Commodification of intangible cultural heritage in the cultural tourism

Nowadays cultural tourism is considered in many aspects and includes many activities, ranging from the acquaintance with classical master- pieces of history, architecture and painting to visiting sportive events and participating in everyday life of local communities. With that modern cultural tourism becomes a means of acquiring impressions that the tourist gets because of personal participation in cultural, spir- itual or social life of destination that he/she is acquainted with. This is associated with using the intangible cultural heritage to create a tour- ism product. The authors consider possibilities of commodification of intangible cultural heritage through including this part of social and spiritual life of society in the sphere of cultural tourism services. The authors note some problems that follow the commodification of in- tangible cultural heritage. Firstly, there is possible leveling of national identity and the expansion of standardized and unified cultural prac- tices while increasing the number of consumers of tourism products. Secondly, there is the refusal of the local population to participate in tourism projects due to excessive influx of tourists into small regions. Thirdly, there is the gradual transformation of traditional intangible culture of destination, arising as the result of the influence of a new system of consumer values and consumer preferences. The authors argue that the inclusion of intangible cultural heritage in tourism products should not be carried out at any cost.