Local Life at an Urban Destination and Its Relevance to Tourism

Even if tourists visit the well-known landmarks, more and more visitors are eager to experience and explore the local life. They seek to discover authentic aspects of a destination particularly elements related to a community's traditions and lifestyles. 'Live like a local' is a promotional approach that many city destinations are adopting. In their day-to-day life, city residents engage in a broad range of activities including shopping for daily needs, leisure activities, socialising, cultural activities and religious practices. These and other community activities provide tourists the opportunity to observe local life and sometimes actively participate in it. Moreover, narrow winding roads, traditional facades and other urban features in historic areas give a local feel to a place and are perceived by tourists to be a reflection of local life. These different aspects and their relevance to tourism are considered in this paper and illustrated with examples. The paper is the outcome of the author's own observations when visiting city destinations and his post-visit reflections, supported with relevant desk research.