Integrating Entertainment, Tourism, Heritage and Culture into the Development of Cities: A Case for Mumbai

Abstract

Economic development of cities is taking some new directions in both developed and developing societies with the national and local economies becoming more and more service sector dominant. Among the various sectors, entertainment and tourism are becoming important sectors for revitalization and reinforcement of economic activities and thereby generate economic growth as well as employment. Historical cities are in particular good centres to carry out this revitalization through having some specific plans, strategies and actions in place that make use of the potential of various sites. Mumbai is one such historic city with a good amount of natural and built heritage that can be used for both entertainment and tourism development. This article provides an overview of the potential of Mumbai city to offer such services to the citizens and the economy. We therefore examine the definition of entertainment and tourism first and then their linkages with the economy. Subsequently, we examine the need and scope for the integration of these three into the development of city. At the end, we discuss in detail the touristic potential of Mumbai in terms of the salient features of city and its environs.

Keywords: Entertainment, tourism, heritage and culture, development strategy

JEL Classification: L82, M39, Z10