about heritage tourism

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Each year, millions of travelers visit America’s historic places. The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines heritage tourism as “traveling to experience the places, artifacts, and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present.” A high percentage of domestic and international travelers participate in cultural and/or heritage activities while traveling, and those that do stay longer, spend more, and travel more often. Heritage tourism creates jobs and business opportunities, helps protect resources, and often improves the quality of life for local residents.

The ACHP has encouraged national travel and tourism policies that promote the international marketing of America’s historic sites as tourism destinations. The ACHP also engages in ongoing efforts to build a more inclusive preservation program, reaching out to diverse communities and groups and engaging them in dialogue about what parts of our national legacy should be more fully recognized, preserved, and shared.

The ACHP developed Preserve America , a national initiative to encourage and support community efforts for the preservation and enjoyment of America’s cultural and natural heritage. In partnership with other federal agencies, the initiative has encouraged the use of historic assets for economic development and community revitalization, as well as enabling people to experience and appreciate local historic resources through heritage tourism and education programs. These goals have been advanced by an Executive Order directing federal agencies to support such efforts, a community designation program, and a recognition program for outstanding stewardship of historic resources by volunteers.

From 2004-2016, over 900 Preserve America Communities were designated in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two territories, as well as nearly 60 Preserve America Stewards . Many Preserve America Communities are featured in “Discover Our Shared Heritage” National Register on-line travel itineraries . From 2006 through 2010, the National Park Service (in partnership with the ACHP) awarded more than $21 million in Preserve America Grants to support sustainable historic resource management strategies, with a focus on heritage tourism.

These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; if they are not ACHP links, they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the ACHP of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organization or individual. The ACHP bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Please contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content, including its privacy policies.

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Heritage Tourism

The late Alan Gordon was professor of history at the University of Guelph. He authored three books: Making Public Pasts: The Contested Terrain of Montreal’s Public Memories, 1891–1930, The Hero and the Historians: Historiography and the Uses of Jacques Cartier and Time Travel: Tourism and the Rise of the Living History Museum in Mid-Twentieth Century Canada.

Published: 18 August 2022
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Heritage tourism is a form of cultural tourism in which people travel to experience places, artifacts, or activities that are believed to be authentic representations of people and stories from the past. It couples heritage, a way of imagining the past in terms that suit the values of the present, with travel to locations associated with enshrined heritage values. Heritage tourism sites are normally divided into two often overlapping categories: natural sites and sites related to human culture and history. By exploring the construction of heritage tourism destinations in historical context, we can better understand how and through what attributes places become designated as sites of heritage and what it means to have an authentic heritage experience. These questions are explored through heritage landscapes, national parks, battlefield tourism, architectural tourism, and the concept of world heritage.

Heritage is one of the most difficult, complex, and expansive words in the English language because there is no simple or unanimously accepted understanding of what heritage encompasses. 1 We can pair heritage with a vast range of adjectives, such as cultural, historical, physical, architectural, or natural. What unites these different uses of the term is their reference to the past, in some way or another, while linking it to present-day needs. Heritage, then, is a reimagining of the past in terms that suit the values of the present. It cannot exist independently of human attempts to make the past usable because it is the product of human interpretation of not only the past, but of who belongs to particular historical narratives. At its base, heritage is about identity, and the inclusion and exclusion of peoples, stories, places, and activities in those identities. The use of the word “heritage” in this context is a postwar phenomenon. Heritage and heritage tourism, although not described in these terms, has a history as long as the history of modern tourism. Indeed, a present-minded use of the past is as old as civilization itself, and naturally embedded itself in the development of modern tourism. 2 The exploration of that history, examining the origins and development of heritage tourism, helps unpack some of the controversies and dissonance it produces.

Heritage in Tourism

Heritage tourism sites are normally divided into two categories: natural sites and sites of human, historical, or cultural heritage. the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) separates its list of world heritage sites in this manner. Sites of natural heritage are understood to be places where natural phenomena such as wildlife, flora, geological features, or ecosystems, are generally deemed to be of exceptional beauty or significance. Cultural heritage sites, which represent over three quarters of UNESCO-recognized sites, are places where human activity has left a lasting and substantial physical impact that reveals important features of a culture or cultures. Despite the apparent simplicity of this division, it is not always easy to categorize individual sites. UNESCO thus allows for a category of “mixed” heritage sites. But official recognition is not necessary to mark a place as a heritage destination and, moreover, some authors point to versions of heritage tourism that are not tightly place-specific, such as festivals of traditional performances or foodways. 3

The central questions at the heart of heritage tourism ask what it is that designates something as “heritage” and whether tourists have an “authentic” heritage experience there. At its simplest, heritage tourism is a form of cultural tourism in which people travel to experience places, artifacts, or activities that are authentic representations of people and stories from the past. Yet this definition encompasses two, often competing, motivations. Heritage tourism is both a cultural phenomenon through which people attempt to connect with the past, their ancestors, and their identity, and it is an industry designed to profit from it. Another question surrounds the source of the “heritage” in heritage tourism. Many scholars have argued that heritage does not live in the destinations or attractions people seek. Heritage is not innate to the destination, but is rather based on the tourist’s motivations and expectations. Thus, heritage tourism is a form of tourism in which the main motivation for visiting a site is based on the traveler’s perceptions of its heritage characteristics. Following the logic of this view, the authenticity of the heritage experience depends on the traveler rather than the destination or the activity. Heritage features, as well as the sense of authenticity they impart, are democratized in what might be called a consumer-based model of authenticity. 4 This is a model that allows for virtually anything or any place to be a heritage destination. Although such an approach to understanding heritage tourism may well serve present-day studies, measuring motivations is more complicated for historical subjects. Long-departed travelers are not readily surveyed about their expectations; motivations have to be teased out of historical records. In a contrasting view, John Tunbridge and Gregory Ashworth argue that heritage attractions are created through marketing: they are invented to be heritage attractions and sold to a traveling public as such. Yet, heritage attractions, in this understanding, are still deemed authentic when they satisfy consumer expectations about heritage. 5 This insight also implies that heritage tourism destinations might be deceptions, and certainly there are examples of the fabrication of heritage sites. However, if motivations and expectations are arbiters of heritage, then even invented heritage can become authentic through its acceptance by a public. While not ignoring the motivations and expectations of travelers, for historians, any understanding of heritage tourism must include the process by which sites become designated as a places of heritage. It must encompass the economic aspects of tourism development, tourism’s role in constructing narratives of national or group identity, and the cultural phenomenon of seeking authentic representations of those identities, regardless of their origins. Such a practice might include traveling to sites connected to diasporas, places of historical significance, sites of religious pilgrimages, and landscapes of scenic beauty or cultural importance.

Scholarly interest in heritage, at least in the English-speaking world, dates from the 1980s reaction to the emergence of new right-wing political movements that used the past as a tool to legitimize political positions. Authors such as David Lowenthal, Robert Hewison, and Patrick Wright bemoaned the recourse to “heritage” as evidence of a failing society that was backward-looking, fearful, and resentful of modern diversity. 6 Heritage, they proclaimed, was elitist and innately conservative, imposed on the people from above in ways that distanced them from an authentic historical consciousness. Although Raphael Samuel fired back that the critique of heritage was itself elitist and almost snobbish, this line continued in the 1990s. Works by John Gillis, Tony Bennett, and Eric Hobsbawm, among others, concurred that heritage was little more than simplified history used as a weapon of social and political control.

