OECD Culture and Local Development.pdf - PACA

2. LOCAL DEVELOPMENT BASED ON ATTRACTING VISITORS AND TOURISTS
This study also produced two other important results:
• The presence of several cultural institutions in the same place creates synergy,
and this yields greater economic returns for a major city than for a smaller
locality. Audience and visitor surveys showed that the majority came for one
activity but then went on to other activities, prolonging their stay and increasing
their expenditure.
• The economic impact was greater when a cultural institution spent more on wages
for local residents, and when it attracted foreign visitors, thereby bringing in
significant foreign exchange. This points again into a previous conclusion: the
more densely populated a territory is and the greater its supply of skills, the
more chance there will be to employ local resources, and the greater will be
the local spin-offs.
Methodological issues
Examining the local spin-offs of an event or a monument has become the cornerstone
of efforts to demonstrate the links between culture and local development. These analyses
are typically presented to governments to encourage them to invest in this field when
the traditional underpinnings of the activity have disappeared. Two concepts have been
used to popularise this approach, without necessarily strengthening its credibility. The
notion of the multiplier has achieved almost mythical significance 66 , and multipliers
of 7 or 8 have been reported to the local authorities, only to admit later that they should
be close to nil 67 . It is very tempting to show that the tourist, by simply appearing, can
generate a chain of value and create jobs, but such hasty reasoning overlooks the many
leakages or blockages that may intervene during the process.
From this viewpoint, there are four major factors that must be considered: the
underlying rationale of the consumers of cultural goods and services; leakages and
diversions; the economic nature of the territory; and the behaviour of businesses. 68
Consumer motivation
The first problem lies in the fact that the links of causality between heritage
showcasing and development impact may be tenuous or nonexistent. This is the
case, for example, when visitors or tourists are motivated by several factors, and
culture must compete with religious, business or recreational interests. Before we can
measure the presumed causality link accurately, we must ask three questions:
• Is the visit related to a cultural resource, for example a monument or museum?
• Are expenditures in the territory related to the monument?
86 CULTURE AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT - ISBN 92-64-00990-6 - © OECD 2005