The Product Offered in the Case Study: Cultural Tourism

The product offered in the case study is cultural tourism. The case presents the city’s efforts towards increasing the cultural consumptions by tourists in the city. Cultural tourism is the movement of individuals away from their normal residences to cultural attractions (Csapo 4). The concepts of products, services, and goods are applied to discuss the presentation of cultural tourism as the main product that is offered in the case study. A product refers to anything that can be offered in the marketplace with the aim of satisfying the needs of the customers and may include elements such as goods and services as well as other concepts such as ideas, information, methods, and systems. Goods and services are however the major groups of products. Goods are physical and tangible forms of offering that are available in the market for the sake of providing utility or satisfaction. Services on the other hand refer to the activities that are offered to satisfy the needs of the consumers (Kotler and Armstrong 90). Some of the differences between services and goods arise due to the nature of the production and consumption locations. Goods are usually consumed in different locations from where they are produced. On the other hand, services are used in the same location as that which they are produced.  The concept of cultural tourism as a product is applied to represent all the related aspects of the city that are being offered to the consumers such as contemporary art goods and services. The goods include art pieces like sculptures, paintings, and clothes. While the cultural tourism as a product has the elements of goods, the concept is mostly service-oriented. The services on the other hand include the cultural events and festivals that are offered in the city at different times of the year.

            The contemporary art cultural tourism is discussed as a product because it meets the characteristics of goods and services that are offered to satisfy the needs of the customers. The consumers, therefore, seek to satisfy their cultural needs as the individuals undertake the travels that entail the consumption of visual and performing arts.  Consequently, the offerings provide various benefits of the core, actual, and augmented products.  As core products, the cultural offering at Nantes allows the consumers to satisfy their needs to utilise the various contemporary art pieces. The art festivals and events also act as core products as the customer acquire the experience of enjoying the elements being offered by the city. The attribute of cultural tourism as actual products are associated with the specific contemporary arts in the city. In going to Nantes, the tourists may specifically want to see particular art offerings such as the oversized mechanical elephant that is roaming the streets of Nantes. To enjoy a culture and art festival an individual may choose to attend the Le Voyage à Nantes.

Question 2

The primary customers identified in the case are both the local and foreign tourists who consume the contemporary culture as a product. The motivations of the customers in the case are discussed based on the concepts of consumption as pleasure and consumption and identity.  Consumption refers to the search for, choice, acquisition, and ownership of disposable goods and services (Kotler and Armstrong 90). The consumption as a pleasure is one of the factors that draw the attention of the customers to the products that are offered. Pleasure is also associated with a maximum utility that the customers obtained based on the disposable incomes.  The concept of the consumption as a pleasure refers to the enjoyment that the customers obtain from the use of the goods and services that they purchase. While engagement in certain activities such as music and art festivals leads to actual enjoyment, the customers may also feel a sense of pleasure from gaining possession of objects such as art installation in shops. The art installations also act as decorations to the shops and homes. The tourists may also get a feeling of prestige and class by associating with the products that are obtained from Nantes.

            Furthermore, products such as music events have the ability to attract consumers regardless of their diverse backgrounds. The customers may thus be attracted to enjoy the pleasure of music festivals and the night culture that is held in open and public spaces by the city’s officials. Another related utility is the enjoyment of food and other aspects of culture. Tourists are therefore attracted to the city to enjoy the cultural elements that are associated with contemporary art.  

            Consumption and identity is another concept that can be utilized to describe the consumer behaviours. Consumers’ identities can be constructed through the various products they consume and purchase. The use of products is also determined by the social class as individuals tend to express their status through the goods and services that they consume. The significant influence of consumption on the identity is observed in the essence that the consumers make purchase decisions based on the perception of self.  Identity construction is also obtained through emulation of other people and role models such as celebrities. The social identity is also related to the lifestyles and cultures that define a particular group of people. Consequently, individuals consume certain products with certain qualities to send particular messages to the society.

            Both the identity and pleasure concepts of consumption related to the cultural and lifestyle aspects from which the customers derive utility. In most cases, people consume the cultural products to create a sense of class and identification with certain opinions and schools of thoughts in the society. The individuals who are attracted in Nantes, therefore, are driven by the desire to satisfy their social needs and to express their identities through the art pieces that they acquire or through the services that they consume such as music and street festivals. Similarly, the consumers perceive the growth in the contemporary art as a means of establishing their distinct connection with the culture of the city.