At about the same time, historians also began to take tourism seriously as a subject of inquiry, and they quickly connected leisure travel to perceived evils in the heritage industry. Historians such as John K. Walton in the United Kingdom and John Jakle in the United States began investigating patterns of tourism’s history in their respective countries. Although not explicitly concerned with heritage tourism, works such as Jakle’s The Tourist explored the infrastructure and experience of leisure travel in America, including the different types of attractions people sought. 7 In Sacred Places , John Sears argued that tourism helped define America in the nineteenth century through its landscape and natural wonders. Natural tourist attractions, such as Yosemite and Yellowstone parks became sacred places for a young nation without unifying religious and national shrines. 8 Among North America’s first heritage destinations was Niagara Falls, which drew Americans, Europeans, Britons, and Canadians to marvel at its beauty and power. Tourist services quickly developed there to accommodate travelers and, as Patricia Jasen and others note, Niagara became a North American heritage destination at the birth of the continent’s tourism trade. 9

As the European and North American travel business set about establishing scenic landscapes as sites worthy of the expense and difficulty of travel to them, they rarely used a rhetoric of heritage. Sites were depicted as places to embrace “the sublime,” a feeling arising when the emotional experience overwhelms the power of reason to articulate it. Yet as modern tourism developed, promoters required more varied attractions to induce travelers to visit specific destinations. North America’s first tourist circuits, well established by the 1820s, took travelers up the Hudson River valley from New York to the spas of Saratoga Springs, then utilizing the Erie Canal even before its completion, west to Niagara Falls. Tourist guidebooks were replete with vivid depictions of the natural wonders to be witnessed, and very quickly Niagara became heavily commercialized. As America expanded beyond the Midwest in the second half of the nineteenth century, text and image combined to produce a sense that these beautiful landscapes were a common inheritance of the (white and middle-class) American people. Commissioned expeditions, such as the Powell Expedition of 1869–1872, produced best-selling travel narratives revealing the American landscape to enthralled readers in the eastern cities (see Butler , this volume). John Wesley Powell’s description of his voyage along the Colorado River combined over 450 pages of written description with 80 prints, mostly portraying spectacular natural features. American westward exploration, then, construed the continent’s natural wonders as its heritage.

In America, heritage landscapes often obscured human activity and imagined the continent as nature untouched. But natural heritage also played a role in early heritage tourism in Britain and Europe. Many scholars have investigated the connection between national character and the depiction of topographical features, arguing that people often implant their communities with ideas of landscape and associate geographical features with their identities. In this way, landscape helps embed a connection between places and particular local and ethnic identities. 10 Idealized landscapes become markers of national identity (see Noack , this volume). For instance, in the Romantic era, the English Lake District and the mountains of the Scottish Highlands became iconic national representations of English, Scottish, or British nationalities. David Lowenthal has commented on the nostalgia inherent in “landscape-as-heritage.” The archetypical English landscape, a patchwork of fields divided by hedgerows and sprinkled with villages, was a relatively recent construction when the pre-Raphaelite painters reconfigured it as the romantic allure of a medieval England. It spoke to the stability and order inherent in English character. 11

Travel literature combined with landscape art to develop heritage landscapes and promote them as tourist attractions. Following the 1707 Act of Union, English tourists became fascinated with Scotland, and in particular the Scottish Highlands. Tourist guidebooks portrayed the Highlands as a harsh, bleak environment spectacular for its beauty as well as the quaintness of its people and their customs (see Schaff , this volume). Over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, tourist texts cemented the image of Highland culture and heritage. Scholars have criticized this process as a “Tartanization” or “Balmoralization” of the country by which its landscape and culture was reduced to a few stereotypes appealing to foreign visitors. Nevertheless, guidebook texts described the bens, lochs, and glens with detail, helping create and reinforce a mental picture of a quintessential Highland landscape. 12 The massacre of members of the Clan MacDonald at Glencoe, killed on a winter night in 1692 for insufficient loyalty to the monarchy, added romance. Forgotten for over a century, the event was recalled in the mid-nineteenth century by the historian Thomas Babington Macaulay, and quickly became a tragic tale associated with the scenic valley. At the same time the Highlands were being re-coded from a dangerous to a sublime landscape, its inhabitants became romanticized as an untainted, simple, premodern culture. The natural beauty of the landscape at Glencoe and its relative ease of access, being close to Loch Lomond and Glasgow, made it an attraction with a ready-made tragic tale. Highlands travel guides began to include Glencoe in their itineraries, combining a site of natural beauty with a haunting human past. Both natural and cultural heritage, then, are not inherent, but represent choices made by people about what and how to value the land and the past. On France’s Celtic fringe, a similar process unfolded. When modern tourism developed in Brittany in the mid-nineteenth century, guidebooks such as Joanne’s defined the terms of an authentic Breton experience. Joanne’s 1867 guide coupled the region’s characteristic rugged coastlines with the supposedly backward people, their costumes, habitudes, beliefs, and superstitions, who inhabited it. 13 Travel guides were thus the first contributors in the construction of heritage destinations. They began to highlight the history, real and imagined, of destinations to promote their distinctions. And, with increasing interest in the sites of national heritage, people organized to catalog, preserve, and promote heritage destinations.

Organizing Heritage Tourism

Among the world’s first bodies dedicated to preserving heritage was the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), organized in England in 1877. Emerging as a result of particular debates about architectural practices, this society opposed a then-popular trend of altering buildings to produce imaginary historical forms. This approach, which was most famously connected to Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc’s French restorations, involved removing or replacing existing architectural features, something renounced by the SPAB. The society’s manifesto declared that old structures should be repaired so that their entire history would be protected as part of cultural heritage. The first heritage preservation legislation, England’s Ancient Monuments Protection Act of 1882, provided for the protection initially of 68 prehistoric sites and appointed an inspector of ancient monuments. 14 By 1895, movements to conserve historic structures and landscapes had combined with the founding of the National Trust, officially known as the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, as a charitable agency. Much of the Trust’s early effort protected landscapes: of twenty-nine properties listed in 1907, seventeen were acreages of land and other open spaces. 15 Over the twentieth century, however, the Trust grew more and more concerned with protecting country houses and gardens, which now constitute the majority of its listed properties.

British efforts were duplicated in Europe. The Dutch Society for the Preservation of Natural Landmarks was established in 1904; France passed legislation to protect natural monuments in 1906. And in Sweden, the Society for the Protection of Nature was established in 1909, to name only a few examples. Nature was often connected to the spirit of “the folk,” an idea that encompassed a notion of an original ethnic core to the nation. Various European nationalisms of the period embraced the idea of an “authentic” national folk, with each folk considered unique due to its connection with a specific geography. Folklore and the celebration of folk culture offered Europeans links to imagined national heritages in a rapidly modernizing world, as modern, middle-class Europeans turned their attention to the romanticized primitive life of so-called simple peasants and linked notions of natural and human heritage. Through the concept of the folk, natural and human heritage combined to buttress emerging expressions of nationalism. 16

Sweden provides an instructive example. As early as the seventeenth century, Swedish antiquarians were intrigued by medieval rune stones, burial mounds, and cairns strewn across the country, but also saw these connected to natural features. Investigations of these relics of past Nordic culture involved a sense of the landscape in which they were found. This interest accelerated as folk studies grew in popularity, in part connected to nationalist political ambitions of Swedes during the growing tensions within the Kingdom of Sweden and Norway, which divided in 1905. Sweden’s preservation law required research into the country’s natural resources to create an inventory of places. Of particular interest were features considered to be “nature in its original state.” The intent was to preserve for future generations at least one example of Sweden’s primordial landscape features: primeval forests, swamps, peat bogs, and boulders. But interest was also drawn to natural landmarks associated with historical or mythical events from Sweden’s past. Stones or trees related to tales from the Nordic sagas, for example, combined natural with cultural heritage. 17

Although early efforts to protect heritage sites were not intended to support tourism, the industry quickly benefited. Alongside expanding tours to the Scottish Highlands and English Lake District, European landscapes became associated with leisure travel. As Tait Kellar argues for one example, the context of the landscape is crucial in understanding the role of tourism in the German Alps. 18 Guidebooks of the nineteenth and early twentieth century did not use the term “heritage,” but they described its tenets to audiences employing a different vocabulary. Baedeker’s travel guides, such as The Eastern Alps , guided bourgeois travelers through the hiking trails and vistas of the mountains and foothills, offering enticing descriptions of the pleasures to be found in the German landscape. Beyond the land, The Eastern Alps directed visitors to excursions that revealed features of natural history, human history, and local German cultures. 19

