A new report published recently by the Monza and Brianza Chamber of Commerce in Italy has generated millions of column inches of publicity and web postings for its findings, which reveal the economic value of famous European monuments and attractions.
The report – apparently designed to illustrate how Italy is failing to exploit its cultural gems – shows the Eiffel Tower is the clear winner of the title Most Valuable Landmark in Europe, apparently being worth 435bn euro (£343bn, US$563bn) to the French economy.
Criteria used in the valuations include a tourist index, which took into account the economic value of the location, its fame, the flux of visitors to the territory and monument and an economic attractiveness index, which looked at factors such as the number of jobs created and its export value.
Rome's Colloseum and Sagrada Familia in Barcelona were a distant second and third at £72bn (86.4bn euro, US$93bn) and £71bn (85.2bn euro, US$91bn) respectively, followed by the Duomo Cathedral in Milan at £65bn (78bn euro, US$84bn) and the Tower of London at £56bn (67.2bn euro, US$86bn). Stonehenge was seventh at £6.3bn (7.5bn euro, US$8.1bn). Built in 1889, the Eiffel Tower is Europe's most-visited monument, attracting almost eight million tourists a year to Paris.
Regardless of whether the industry can buy into the research methods used in this study, or even agrees with its findings (and it's too soon to say on this), the principles of assessing the economic impact of attractions and creating a global ranking are sound. As an industry, we're constantly agonising over how we can lobby governments more effectively and information like this would really help our cause.
When it comes to leveraging heritage for financial gain, this year has been a big one for Britain, with the Queen's Jubilee and the Olympics following hard on the heels of the royal wedding. UK tourism agency VisitBritain has won praise for its witty GREAT Britain advertising campaign, which has featured national monuments and iconography. Most recently - with the launch of the new 50th anniversary Bond movie, Skyfall - it has rolled out a BOND is GREAT campaign, which is celebrated on our cover.
Part of the film was shot in London and the combination of a global movie franchise, attractions and effective tourism marketing show how collaboration at national and international level can enable the attractions industry to take its rightful place as an effective driver of economic prosperity. We need more initiatives like this which involve attractions and better information about the financial impact that ensues.
