Intangible cultural heritage, ownership, copyrights, and tourism

Purpose – This paper seeks to highlight issues surrounding ownership and copyrights relating to intangible cultural heritage and to raise potential concerns for local (rural, remote, smaller) communities involved in cultural heritage tourism. Design/methodology/approach – The objective of the paper is to provoke reflection and further discourse on how local culture in smaller rural communities has been appropriated for tourism and related issues and concerns. Selected literature, other relevant documents and data from personal observations, derived from previous research, were examined to provide insights on the subject and to help achieve this objective. Findings – Findings suggest that an inequity gap exists in benefits distributed to many rural communities whose cultural heritages are being appropriated and exploited by multiple commercial entities for tourism purposes and personal gain. Little, if any, of the profits realized benefit the local community – the actual creators and owners of the local culture. Practical implications – With a new awareness and understanding of this phenomenon, developing and implementing a new and alternative approach is possible – an alternative approach that may help narrow this inequity gap while also ensuring significant sustainable benefits to all the stakeholders. Originality/value – This paper presents new perspectives about the value of intangible cultural heritage when used for tourism. This paper should be of interest and importance to community tourism planners and policy makers, industry operators/suppliers dependent on local cultural tourism products, and consumers of local intangible culture who seek unique cultural experiences.