Across the Atlantic people also cherished escapes to the countryside for leisure and recreation and, as economic and population growth increasingly seemed to threaten the idyllic tranquility of scenic places, many banded together to advocate for their conservation. Yet, ironically, by putting in place systems to mark and preserve America’s natural heritage, conservationists popularized protected sites as tourist destinations. By the second half of the nineteenth century, the conservation movement encouraged the US government to set aside massive areas of American land as parks. For example, Europeans first encountered the scenic beauty of California’s Yosemite Valley at midcentury. With increasing settler populations following the California Gold Rush, tourists began arriving in ever larger numbers and promoters began building accommodations and roads to encourage them. Even during the Civil War, the US government recognized the potential for commercial overdevelopment and the desire of many to preserve America’s most scenic places. 20 In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant, designating acres of the valley protected wilderness. This set a precedent for the later creation of America’s first national park. In 1871, the Hayden Geological Survey recommended the preservation of nearly 3,500 square miles of land in the Rocky Mountains, in the territories of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Ferdinand V. Hayden was concerned that the pristine mountain region might soon be as overrun with tourists as Niagara Falls had by then become. 21 The following year, Congress established Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first designated “heritage” site. Yet, from the beginning, Yellowstone and subsequent parks were assumed to be tourist attractions. By 1879, tourists to Yellowstone had established over 200 miles of trails that led them to the park’s most famous attractions. Although thought of as nature preserves, parks were often furnished with railway access, and amenities and accommodations appeared, often prior to official designation. National parks were immediately popular tourist attractions. Even before it had established a centralized bureaucracy to care for them, the United States government had established nine national parks and nearly two dozen national monuments. Canada lagged, but established Rocky Mountain National Park (now Banff) in 1885 to balance interests of resource extraction and conservation. (The world’s second national park was Australia’s Royal National Park, established by the colony of New South Wales in 1879.) By the outbreak of the Great War, Canada and the United States had established fifteen national parks, all but one west of the Mississippi River.

Establishing parks was one component of building a heritage tourism infrastructure. Another was the creation of a national bureaucracy to organize it. The Canadian example reveals how heritage and tourism drove the creation of a national parks service. Much of the mythology surrounding Canada’s national parks emphasized the role of nature preservationists, yet the founder of the parks system, J. B. Harkin, was deeply interested in building a parks network for tourists. 22 Indeed, from early in the twentieth century, Canada’s parks system operated on the principle that parks should be “playgrounds, vacation destinations, and roadside attractions that might simultaneously preserve the fading scenic beauty and wildlife populations” of a modernizing nation. 23 Although Canada had established four national parks in the Rocky Mountains in the 1880s, the administration of those parks was haphazard and decentralized. It was not until the approaching third centennial of the founding of Quebec City (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site) that the Canadian government began thinking actively about administering its national heritage. In 1908, Canada hosted an international tourist festival on the Plains of Abraham, the celebrated open land where French and British armies had fought the decisive battle for supremacy in North America in 1759. The event so popularized the fabled battlefield that the government was compelled to create a National Battlefield Commission to safeguard it. This inspired the creation of the Dominion Parks Branch three years later to manage Canada’s natural heritage parks, the world’s first national parks service. By 1919 the system expanded to include human history—or at least European settler history—through the creation of national historic parks. These parks were even more explicitly designed to attract tourists, automobile tourists in particular. In 1916, five years after Canada, the United States established the National Parks Service with similar objectives.

As in Europe, nationalism played a significant role in developing heritage tourism destinations in America. The first national parks were inspired by the series of American surveying expeditions intended to secure knowledge of the landscape for political control. Stephen Pyne connects the American “discovery” of the Grand Canyon, for example, to notions of manifest destiny following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) that ended the Mexican-American War and ceded over 500,000 square miles of what is today the western United States. Popularized by the report of John Wesley Powell (1875) , the canyon began attracting tourists in the 1880s, although Congress failed to establish it as a national park. 24 Tourism was central to developing the Grand Canyon as a national heritage destination. Originally seen by Spanish explorers as an obstacle, and as a sacred place by the Navajo, Hopi, Hualapai, and Havasupai peoples, the canyon came to mark American exceptionalism. Piece by piece, sections of the canyon were set aside as reserves and finally declared a national park in 1919. By then, the park had been serviced by a railway (since 1901) and offered tourists a luxury hotel on the canyon’s south rim.

Archaeology also entered into the construction of American heritage. Almost as soon as it was annexed to the United States, the American southwest revealed to American surveyors a host of archaeological remains. For residents of the southwest, the discovery of these ancient ruins of unknown age pointed to the nobility of a lost predecessor civilization. By deliberately construing the ruins as being of an unknown age, Anglo-American settlers were able to draw distinctions between the ancients and contemporary Native Americans in ways that validated their own occupation of the territory. The ruins also had commercial potential. In Colorado, President Theodore Roosevelt established Mesa Verde National Park in 1906 to protect and capitalize on the abandoned cliff dwellings located there. These ruins had been rediscovered in the 1880s when ranchers learned of them from the local Ute people. By the turn of the century, the ruins had attracted so many treasure seekers that they needed protection. This was the first national park in America designated to protect a site of archaeological significance and linked natural and human heritage in the national parks system. 25

If, as many argue, heritage is not innate, how is it made? Part of the answer to this question can be found in the business of tourism. Commercial exploitation of heritage tourism emerged alongside heritage tourism, but was particularly active in the postwar years. Given their association with tourism, it is not surprising that railways and associated businesses played a prominent role in promoting heritage destinations. Before World War II, the most active heritage tourism promoter was likely the Fred Harvey Company, which successfully marketed, and to a great degree created, much of the heritage of the American southwest. The Fred Harvey Company originated with the opening of a pair of cafés along the Kansas Pacific Railway in 1876. After a stuttering beginning, Harvey’s chain of railway eateries grew in size. Before dining cars became regular features of passenger trains, meals on long-distance trips were provided by outside business such as Harvey’s at regular stops. With the backing of the Santa Fe Railroad, the company also developed attractions based on the Southwest region’s unique architectural and cultural features. The image capitalized on the artistic traditions of Native Americans and early Spanish traditions to create, in particular, the Adobe architectural style now associated with Santa Fe and New Mexico. 26 These designs were also incorporated into tourist facilities on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, including the El Tovar hotel and the Hopi House souvenir and concession complex, designed to resemble a Hopi pueblo.

Relying on existing and manufactured heritage sites, North American railways popularized attractions as heritage sites. The Northern Pacific Railroad financed a number of hotels in Yellowstone Park, including the Old Faithful Inn in 1904. In 1910, the Great Northern Railroad launched its “See America First” campaign to attract visitors (and new investments) to its routes to the west’s national parks. In Canada, the Dominion Atlantic Railway rebuilt Grand Pré, a Nova Scotia Acadian settlement to evoke the home of the likely fictional character Evangeline from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1848 poem by the same name. In the poem, Evangeline was deported from Acadia in 1755 and separated from her betrothed. By the 1920s, the railway was transporting tourists to Grand Pré, christened “Land of Evangeline,” where reproductions stood in for sites mentioned in the poem. 27 However, following World War I, heritage tourism in North America became increasingly dependent on automobile travel and the Dominion Atlantic eventually sold its interest to the Canadian government.

