Searching for possible potentials of cultural and creative industries in rural tourism development; a case of Rudkhan Castle rural areas

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to argue the concept of cultural and creative industries (CCIs)-led tourism within a rural context to investigate the potential of local cultural and creative assets from the perspectives of rural communities, visitors and public institutions to stimulate co-creation experiences and long-term development. Design/methodology/approach By adopting qualitative methodology and case study research, this paper aims at evaluating the positive and negative aspects of developing local CCIs through the case of Rudkhan Castle rural villages in Gilan, Iran, where is the source of various indigenous cultural resources. This will be followed by classifying common CCIs through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders leading to policy planning suggestions. Findings Results demonstrated that the existence of cultural heritage or a historical site in a village has a direct impact on the prioritisation of indigenous CCIs from the perspective of the local community, tourists and governmental organisations. In this case, local authorities need to focus on the development of lesser-known cultural industries such as crafts or gastronomy by involving locals in decision-making processes that could be extendable to long-term tourism development planning. Originality/value Although the initiation of CCIs has led to new debates on the significance of co-creation experiences and cultural values in the tourism industry, it is criticised for creating social exclusion or unstable jobs. This research contributes to filling the gap between the potential of CCIs and rural tourism development from a policy perspective.

Digital Entrepreneurship and Creative Industries in Tourism: A Research Agenda

“…The CCIs can stimulate regional development by contributing to the development of rural and regional areas. Particularly in tourism, this can be achieved by exploring a development model of rural tourism based on local values and local cultural creativity (Pourzakarya 2022).…”

Reviewing the role of cultural and creative industries in developing an urban cultural policy platform in Rasht city, Iran

“…In attempts to be designated as the cultural capital of the province, Rasht has been progressively gaining cross-national attention because of its creative cooking features and its appellation as the CCG since July 2015. There are some examples of the region's attempts to position itself in the creative tourism sector (Pourzakarya, 2022). Since 2014, Gilan Rural Heritage Museum has carried on the exhibition of the Green Festival to encourage the traditional cultural expressions of local crafts and arts, alongside the local cooking techniques.…”

“…To date, holding different festivals and ceremonies in these open spaces alongside the occasional crafts and food markets has gathered a large number of people from different ethnicity and culture in a collaborative space [Figure 4(c)]. As a result, interviewees stressed that policymakers must recognise the potential of indigenous festivals as an opportunity to link cultural identity to cultural values and social stability and to boost the creative tourism industry through the cultural place-making approach (Pourzakarya, 2022).…”

“…Currently, Rasht is home to a large number of cooks and restaurants for leisure activities, the majority of which has been serving a variety of ethnic cuisines with local music (Municipality of Rasht, 2017). The residents have also declared that these indigenous restaurants are the key driving force in the cultural tourism industry (MPOGL, 2016; Pourzakarya, 2022). In this theme, different start-ups, entrepreneurial jobs and self-employment must be fostered to advance culinary or food tourism (Pearson and Pearson, 2016).…”

“…Thus, this paper adopts the UN definition where cultural and creative industries (CCIs) have transnationally been described as the rounds of production and distribution of goods and services where the main input has been creativity and intellectual capital (UNCTAD, 2010). Accordingly, in Iran, CCIs encompass not only the new smart technology but also the indigenous arts such as local performance, traditional architecture and crafts that can attract cross-national creative tourism (Pourzakarya, 2022).…”