Practicing responsible heritage tourism in Malaysia and China

Tourism generally means activities that bring people to a destination that attracts their interest such as the natural scenic view, food and culture. These ‘tourists’ mostly travel for the purpose of leisure. In heritage tourism, tourists travel to places that offer a different type of cultural experience encompassing different types of food, arts, music, festivals and historical sites. Often times, the terms ‘heritage tourism’ and ‘cultural tourism’ are used interchangeably.

Is culture and heritage the same? Culture is a part of heritage. Culture is the way of life of a group of people or a community who shares the same ancestry, migratory background, dialect or language and beliefs. On the one hand, when communicating with the ancestors or gods, symbols are used and rituals are performed. These are called cultural elements. Besides, when songs are sung accompanied by musical notes to appease the gods or spirits, these symbolic representations are also called cultural elements. On the other hand, when these cultural elements are transmitted to the following generations, these are referred to as cultural heritage or just heritage.