Creative tourism and creative spectacles in China

Abstract

The topic of creative tourism has gained a growing amount of attention from scholars in recent years. However, although the importance of festivals and events in such tourism has been acknowledged, the nature of and role of such “creative spectacles” in creative tourism has not been adequately addressed. This paper aims to address this research gap. To do so, this paper will begin by introducing a suitable definition of creative spectacles based on earlier references to it in Richards and Wilson’s (2006) formative paper on creative tourism as well as based on explanations of creative tourism that have been given since. To shed light on the practical nexus between creative tourism and creative spectacles, this paper will subsequently provide a survey of and concrete examples of creative tourism experiences as they relate to various festivals and events in China’s UNESCO-designated creative cities through travel blog analysis. Our paper will conclude with recommendations for tourism planners as well as suggested areas for future research.