World Heritage Tourism And Identity

The remarkable success of the 1972 UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage is borne out by the fact that nearly 1,000 properties have now been designated as possessing Outstanding Universal Value and recognition given to the imperative for their protection. However, the remarkable success of the Convention is not without its challenges and a key issue for many Sites relates to the touristic legacies of inscription. For many sites inscription on the World Heritage List acts as a promotional device and the management challenge is one of protection, conservation and dealing with increased numbers of tourists. For other sites, designation has not brought anticipated expansion in tourist numbers and associated investments. What is clear is that tourism is now a central concern to the wide array of stakeholders involved with World Heritage Sites.

The remarkable success of the 1972 UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage is borne out by the fact that nearly 1,000 properties have now been designated as possessing Outstanding Universal Value and recognition given to the imperative for their protection. However, the remarkable success of the Convention is not without its challenges and a key issue for many Sites relates to the touristic legacies of inscription. This volume, through a diverse range of international cases covering cultural, natural and mixed World Heritage Sites, covering both the developed and the developing world, examines the ways in which sites have been inscribed on the World Heritage List and what this has meant in terms of tourism relating to practical issues of management, carrying capacity and the experiences of tourists and local communities.

Not all World Heritage Sites have people living within or close by their boundaries, but many do. The designation of World Heritage status brings a new dimension to the functioning of local communities and particularly through tourism. Too many tourists accentuated by the World Heritage label, or in some cases not enough tourists, despite anticipation of increased numbers, can act to disrupt and disturb relations within a community and between communities. Either way, tourism can be seen as a form of activity that can generate interest and concern as it is played out within World Heritage Sites. But the relationships that World Heritage Sites and their consequent tourism share with communities are not just a function of the number of tourists. The relationships are complex and ever changing as the communities themselves change and are built upon long-standing and wider contextual factors that stretch beyond tourism. This volume, drawing upon a wide range of international cases relating to some 33 World Heritage Sites, reveals the multiple dimensions of the relations that exist between the sites and local communities. The designation of the sites can create, obscure and heighten the power relations between different parts of a community, between different communities and between the tourism and the heritage sector. Increasingly, the management of World Heritage is not only about the management of buildings and landscapes but about managing the communities that live and work in or near them.

This book highlights the challenges and trends resulting from the relationship between tourist motivations, World Heritage Sites and local cultural uniqueness. With a special focus on Portugal and Brazil, several chapters refer to international cultural heritage experiences and destinations in Belgium, Cuba, Croatia, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Spain and Turkey. The volume shows that there is some crossover between tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and explores themes such as festivals and events, marketing, branding, sustainability, authenticity, preservation, wine tourism, ethnic tourism, religious tourism, literary tourism, museology and garden tourism. It will appeal to readers interested in tourism management, quality of the tourist offer, tourism heritage products, and characteristics of the tourism demand in the scope of cultural heritage.

Culture and heritage tourism provide an important direction in sustainable funding and tourism. Assessing the potential of cultural and heritage assets, including physical and experiential values, is crucial for the sustainability of tourism attractions and regional development. Conservation and Promotion of Heritage Tourism is a collection of innovative methods and applications to utilize historical resources to increase tourism for long-term economic security and advancement. Highlighting a range of topics including cultural tourism, community development, and tourism branding, this book is ideally designed for historians, city planners, curators, business professionals, educators, engineers, managers, tourism researchers, graduate-level students, policymakers, and academicians seeking current research on the connections between culture, conservation, sustainable development, and tourism.

At the heart of the European debate lies the tension between the idea of European unity and individual state identities and nationalisms. This volume provides an insight into this dichotomy by exploring the role of heritage in the new Europe. The main theme of this book is that a number of possible heritages can be shaped from the European past depending on the purposes for which they are intended. Through different methods of management intervention, heritage can fulfil a variety of functions, becoming a major commercial resource in the form of the tourism industry, or enlisted in the creation and maintenance of place identities. Leading contributors look at different perceptions of heritage by different cultures, and the social and political consequences of heritage planning. The nature of heritage planning for emerging, spatially fragmented state structures is also discussed.

This book will suggest new agendas for identity and heritage studies by means of presenting contentious issues facing archaeology and heritage management in a globalized world. The book is not only present the variability of heritage objectives and experiences in the New and Old World, and opens a discussion, in a shrinking world, to look beyond national and regional contexts. If the heritage sector and archaeology are to remain relevant in our contemporary world and the near future, there are a number of questions concerning the politics, practices and narratives related to heritage and identity that must be addressed. Questions of relevance in an affluent, cosmopolitan setting are at odds with those relevant for a region emerging from civil war or ethnic strife, or a national minority battling oppression or ethnic cleansing. A premise is that heritage represents a broad scope of empirically and theoretically sound interpretations – that heritage is a response to contemporary forces, as much as data. It is therefore necessary constantly to evaluate what is scientifically accurate as well as what is valid and relevant and what can have a contemporary impact.

This book presents the state of the art on cultural heritage and tourism globally. Divided into four themes of historical and economic contexts; building resilient societies; de-colonization, community, and placemaking; and empowerment and social capital, the book analyses the relevance of heritage and includes case studies in sustainable cultural heritage. It offers vital context and guidance for those working in heritage management and also presents emerging cultural heritage challenges and opportunities. The volume presents a research agenda for understanding the role of heritage in identity, ecology, health and well-being and its application to heritage tourism. It discusses the need for partnerships between tourism and cultural heritage management and the need to establish better information sharing for establishing joint research initiatives. The central importance of sharing and incorporating Indigenous and/or local voices in order to expand tourists' understanding of cultural heritage runs throughout the volume. The book highlights on-the-ground tools and guidance for cultural heritage resource managers and includes a discussion on emerging and convergent challenges such as the impacts of COVID-19 and climate disasters, featuring heritage and tourism from across the globe with emphasis on the dynamic situation in East and SE Asia. A concluding chapter summarizes themes and trends and future directions for this area of research with a focus on theoretical contributions. This book is of interest to heritage scholars and practitioners.