The Organ Heritage Of Ukraine: A Cultural Indicator Of Territorial Inequality Or An Asset For The Niche Tourism Development?

Some areas, due to their heritage, possess a highly emotional coloring contributing to the development of specialized cultural tourism which in the European practice received a special term of niche tourism. The study presented in this publication proposes to consider the organ heritage of Ukraine not only as musical heritage but primarily as part of the cultural heritage that could be, via appropriate valorization processes, a strong territorial marker of tourist attractiveness of a destination. A phenomenological approach was used as the first stage of the study, which has defined the perception of the organ by the residents of Kharkiv as an object of culture. Based on the European experience of heritage valorization and niche tourism development as on alternative to mass tourism for specific territories, the authors have proposed to develop a new conception of using the organ heritage of Ukraine's territories as a main component of the tourism product to attract specific consumers. Thus Paul Claval's hypothesis that images and music inspire the hearts and minds could also be applied to the organ by combining the territories and actors from the perspective of the immaterial world. Consequently, the proposed research methodology fits into an interdisciplinary innovative approach, which aims to develop some actions linking the object, area and the valorization processes necessary for the development of the niche tourism.