Scotland - the Brand:

Selling Scottish heritage has been a boom industry since the Victorians took their holidays in the highlands. But what effect has this "Balmoralization of Scotland" had on its people and national identity? This work presents a study of the Scottish heritage industry. Asking why heritage is so central to Scotland's definition of itself and to that of others, it accounts for the heritage industry's rise at home and abroad within the context of Scottish culture. It takes a covert look behind the scenes at the drivers of the heritage machine, The National Trust for Scotland, the Scottish Tourist Board and Historic Scotland, and at the powerful lairds who influence the heritage industry directly or indirectly. This work explores the heritage consumers who demand new sources of entertainment and shows how heritage fits into their patterns of leisure, consumption and lifestyle. Written by three sociologists, this is a study of the meanings which consumers apply to their heritage, how heritage differs fundamentally from history and why such political and national importance is attached to a nation's quest for its heritage. This work is intended for use by students of tourism and heritage within sociology, cultural studies, history and tourism.