Conflict as Cultural Heritage

Tourism to sites of military history initially involved side trips from more popular, usually natural, attractions. Thomas Chambers notes that the sites of battles of the Seven Years’ War, Revolutionary War, and War of 1812 became tourist attractions as side trips from more established itineraries, such as the northern or fashionable tours. War of 1812 battlefields, many of them in the Niagara theater of the war, were conveniently close to the natural wonders people already came to see. By visiting the places where so many had sacrificed for their country, tourists began attaching new meaning to the sites. Ease of access was essential. Chambers contrasts sites in southern states with those in the north. In the south, the fields of important American Revolution victories at Cowpens and King’s Mountain were too remote to permit easy tourist access and long remained undeveloped. 28 In a contrary example, the Plains of Abraham, the scene of General Wolfe’s dramatic victory over France that led to the Conquest of Canada, was at first a curiosity. The visit to Quebec, a main destination on the northern tour, was originally based on its role as a major port and the attraction of the scenic beauty of the city on the cliffs, compared favorably to Cintra in Portugal. 29 Ease of access helped promoters convert an empty field near the city into the “hallowed Plains.”

Access to battlefields increased at almost the exact moment that one of the nineteenth century’s most devastating wars, the American Civil War, broke out. Railway travel was essential to both the success of the Union Army in reconquering the rebelling Confederacy, and in developing tourism to the sites of the slaughter. Railway travel made sites accessible for urban travelers and new technologies, such as photography and the telegraph, sped news of victories and defeats quickly around the nation. Gettysburg, the scene of a crucial Union victory in July 1863, became a tourist attraction only a few days later. Few would call the farmland of southeastern Pennsylvania sublime, but dramatic human history had unfolded there. The battle inspired the building of a national memorial on the site only four months later, the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. At the inauguration of the cemetery Abraham Lincoln delivered his “Gettysburg Address,” calling on the nation to long remember and cherish the “hallowed ground” where history had been made.

Gettysburg sparked a frenzy of marking sites of Civil War battles and events. Battle sites became important backdrops for political efforts at reunion and reconciliation after the war and attracted hundreds and later thousands of tourists for commemorative events and celebrations. Ten thousand saw President Rutherford Hayes speak at Gettysburg in 1878 and, for the 50th anniversary of Gettysburg, some 55,000 veterans returned to Pennsylvania in July 1913. What had once been a site of bloody, brutal combat had been transformed into a destination where tourists gathered to embrace their shared heritage, north and south. As the years progressed, more attractions were added as tourists began to see their heritage on the battlefield. 30

The conflict that most clearly created tourist attractions out of places of suffering was the World War I. Soon after the war ended, its sites of slaughter also became tourist attractions. As with the Civil War in America, World War I tourists were local people and relatives of the soldiers who had perished on the field of battle. By one estimate 60,000 tourists visited the battlefields of the Western Front by the summer of 1919, the same year that Michelin began publishing guidebooks to them. Numbers grew in the decades following the war. Over 140,000 tourists took in the sites of the war in 1931, which grew to 160,000 for 1939. Organizations such as the Workers’ Travel Association hoped that tourism to battle sites would promote peace, but the travel business also benefited. Travel agencies jumped at the chance to offer tours and publishers produced travel guides to the battlefields. At least thirty English guidebooks were published by 1921. 31

This interest in a conflict that killed, often in brutal fashion, so many might seem a ghoulish form of heritage tourism. Yet Peter Slade argues that people do not visit battlefields for the love for death and gore. They attend these sites out of a sense of pilgrimage to sites sacred to their national heritage. Organized pilgrimages reveal this sense of belonging most clearly. The American Legion organized a pilgrimage of 15,000 veterans in 1927 to commemorate the decade anniversary of America’s entry to the war. The following year 11,000 Britons, including 3,000 women, made a pilgrimage of their own. Canada’s first official pilgrimage involved 8,000 pilgrims (veterans and their families) to attend the inauguration of the Vimy Ridge Memorial, marking a site held by many as a place sacred to Canadian identity. Australians and New Zealanders marched to Gallipoli in Turkey for similar reasons. 32 As with the sites of the Western Front, Gallipoli and pilgrimages to it generated travel accounts and publishers assembled guidebooks to help travelers navigate its attractions and accommodations. In these episodes, tourism was used to construct national heritage. In the interwar years, tourist activity popularized the notion that sites of national heritage existed on the battlefields of foreign lands, where “our” nation’s history was forged. National heritage tourism, then, became transnational.

Since the end of World War II, battlefield tourism has become an important projection of heritage tourism. Commercial tour operators organize thousands of tours of European World War I and World War II battlefields for Americans and Canadians, as for other nationalities. The phenomenon seems particularly pronounced among North Americans. The motivation behind modern battlefield tourism reveals its connection to heritage tourism. If heritage is an appeal to the past that helps establish a sense of identity and belonging, the feelings of national pride and remorse for sacrifice of the fallen at these sites helps define them as sacred to a particular vision of a national past. The sanctity of the battle site makes the act of consuming it as a tourist attraction an act of communion with heritage.

Built Heritage and Tourism

During the upheaval of the Civil War, some Americans began to recognize historic houses as elements of their heritage worthy of preservation. These houses were initially not seen as tourist attractions, but as markers of national values. Their heritage value preceded their value as tourist attractions. The first major preservation initiative launched in 1853 to save George Washington’s tomb and home from spoliation. Behind overt sectional divisions of north and south was an implied vesting of republican purity among the patrician families that could trace their ancestors to the revolutionary age and who could restore American culture to its proper deferential state. The success of preserving Mount Vernon led to a proliferation of similar house museums. By the 1930s, the American museum association even produced a guide for how to establish new examples and promote them as sites of heritage for tourist interest. Historic houses provided tangible, physical evidence of heritage. Like scenic landscapes attached to the stories of history, buildings connected locations to significant events and people of the past. Architectural heritage came to be closely associated with tourism. Architectural monuments are easily identified, easy to promote, and, as physical structures, easily reproduced in souvenir ephemera. Although the recognition of architectural monuments as tourist draws could be said to have originated with the Grand Tour, or at least with the publication of John Ruskin’s “Seven Lamps of Architecture” (1849), which singled out the monuments of Venice for veneration, twentieth century mobility facilitated a greater desire to travel to see historic structures. Indeed, mobility, especially automobility, prompted the desire to preserve or even reinvent the structural heritage of the past.

A driving factor behind the growth of tourism to sites associated with these structural relics was a feeling that the past—and especially the social values of the past—was being lost. For example, Colonial Williamsburg developed in reaction to the pace of urban and social change brought about by automobile travel in the 1920s. Williamsburg was once a community of colonial era architecture, but had become just another highway town before John D. Rockefeller lent his considerable wealth to its preservation and reconstruction. 33 Rockefeller had already donated a million dollars for the restoration of French chateaux at Versailles, Fontainebleu, and Rheims. 34 At Williamsburg, his approach was to remove structures from the post-Colonial period to create a townscape from the late eighteenth century. By selecting a cut-off year of 1790, Rockefeller and his experts attempted to freeze Williamsburg in a particular vision of the past. The heritage envisioned was not that of ordinary Americans, but that of colonial elites. Conceived to be a tourist attraction, Colonial Williamsburg offered a tourist-friendly lesson in American heritage. Rockefeller, and a host of consultants convinced the (white) people of Williamsburg to reimagine their heritage and their past. America’s heritage values were translated to the concepts of self-government and individual liberty elaborated by the great patriots, Washington, Madison, Henry, and Jefferson. The town commemorated the planter elites that had dominated American society until the Jacksonian era, and presented them as progenitors of timeless ideals and values. They represented the “very cradle of that Americanism of which Rockefeller and the corporate elite were the inheritors and custodians.” 35

Rockefeller’s Williamsburg was not the only American heritage tourist reconstruction. Canada also underwent reconstruction projects for specifically heritage tourism purposes, such as the construction of “Champlain’s Habitation” at Port Royal, Nova Scotia or the attempt to draw tourists to Invermere, British Columbia with a replica fur trade fort. 36 Following World War I and accelerating after World War II, the number and nature of places deemed heritage attractions grew. Across North America, all levels of governments and private corporations built replica heritage sites with varying degrees of “authenticity.” Although these sites often made use of existing buildings and landscapes, they also manufactured an imaginary environment of the past. The motivation behind these sites was almost always diversification of the local economy through increased tourism. Canada’s Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site is perhaps the most obvious example. It is a reconstructed section of the French colonial town, conquered and destroyed in 1758, built on the archaeological remains of the original. Constructed by the government of Canada as a means to diversify the failing resource economy of its Atlantic provinces, the tourist attraction was also designated a component of Canada’s national heritage. The US government also increased its interest in the protection of heritage destinations, greatly expanding the list of national historic landmarks, sites, parks, and monuments. As postwar governments became more concerned with managing their economies, tourism quickly came to be seen as a key economic sector. The language of national heritage helped build public support for state intervention in natural and historic artifacts and sites that could be presented as sacred national places.

