How Can Living Human Treasures Play Role in Experiential Tourism?

Abstract

With the emergence of the importance of experiences in tourism, the concept of experiential tourism has become a topic that is emphasized. Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) elements offer new and attractive product development opportunities within the scope of experiential tourism in a destination. It comes to mind that Living Human Treasures, which are registered producers of ICH, can also play a critical role in experiential tourism. In this context, the aim of the study is to make some inferences about whether Living Human Treasures can play an effective role in evaluating the elements of ICH within the scope of experiential tourism. In the study, which was carried out in qualitative research type and phenomenology design, in-depth interviews were conducted with seven Living Human Treasures living in different cities of Turkey. According to the results obtained, it has been revealed that Living Human Treasures can play an effective role in the evaluation of SOKUM elements as experiential tourism products.