Cultural tourism has historically been an important form of tourism, even before it was formalised in the manner that it exists today. A pilgrimage to religious sites has been important milestones for all communities and religions. For the past several decades heritage tourism has also gained impetus.

There are several definitions of cultural tourism, among which we quote  here. “...not just the consumption of the cultural products of the past, but also of contemporary culture or the 'way of life' of a people or region. Cultural tourism can therefore be seen as covering both 'heritage tourism' (related to artefacts of the past) and 'arts tourism' (related to contemporary cultural production).”(Richards, 2011 a: 7) “Cultural tourism: passive, active and interactive engagement with culture(s) and communities whereby the visitor gains new experiences of an educational, creative and/or entertaining nature.