02931nas a2200145   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260002300043100001600066245006100082856014600143300001200289520243700301020004702738       2013                            d  bTaylor and Francis1 aS. Woodward00aCampus tourism, universities and destination development  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85063515042&doi=10.4324%2f9780203120958&partnerID=40&md5=c6e26161972b32a4e4bc2aed4f3e5126  a265-2723 aThis chapter explores a rarely examined aspect of cultural tourism, namely the contribution of universities to the development and experience of tourist destinations. Drawing on a wide range of examples, it demonstrates how universities, which often are amongst the oldest cultural organisations in a destination, can contribute to the development of tourism in their host communities through the provision of products and services. Also examined is the contribution of the intangible heritage associated with aspects of university life to the development of a place brand, a concept currently at the forefront of destination marketing. Other than in China, where it has been identified as a phenomenon worthy of investigation partly because of the rapid scale in which it developed in the last decade or so (Ming 2007), campus tourism has generally been the subject of little academic interest. Yet throughout the world, many university quarters function as popular tourist destinations. In the UK, towns such as Oxford and Cambridge owe much of their appeal as a destination to their university heritage, whilst in the USA the town of Cambridge, Massachusetts, markets itself principally on the basis of the presence of Harvard University. In these and many other cases, such as Salamanca and Alcalá de Henares in Spain, Heidelberg in Germany or the area around the Al-Azhar University and Mosque in Cairo, the historic buildings associated with centuries of learning provide an iconic and attractive physical presence that helps the destination build its sense of place. However, universities are not only able to provide a tangible, built heritage component within a destination. They also offer an intangible heritage product that manifests itself in the institutionally unique cultures and ceremonies, activities and events (formal and informal) associated with university life. So the May Balls in Cambridge, commencement ceremonies at universities across the USA and the vappu celebrations on 1 May in Finland all bring aspects of university culture into the public domain. One must also consider how the facilities provided by universities for their students are increasingly being used to support tourism more generally, as universities provide seasonal accommodation for leisure tourists, host conferences and seminars, mount major sporting events, and open up their museums, galleries and cultural venues to the public.  a9781136324789 (ISBN); 9780415523516 (ISBN)