In Europe, many historic sites were devastated by bombardment during World War II. Aside from pressing humanitarian issues, heritage concerns also had to be addressed. In France, the war had destroyed nearly half a million buildings, principally in the northern cities, many of which were of clear heritage value. The French government established a commission to undertake the reconstruction of historic buildings and monuments and, in some cases, entire towns. Saint-Malo, in Brittany, had been completely destroyed, but the old walled town was rebuilt to its seventeenth century appearance. Already a seaside resort, the town added a heritage site destination. In the 1920s and 1930s, European fascist states had also employed heritage tourism. In Mussolini’s Italy and Nazi Germany, workers’ leisure time was to be organized to prevent ordinary Italians and Germans from falling into unproductive leisure activities. Given the attachment to racialized views of purity and identity, organized tourism was encouraged to allow people to bond with their national heritage. Hiking in the Black Forest or the alpine Allgau might help connect Germans to the landscape and reconnect them to the traditional costumes and folkways of rural Germany. As Kristin Semmens argues, most studies of the Nazi misappropriation of the past ignore the displays of history aimed toward tourists at Germany’s heritage sites. Many museums and historic sites twisted their interpretations to fit the Nazi present. 37 In ways that foreshadowed the 1980s British left’s critique of heritage, fascist regimes made use of heritage tourism to control society. After the war, a vigorous program of denazification was undertaken to remove public relics of the Nazi regime and in formerly occupied territories, as was a program of reconstruction. In the communist east, blaming the Nazis for the destruction of German heritage was an ideological gift. It allowed the communist regime to establish itself as the true custodian of German identity and heritage. 38 In the capitalist west, tourism revived quickly. By early 1947, thirteen new tourist associations were active in the Allied occupation zone. Tourism rhetoric in the postwar years attempted to distance German heritage from the Nazi regime to reintroduce foreign travelers to the “real Germany.” Despite this objective, Alon Confino notes that traces of the Nazi past can be located in postwar tourist promotions that highlighted Nazi-era infrastructure. 39

Postwar Heritage Tourism

As tourism became a more global industry, thanks in no small part to the advent of affordable air travel in the postwar era, heritage tourism became transnational. Ethnic heritage tourism became more important, and diaspora or roots tourism, which brought second- and third-generation migrants back to the original home of their ancestors, accelerated. Commodifying ethnic heritage has been one of the most distinctive developments in twenty-first century tourism. Ethnic heritage tourism can involve migrants, their children, or grandchildren returning to their “home” countries as visitors. In this form of tourism, the “heritage” component is thus expressed in the motivations and self-identifications of the traveler. It involves a sense of belonging that is rooted in the symbolic meanings of collective memories, shared stories, and the sense of place embodied in the physical locations of the original homeland. Paul Basu has extensively studied the phenomenon of “roots tourism” among the descendants of Scottish Highlanders. He suggests that in their trips to Scotland to conduct genealogical research, explore sites connected to their ancestors, or sites connected to Scottish identity, they construct a sense of their heritage as expatriate Scots. 40 Similar “return” movements can be found in the migrant-descended communities of many settler colonial nations. For second-generation Chinese Americans visiting China, their search for authentic experiences mirrored those of other tourists. Yet, travel to their parents’ homeland strengthened their sense of family history and attachment to Chinese cultures. 41 On the other hand, Shaul Kellner examines the growing trend of cultivating roots tourism through state-sponsored homeland tours. In Tours that Bind , Kellner explores the State of Israel and American Jewish organizations’ efforts to forge a sense of Israeli heritage among young American Jews. However, Kellner cautions, individual experiences and human agency limit the hosts’ abilities to control the experience and thus control the sense of heritage. 42

Leisure tourism also played a role in developing heritage sites, as travelers to sunshine destinations began looking for more interesting side trips. Repeating the battlefield tourism of a century before, by the 1970s access to historic and prehistoric sites made it possible to add side trips to beach vacations. Perhaps the best example of this was the development of tourism to sites of Mayan heritage by the Mexican government in the 1970s. The most famous heritage sites, at least for Westerners, were the Mayan sites of Yucatan. First promoted as destinations by the American travel writer John Lloyd Stephens in the 1840s, their relative inaccessibility (as well as local political instabilities) made them unlikely tourist attractions before the twentieth century. By 1923, the Yucatan government had opened a highway to the site of the Chichén Itzá ruins, and local promoters began promotions in the 1940s. It was not until after the Mexican government nationalized all archaeological ruins in the 1970s that organized tours from Mexican beach resorts began to feature trips to the ruins themselves. 43

Mexico’s interest in the preservation and promotion of its archaeological relics coincided with one of the most important developments in heritage tourism in the postwar years: the emergence of the idea of world heritage. The idea was formalized in 1972 with the creation of UNESCO’s designation of World Heritage Sites. The number of sites has grown from the twelve first designated in 1978 to well over 1,000 in 167 different countries. In truth, the movement toward recognizing world heritage began with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, which did not limit its activities to preserving only England’s architectural heritage. Out of its advocacy, European architects and preservationists drafted a series of accords, such as the Athens Charter of 1931, and the later Venice Charter of 1964, both of which emerged from a growing sense of cultural internationalism. These agreements set guidelines for the preservation and restoration of buildings and monuments. What UNESCO added was the criterion of Outstanding Universal Value for the designation of a place as world heritage. It took until 1980 to work out the first iteration of Outstanding Universal Value and the notion has never been universally accepted, although UNESCO member countries adhere to it officially. Once a site has been named to the list, member countries are expected to protect it from deterioration, although this does not always happen. As of 2018, 54 World Heritage Sites are considered endangered. This growth mirrored the massive expansion of tourism as a business and cultural phenomenon in the late twentieth century. As tourism became an increasingly important economic sector in de-colonizing states of Asia and Latin America, governments became more concerned with its promotion by seeking out World Heritage designation.

Ironically, World Heritage designation itself has been criticized as an endangerment of heritage sites. Designation increases the tourist appeal of delicate natural environments and historic places, which can lead to problems with maintenance. Designation also affects the lives of people living within the heritage destination. Luang Prabang, in Laos, is an interesting example. Designated in 1995 as one of the best-preserved traditional towns in Southeast Asia, it represents an architectural fusion of Lao temples and French colonial villas. UNESCO guidelines halted further development of the town, except as it served the tourist market. Within the designated heritage zone, buildings cannot be demolished or constructed, but those along the main street have been converted to guest houses, souvenir shops, and restaurants to accommodate the growing tourist economy. Critics claim this reorients the community in non-traditional ways, as locals move out of center in order to rent to foreign tourists. 44 While heritage tourism provided jobs and more stable incomes, it also encouraged urban sprawl and vehicle traffic as local inhabitants yielded their town to the influx of foreign, mostly Western, visitors.

