01 1
TRAVEL YOURSELF SMART
Five years ago, Leading Culture Destinations was born from a desire to shine a light on those places we are passionate about. It’s a pleasure to be able to share the raison d’etre of Leading Culture Destinations with you.
FLORIAN WUPPERFELD
“Culture Makes Places Smart Destinations.” Today, we are witnessing a new trend in culture. Governments, tourism ministries and those companies involved in customised tourism offerings have identified ‘culture’ as one of the key drivers for tourism. Culture not only offers a unique experience in terms of highlighting a city or country’s touristic assets, it is also a way for emerging economies to position themselves in the service sector. Culture works for him, her, the kids, and it offers people the opportunity to discover the unique DNA of a place. It’s a sustainable form of tourism since the travellers learn–and not just consume.
“Culture Is The Currency of Cool.” The recent music video by Beyoncé and Jay-Z at The Louvre (viewed by more than 80m YouTubers) is just the peak of an iceberg that illustrates how culture has become the currency of cool. Many celebrities have discovered that their selfies in cultural destinations have great impact on their followers and fans, for example, Victoria Beckham’s post in front of a portrait by an artist in the “circle of Leonardo da Vinci” had 192,000 likes within two days. Increasingly, brands and celebrities realise that museums are great places to showcase their history or to make them iconic–and wild increases in visitor numbers are proof that it’s working.
“Culture is Soft Power.” Destinations who not only deliver a great time but transform people’s views, and therefore the world we live in, are my personal heroes. This year, the Vatican, for example, commissioned 12 contemporary architects to create chapels ‘for believers and nonbelievers’ at the Venice Architectural Biennale 2018–something one could almost consider a revolutionary act. Similarly, French president Emanuel Macron broke the mould at the 2017 Bastille Day parade, with the army marching band playing a medley from French electronic icons Daft Punk–bridging generational gaps and showing to the world that France is a modern, open society. Soft Power Destinations winner 2018, the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil educates visitors about the world’s urgent challenges in the areas of sustainability, coexistence, climate change, gender equality, water, energy and social justice among others. Technology and engaging narratives invite the audience to learn and experience at the same time.
“Culture Is The Future, As Well As The Past.” More and more cultural developments have emerged all over the world–and many more destinations are scheduled to open with ‘culture’ as their core offering. Driven by innovations of big, established cultural destinations that have gone beyond education, and beyond places of cultural pilgrimage, by transforming themselves into contemporary social hubs for culinary experiences or even sleepovers. It has become an essential tool to transform cultural destinations into soft power destinations shifting them from ‘learning about the past’ to ‘understanding the challenges of the future’.
“We all are the culture, and we all need to nurture it.” This is the key matra we share in common with all of our friends and family at Leading Culture Destinations. And we want to take this oppoprtunity to say a big thank you to all our partners who enable us to spread the word, and support our mission to open up cultural destinations to a new generation of travellers. Thank you to Avis, Indigital Media, The South Kensington Club, The SUNx Program, Sasserath Kienbaum Plus Ltd, Lord Cultural Resources, YT Media, Jacobs Media Group and The New York Times.
Travel yourself smart - and share your cultural discoveries and experiences with our community of likeminded cultural nomads by using our hashtag #lcdtravel
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