Question 3

The concept of the circular flow of income is an economic model that describes the connection between different sectors and how goods and services move from one sector to the other. The model is utilised as the basis of macroeconomics and for the national accounts (Leontief 181). The concept considers the economy as made primarily of individuals (households) and businesses (firms) that are connected together. In the basic economic system, the individuals provide labour to enable the businesses to produce goods and services. Money flows to workers in the form of wages and to the firms for the exchange of products. The model thus supports the concept that supply creates its own demand. Apart from the households and businesses, the other essential elements of the circular flow models are the markets for the goods and services as well as those for the factors of production (Leontief 182).  Households exchange factors of production such as labour, capital and even land for money that is provided to the businesses.   

            The relationship between the circular income flow model and the effects of the free art events in Nantes arise due to a growth aimed at increasing the amount economic activities through an establishment of a contemporary art culture. The growth in the economy is consequently associated with the increased number of people getting into the city. Nantes is considered as one of the first growing cities in Europe with a record 6,000 and 9,000 people moving into the city annually.  There are various effects of free art services in the economy of Nantes.  First, an increased growth of the contemporary art sector has been observed due to an increased demand for the services as part of the city’s culture. The free art events thus result to the creation of markets where firms can sell their goods and services.  

            Secondly, the Nantes’ administration recognised the essence that culture is a fundamental element of any city that cannot be done away. To create a contemporary art culture the city ensured that a majority of its population appreciated and consumed the offerings and hence the economic growth the city through activities such as festivals and tourism from the visitors from various countries around the city. The increasing number of visitors to the city creates a market as the tourists for goods and services that are produced by firms and businesses such as Voyage à Nantes festivals. As an organization, Voyage à Nantes plays a vital role where individuals can sell not only their products such as artworks but also a market place for selling the factors of production. As a market for factors of production households get the opportunities to offer their labour and capital to earn incomes resulting to low employment levels that are below the national averages.  Retrospectively, in applying the circular income flow to explain the impact of free art services on the economy of Nantes, it can be stated that the efforts have led to the growth of the city by using contemporary art culture to attract visitors. The increasing population is hence vital in the growth of the city’s economy.

Question 4

The concept of a mixed economy refers to the combination of socialism and capitalism. Consequently, there is a mixture of government interference for better social aims. Some of the characteristics of a mixed market economy include a co-existence between public and private sector with the government encouraging the simultaneous development of both sectors as one of its primary activities (Stiglitz and Rosengard 21). Similarly, the government may undertake initiatives aimed at protecting the private sectors such agricultural and manufacturing industries through measures such as subsidies and trade restrictions. While in a mixed economy there is increased personal freedom. The government still perform duties such as regulating prices for the benefit of the public through a reliable distribution system. Another activity carried out by the government is economic planning so as to promote development in their territories. In some instances, the government undertakes activities that are aimed at reducing inequalities through the implementation of measures such as different taxation regimes that are made imposed on the income and wealth of the citizens (Stiglitz and Rosengard 21).  Furthermore, the government always take initiatives towards regulating monopolies through effective legislations.

            The authorities at Nantes believe that people should not be made to pay for culture to enable a large proportion of the population to appreciate and consume art. The activity of a mixed economy government is first reflected in the sense that the authority ensured that events were free and were held in open or public spaces as a way of ensuring that an artistic culture is embraced and grown in the city. The socialist approach to the city’s economic system is further indicated in the sense that the events were organized in a manner that allows for improved cultural and social welfare. The city’s government is also using taxes to create public art as part of the promotion of the private artworks. The efforts by the authorities in ensuring the simultaneous development of the public and private sectors are observed in the sense that there is a collaboration between artists and individuals such as shopkeepers to create a contemporary culture.

            The capitalistic approach to the management to the management of the city’s efforts in promoting the contemporary arts as part of the culture is observed in the organization of festivals and events with the aim of profiting from such ventures. An example of Voyage à Nantes is given to demonstrate the city’s emphasis on economic returns.  Revenue of €48.8m is reported from an expenditure of €2.3m demonstrating the significance of the efforts aimed at maximizing economic output. In supporting the mixed system, the city’s authority is further focusing on making the public to appreciate contemporary art as observed in the increased number of individuals such shopkeepers who are requesting for art installations. Such activities are aimed at creating a local market for the art pieces produced by the artists. To improve the quality of the cultural services and art products being offered the administration is spending a large amount of money to acquire resources that are essential in accomplishing the cultural goals.

Works Cited

Csapo, Janos. "The role and importance of cultural tourism in modern tourism industry." Strategies for tourism industry-micro and macro perspectives. InTech, 2012.

Kotler, P., and G. Armstrong. "Principles of Marketing 13th edition Pearson Education, Inc." Upper Saddle River New Jersey USA. ISBN-13 (2010): 978-0.

Leontief, Wassily. "The economy as a circular flow." Structural change and economic dynamics 2.1 (1991): 181-212.

Stiglitz, Joseph E., and Jay K. Rosengard. Economics of the Public Sector: Fourth International Student Edition. WW Norton & Company, 2015.