Heritage tourism may hasten the pace of change by making destinations into attractions worth visiting. To accommodate the anticipated influx of global tourists, Luang Prabang airport was renovated and its runway extended to handle larger jets in between 2008 and 2013. The influx of tourists at Machu Picchu in Peru has repeatedly led the Peruvian government to attempt to control access to the site, yet dependent on tourism’s economic contribution, such restrictions are difficult. The temple at Borobudur in Indonesia undergoes near continuous maintenance work to repair the wear and tear caused by thousands of tourists walking its steps every day. Indeed, the preserved ruins are said to be under greater threat than when they were discovered in the early nineteenth century, overgrown by the jungle.

Another colonial aspect of world heritage designation stems from the narratives of the sites themselves. Many critics accuse UNESCO of a Eurocentric conception of Outstanding Universal Value and world heritage. 45 Cultural heritage destinations in non-Western countries are often associated with sites made famous by the projects of European imperialism. The fables of discovering ancient ruins, for instance, prioritize the romance of discovery. Many of the most famous non-Western sites were “discovered” by imperial agents in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Angkor Wat in Cambodia was introduced to the world by the French explorer Henri Muhot in 1860. Machu Picchu, the Mayan sites of Yucatan, and the ancestral Anasazi sites of the American southwest were excavated, in some cases purchased, and their narratives constructed by American and European adventurers. The cultural relics of these ancient places were looted and assembled in Western museums, the stories of adventure and discovery published for Western audiences, and eventually a travel infrastructure was established to bring mostly Western tourists to the destinations. Western tourism thus forms another kind of imperialism, as the heritage of a destination is determined to suit the expectations and motivations of the visitors. This tends to obscure other features of local history, leaving those features of heritage not suitable to the tourist trade less valuable.

Made or Experienced?

Heritage is both made and experienced. Critics of heritage tourism rightly point to the ways in which heritage promotions can manipulate the past to defend specific ideological or commercial values. Yet, at the same time, heritage experiences are honestly felt and fundamental in the shaping of modern national or cultural identities. Thus, the questions of what constitutes “heritage” in a tourist attraction and whether or not the experience is “authentic” are fundamentally connected and contradictory. Neither heritage nor authenticity can be separated from both the process of their construction and the motivations and expectations of visitors. This makes heritage tourism a slippery subject for study. It involves numerous contradictions and complications. Indeed, contradiction and dissonance are at the heart of any notion of heritage tourism; what might be heritage for some is merely leisure and consumption for others. The dissonance comes from this dichotomy: the consumer exploitation of a destination that is held by many to have sacred properties. Yet, as this chapter suggests, the construction of those sacred properties is at times dependent on the consumer culture of the tourism industry.

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Travel Tips and Trivia

Last Updated: January 23, 2024

What Is Heritage Tourism? [Historical Tourism Tips and Insights]

What is heritage tourism? If that’s the question on your lips, then check out this guide to historical tourism and the best places to experience it!

Danny Newman

What is heritage tourism and where are the best places to experience it? I hope this post provides the answers you’ve been looking for!

What’s the first thing you do when you travel somewhere new?

Do you look for hot-spot tourist activities? Or do you head to the first available beach to catch some rays? How about dining in the nearest restaurant to sample the local cuisine?

They’re all awesome things to do.

If you’re like some people, though, you may love nothing more than seeking out historical sites, seeing relics of ancient civilizations, and stumbling upon hidden cultural gems…

If that sounds like your idea of fun, then heritage tourism might be right up your alley! But what is heritage tourism (also known as historical tourism), where are the best places to experience it, and how can you incorporate this novel type of travel into your next trip?

Keep reading to learn all about the characteristics of heritage tourism and find the answers to these questions and more!

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Let’s start with the definition of historical tourism! Here’s the basic idea of heritage tourism and why it’s so important.

The Definition of Heritage Tourism

It might sound fancy, but heritage tourism is simply travelling to new destinations with historical interests in your heart!

In short, it means visiting a region to engage in experiences and activities that teach you more about its past and present.

When you embark on such a journey, you’ll encounter people, places and stories that bring an area to life and help you appreciate it on a much deeper level.

While there’s nothing wrong with traditional tourism (AKA hitting a location’s top 10 “must-see” spots and taking a few selfies so you can tick it off your bucket list), historical tourism invites you to stay a little longer, listen a little closer, and immerse yourself in the true culture of the destination.

When you do, you might be surprised by the benefits that come your way .

In fact, researchers have found that travellers who participate in heritage tourism tend to stay longer and travel more often.

One study found that their average visits span 22% longer than normal vacations! Not only does this allow you to expand your own knowledge base, but it also pumps money back into those local economies, making it a total win-win.

Worried you’ll spend all of your time walking around museums or watching educational videos in a darkened room, when the sun’s shining outside and there are countless actual attractions to see and explore?

While this might be a small part of the experience, you’ll be glad to know there are many more ways to unearth the historical culture and heritage of a place.

Today, these kinds of sites are more interesting and interactive than ever before as well.

You’ll have so much fun that you might not even realize you’re learning, growing, and travelling !

Ancient ruins, like Machu Picchu, are prime places to enjoy historic tourism. Here are a few others…

Common Areas That Heritage Tourists Tend to Visit

Historic buildings
Archaeological sites
Ethnic/ecological heritage sites
Art galleries and museums
State, local, or national parks
Plays and musicals

Whatever your personal style or preferences might be, you can find a way to plug into the local culture.

If an art gallery isn’t exactly your scene, then why not stock up your backpack and explore the region’s natural history through a hike?

How about visiting the local basilica, walking to the ancient ruins up the hill, watching the village parade that’s ran on the same day for hundreds of years, or exploring the local market for trinkets to use as souvenirs?

Keep your eyes open and there’s no shortage of ways to experience heritage tourism for yourself.

Interested in the characteristics of heritage tourism? You might like these posts too:

40 Different Types of Tourism
How to Be a Responsible Traveller
50 Fascinating Facts About Travel
85+ Road Trip Trivia Questions & Games
75 Essential Things to Pack for Travel
Key Features of the Experience of Travel
100 Reasons I love to Travel (& You Will Too)

With the definition of historical tourism down, let’s move onto a selection of the best destinations to experience it!

The Best Destinations for Historical Tourism

As you might imagine, some of the greatest places for historical tourism are cities and regions with a rich, diverse history! Here’s something to keep in mind though: whenever you travel to any of these places, be sure to follow the Leave No Trace rule.

One of the only cons of heritage tourism is that increased visitors to these mindboggling destinations can cause them to be compromised with congestion, pollution and littering. As long as you’re respectful and considerate, you can make the most of any visit, without impacting the site itself.

By ‘leaving no trace’, you aim for any places that you explore to be totally undisturbed by your visit- as if you were never even there! With that said, here are a few of the best places in the world to experience heritage tourism at its finest.

There’s nothing like standing at the base of the Roman Colosseum to give you an intense appreciation for Italy’s history and tourism heritage. One of the most recognizable structures in the world, it’s a great place to start your journey.

From there, Rome’s full of other spots that give you a glimpse into its heritage and history.

Continue your tour at the Pantheon, and leave plenty of time for the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica, and Palatine Hill. All of these sites offer tours for a minimal fee, and it’s always worth the investment.

As you travel around Italy and indulge in all the fresh pasta you can stand, other spectacular heritage highlights to see include Venice’s Grand Canal, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Amalfi Coast. I went around Italy last year and can vouch for the insane amounts of history around every corner!

Alongside Italy as a whole, the Colosseum in Rome is, of course, one of the best places in the world to reap the rewards of historical tourism!

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated more than 1,000 World Heritage Sites around the globe. You’ll find 32 of them in England alone.

However, the heavy-hitters like Stonehenge and the Tower of London are just the beginning. There are hundreds of historical attractions all around England, and each beckons you to take a step back in time, when sprawling royal estates, barbarian tribes, and Roman legions reigned supreme.

