tourist flows increased and the tourism became massive, the awareness of each nation’s true identity (of language, customs, art, architecture etc.) was considered as a key factor in the development of the cultural tourism. As a fact, the tourism encourages countries to take care and cherish the old culture, develop it and protect for the future generations. Lithuanian cultural heritage was created during many centuries by interaction of different cultures. Difficult and sometimes contradictory Lithuanian history formed a distinctive culture that was influenced by the German, Polish, Russian and another nations’ cultural heritage. The particular object of interest in Lithuania is the Soviet occupation period heritage. Today this period, because of

sad traces left in Lithuanian culture and history, became a serious artifact that encourages the foreign tourists to be interested in Lithuania. International tourism as an economic activity gained more significance after Lithuanias accession to the European Union in 2004. The increasing influx of foreign tourists’ witnesses that Lithuania has the potential, so even greater efforts needs to be made to develop tourism. The significant stage of tourism development in Lithuania was in 2009 when the city of Vilnius took over the title of the European Capital of Culture. This project used the unique historical and geographical context: the cultural capital program, besides Vilnius, took place in all historic Lithuanian capital cities - Kernavė, Trakai and Kaunas. The article deals with Lithuanian institutions experience and also with apparent deficiencies in organizing various cultural events. The authors present the "Vilnius - European Capital of Culture 2009" program

evaluations according to the tourism development aspect. These days Lithuanian rural cultural environment is much different from the urban cultural environment. Thus, examining the situation of tourism in Lithuania, it is necessary to assess the role of the village, because it saved the ancient traditions and customs (traditional festivals - Mardi Gras, St. Johns Feast Day and others, also ancient crafts, folklore, etc) Last century and new era cultural heritage attract tourists to Lithuania not only from neighboring countries, but it also becomes the object of interest from other European countries, Spain could be mentioned among them. The authors while studying the Spanish tourists’ trips to Lithuania in 2009, found out that the most often reason for visiting Lithuania are: Lithuania is still little known in the world, although it has the unique culture; tourists’ desire to see the differences between the current independent state and the former Soviet Union republic, and

finally, a desire to see the differences between the architecture and culture of Lithuanian towns and villages. Many Spanish tourists are surprised by Lithuanian urban cleanliness and a unique aura. At the same time, according to the Spanish tourists, in Lithuania there is still under-developed leisure service, service and catering sector must also be improved. The empirical study conducted by authors helps to understand better the importance of the Lithuanian national culture at a state level, develop tourism policies in a right way and enhance its competitiveness. The authors preparing the article extensively used the most recent literature Object of the article: the Spanish tourists’ interest in the Lithuanian cultural heritage and their opinion about the current state of cultural tourism. Source: http://www.doksinet Purpose of the article: to identify and evaluate the Spanish tourists trips‘ to Lithuania basic needs and to discuss the perspectives of cultural tourism segment

development. The research methods used in the article: approaches to cultural tourism discussed in a scientific literature, the legal framework‘s critical analysis, the respondents qualitative and quantitative analysis and discussion of results. Key words: cultural tourism, cultural heritage, cultural tourism development