Among other historical heritage attractions, you can castle-hop your way around the country, or ride aboard the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for an interesting trip through the English countryside. If you want to stretch your legs, you can retrace the steps of a former emperor along the Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail.

Greece is another ancient country that’s steeped in culture and history, making it a top spot for any heritage tourists. While many travellers head straight to the Acropolis in Athens, there are plenty of other sites to see along the way.

Start by taking a stroll around Plaka, recognized as the oldest residential neighbourhood in Athens. To travel even further back in time, visit the ruins of Akrotiri, an ancient settlement from the Minoan Bronze Age.

Other spots to visit include the sanctuaries and structures of Delphi, as well as The Palace of Knossos and the National Archeological Museum. Oh, and be sure to check out the iconic hilltop monasteries of Meteora. For a good hike, head to the Vikos Gorge up north!

The characteristics of heritage tourism are plain for all to see at the might mountain monasteries in Meteora, Greece.

For many travellers, a visit to the Great Wall of China is a dream opportunity. It also happens to be the exact definition of historical tourism! This is a great example of how fun, exciting and interesting these kinds of trips can be.

Once you’ve spent time walking some of the wall’s 6,000 kilometres, you can learn more about China’s immense history by visiting sites like the Shanghai Museum or the ancient city of Xi’an. The Terracotta Army is, of course, also one of the most fascinating archaeological sites in the world for you to see while you’re there!

When it’s time to refresh, you can book an in-depth tea tour to learn more about the important role hot tea has played in shaping the country’s culture.

France is full of sites that embody the characteristics of heritage tourism. While the Eiffel Tower has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991, it’s just one of the historical stops to add to your schedule.

To learn more about the country’s artistic and cultural history, tour the left and right banks of the Seine River, visit the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, and take in the high Gothic architecture at Chartres Cathedral. You can also visit the Champagne region to learn all about the history of your favourite celebratory bubbly.

From ancient cathedrals to hillside towns and villages, you’ll have no shortage of places to visit in France.

Located just outside of Cairo, the Pyramids of Giza are a jarring, surreal site rising out of the Egyptian desert. In addition to being stunningly beautiful, they’re also a lesson in longevity. When the Roman Colosseum was built, these structures were already more than 2,600 years old ! I can’t wait to go one day.

Travellers looking to learn more about Egypt’s history can also visit other sites including the ruins of Abu Mena, and the ancient city of Thebes. The Nubian Monuments also stand as an iconic reminder of the ancient temples and sanctuaries that once existed along the Nile.

The definition of heritage tourism is both simple and complex! Learn how to embrace it, though, and it can take your travel experience to whole new levels of enjoyment.

Tips for an Amazing Heritage Tourism Experience

Exploring a place’s heritage and tourism history can be exciting, but it’s critical to do it the right way. Before you head out on your next adventure, remember to:

Make a list of the historical places you want to visit
Pack your camera
Take notes of tour times, costs and other important details
Learn as much as possible about the history and culture of each region
Look into personal tours led by local guides

Without proper planning, you might find that it’s difficult to engage with or truly understand the magnitude of what you’re viewing. A little research and the right guide can make all the difference in, for instance, simply admiring the enormity of the Colosseum and understanding its true historical and cultural significance.

Want to make your trip down memory lane as personal as possible?

Consider booking an adventure to learn as much as possible about your own family history. Using census records, correspondence, family notes, or newspapers, try to track down the exact location where your ancestors once lived. As you dive into these details, you’ll also learn much more about the specific places you may end up visiting one day.

What Is Heritage Tourism? A Rich, Rewarding Experience!

We all travel for different reasons. Some of us book a trip to get away and indulge in a little R&R. But then there are those journeys that are meant to fuel personal growth and development . And some of the most rewarding experiences happen when you open yourself up to learning as much as possible about the place you’re visiting and its long, intricate, and fascinating history.

So, what is heritage tourism? It’s the key that unlocks an entirely new level of sightseeing. What’s behind that picture you just snapped? Why are these ruins still standing? Who paved these towns thousands of years ago so you could stroll through them today?

When you travel intently and leverage the power of historical tourism, you discover the answers to these kinds of questions for yourself.

Dreaming of your next adventure? For inspiration and ideas, check out my 50 super-simple bucket list ideas !

How Heritage Tourism Helps People Unlock the Past

Heritage tourism provides a great way to learn about the past, but what exactly is it? Check out this guide to learn about this new travel trend!

Throughout the past decade or so, people have begun to look at travel in a completely different way. Experiential travel has become a new buzzword to describe travel with that little extra something to it. This new way of traveling looks different for everyone whether you prefer outdoor activities, cultural exchanges, history, or a bit of everything!

This travel revolution means there are more and more opportunities to shape a trip around your particular interests. History buffs will be happy to know that heritage tourism has emerged as one of the new types of travel, and many different destinations and private organizations are focusing on creating their own heritage tourism programs to help cater to this growing tourism market!

Take a step back in time with Let’s Roam .

Here at Let’s Roam, we have no shortage of history buffs on our staff! Our knowledgeable team has created a range of exciting scavenger hunts that will help you explore the biggest tourist attractions and the hidden gems in a destination. These are all accessible via our handy Let’s Roam app . Plus, the Let’s Roam Explorer blog features hundreds of articles to help make trip planning easy!

Exploring the Past through Heritage Tourism

Below you’ll find a guide to heritage tourism and how it can help you unlock the past. We’ve included a description of what heritage tourism is and how it helps local communities. In addition, we’ve included a short list of some of our favorite heritage travel destinations!

What is heritage tourism?

The term heritage tourism has become a bit of a buzzword in recent years. However, you may find yourself wondering what exactly heritage tourism is. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, heritage tourism is “traveling to experience the places, artifacts, and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present.” This means spending time visiting historic places, museums, and archeological attractions.

However, heritage tourism is more than simply visiting an attraction and checking it off a long to-do list. It means taking the time to truly understand what you’re seeing as well as the impact it has on people. Who lived or worked there? What did their daily lives look like? How did they interact with others?

Heritage tourism is often linked with sustainability since it conveys a more conscious way of traveling. This type of travel generally goes hand in hand with using fewer natural resources. It can also be a great opportunity for tourism development in off-the-beaten-track destinations. This can then be a major contributor to broader economic development and a higher quality of life. Since this type of travel is generally different than mass travel, it also helps promote sustainable development and caring responsibly for cultural resources, historic resources, and natural resources.

What is the purpose of heritage tourism?

In the words of George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Heritage tourism serves as a way to connect us to the past. It helps us understand how people lived, loved, and laughed. Knowing this can help us better understand the world that we are currently living in. It can also help us analyze why certain things happened in history and how we can learn from it.

On a more personal level, heritage tourism can help people more closely identify with their own ancestors and heritage. There are many different tour operators that offer itineraries full of cultivated experiences that have a special emphasis on culture and history. A good example of this is Birthright, the program that sends young Jewish people to Israel to learn more about Judaism.

However, you don’t need to go on an organized tour for this. Instead, you can shape your own itinerary so that it incorporates certain aspects that you want to learn more about. For instance, as an American of German and British descent, I’ve made many trips to Germany and the United Kingdom to learn more about my family background.

How does heritage tourism impact destinations?

When placed under the stewardship of ethical institutions, nonprofit organizations, and partnerships with key stakeholders, heritage tourism has a much gentler approach than other types of tourism. It can offer many economic benefits to destinations. Case studies have shown that heritage tourists tend to stay longer in a destination. They also spend more money while they’re there. This means the economic impact of heritage tourists is greater than other types of tourists.

One of the most obvious economic benefits is that heritage tourism provides employment opportunities. These could range from historians to tour guides as well as support employees at the heritage sites. The tourism industry has one of the lowest barriers to entry when it comes to employment. Heritage tourism can create jobs that are likely to go to the local population. This means that the money stays in the local communities that need it most.

This, in turn, helps the local economy in numerous ways by allowing more money to be spent at local businesses. In some parts of the world, this could mean the difference between someone being able to stay in their hometown with their friends and family vs. having to go to a big city and look for work. This usually ensures that people have a wider support network nearby which is crucial to their well-being.

The money generated from tickets can also help preserve the monuments, artifacts, and heritage sites that you’re seeing. This is an incredibly important aspect of conservation. Many of the world’s most important historic sites are falling into disrepair due to unstable economies, civil wars, and other domestic issues. The revenue from ticket sales could make a huge difference in the upkeep and maintenance of the monuments.

What are some tips and tricks for heritage tourism?

If you’re trying to learn more about the past when visiting historic sites, make sure that you have at least a rough idea as to why the site is important. Although most places will provide enough information to piece together a basic idea, spending the time to read up on it before you go will make your experience much more fulfilling.

It’s also important to allow yourself plenty of time at each destination. This is the only way that you can truly immerse yourself in it. Also, try to avoid going to historic sites during peak travel hours. Having fewer tourists around makes it much easier to imagine what the places would have looked like.

What are some of the best destinations for heritage tourism?

Below you’ll find a list of some of our favorite heritage tourism destinations. While this list is in no way exhaustive, it does give you an idea of what types of things fall under the umbrella of heritage tourism. We’ve also included a short section on important things that you should know when visiting any of these destinations.

As one of the oldest civilizations in the world, India has a slew of heritage sites. These can give a comprehensive look into how it transformed from the Indus Valley civilization to the livable, chaotic country we know and love today. The country is full of UNESCO World Heritage sites so this is a good place to start your planning.

Where to go?

Most visitors begin their trip in Delhi. This is perfect for history buffs. Not only is Delhi the capital of India, but it’s also the location of many previous ancient cities. You can still find vestiges of these in the many forts and tombs in South Delhi as well as the winding streets of Old Delhi.

Old Delhi was designed by Shah Jahan of Taj Mahal fame. As you wander through the tiny streets crammed full of shops, eateries, and chai-wallahs, it feels like little has changed in the past few centuries. From Delhi, you can easily get on a train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal or Jaipur within a few hours. If you’re interested in religious history, you should also check out Amritsar in the northern state of Punjab. This is the heart of Sikhism and is the home of the breathtaking Golden Temple.

Alternatively, an overnight train ride will get you to the lakeside city of Udaipur or the spiritual capital of Varanasi where people deposit the bodies or ashes of their deceased family members in the holy Ganges River.

If you’re willing to brave the overnight bus, you can also head to Rishikesh. Sitting in the foothills of the Himalayas, Rishikesh was the birthplace of yoga and a very popular destination for spiritual and yoga-oriented retreats.

A short flight from Delhi will get you to Mumbai or Calcutta. These two cities were important economic and political centers for the British Raj. This is where you’ll find many colonial-era buildings that look like they could be straight out of London.

Important things to know .

The history of India is very long and complex. As you travel, it’s a good idea to jot things down as you go. This is particularly useful for keeping track of Hinduism’s most important gods and kings.

Also, India can be an extremely stressful and uncomfortable country to travel through. Virtually everywhere you go will be crowded, and it will feel like half of the population is trying to get a photo with you. Rather than stressing out about it, just try and take a deep breath and learn to enjoy the chaos. It will make your experience there much more enjoyable. With a more laid-back attitude, you’re also more likely to see how incredibly kind and welcoming most Indians are and what a great sense of humor they have.

Why go?

When it comes to tourist destinations, Thailand has pretty much everything you could possibly want. With the beaches of Koh Samui, the vibrant nightlife of Bangkok, and the green rolling hills of Chiang Mai, there is something for everyone here. Best of all, it’s full of amazing heritage sites that give a fascinating look into Thailand’s history and culture.

As one of the only countries in Southeast Asia that was never colonized, Thailand doesn’t really have the same European-style architecture that you find in neighboring countries. Bangkok is a vibrant capital city that is as sparkly as they come. The city is also home to incredible palaces and temples, including the famous Wat Pho which holds an enormous reclining Buddha. While you’re there, make sure not to miss the vibrant Grand Palace. We guarantee it’s not like any palace you have ever seen before!

Lying just a short train ride from Bangkok, the former capital city of Ayutthaya. It was once one of the biggest cities in the world with a population of nearly one million people. Today, you’ll find it mostly destroyed but even in its current state, it’s still breathtaking. The complex is famous for its 67 temples and ruins.

In the northern section of the country, Chiang Mai is famous for its myriad of temples. These tell an important story of the impact that Buddhism has had on the local population. This bustling city is the largest urban area in northern Thailand and has been a hub for remote workers and backpackers for decades. It’s a great place to base yourself if you want to enjoy some of Thailand’s gorgeous natural landscapes or visit one of the local hill tribes.

Important things to know.

In the late 90s and early 2000s, Thailand basically exploded onto the tourism scene. This huge influx of mass tourism brought with it a few problems. Sex tourism has become very prevalent and can sometimes include underage people. It also comes with drugs and other social issues. When you travel there, it’s best to avoid any of these things. This not only keeps you out of possible trouble but also shows respect for Thai culture.

New Zealand

New Zealand has long been famous for its beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Despite its location in the middle of nowhere, they have also managed to develop into one of the world’s bucket list destinations.

There are many reasons to visit the Land of the Long White Cloud. Perhaps one of the world leaders when it comes to cultural heritage tourism, New Zealand proudly embraces its Maori culture, and the government has created many initiatives to help educate people on the country’s history. You will be greeted with a hearty Kia Ora from the moment your flight lands at Auckland Airport, and the opportunities to learn more about the indigenous population are endless.

Where to go?

Most long-haul flights fly into the city of Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island. Although there’s little in the way of historic sites here, a quick visit to the imposing Auckland Museum will teach you some important aspects of Maori culture.

From Auckland, you can take a bus or rent a car to visit various Maori sites located across the North Island. These include the Te Pā Tū Māori Village , the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where one of New Zealand’s founding documents was signed, and the Waipoua Forest, one of the oldest forests in New Zealand which plays an important role in Maori culture.

New Zealand is an amazing destination to visit but it can be painfully expensive to travel through. If you’re traveling on a budget, we highly recommend renting a campervan that you can sleep in. This can help save a lot of money rather than staying in expensive hotel rooms.

It’s hard to think of heritage tourism and not imagine Italy. The ancient ruins of the Coliseum and the Roman Forum stand testament to an advanced society that thrived over two millennia ago. Meanwhile, the Duomo and Uffizi Museum in Florence holds some of the world’s most spectacular art.

One of the great things about traveling through Italy is that it has a little bit of everything. And everything they have is magical. From small towns lined with cobblestone streets that have barely changed for hundreds of years to bustling metropolises that have historic sites hidden behind every corner, there is always something interesting for history buffs to explore. As the icing on the cake, the gastronomic scene is incomparable.

The major cities of Rome, Venice, and Florence should be the first stop on a heritage tourism tour. If you want to focus on smaller towns and villages, you can always visit the spell-binding villages of Cinque Terre National Park or hang around some of the smaller towns of Tuscany. Italy has heritage sites virtually everywhere so you really can’t go wrong! Find out more about exploring this beautiful country on our detailed guide of how to spend a week in Italy !

Italy is full of tourists all year round. However, it’s literally bursting at the seams during the high season. Try to avoid going in the summer if you can. It will make your overall trip much more enjoyable since you won’t be battling crowds or wasting precious vacation time standing in lines.

What other places should you go?

While we’ve provided just a short list of great destinations for heritage tourism, there are still many more! Mexico , Egypt, Morocco, Japan, the Czech Republic, Sudan, and Iran are also all great options. They’re all full of cultural heritage sites that are sure to wow even the most jaded history buff!

Are you ready to roam?

We hope this guide to heritage tourism has left you inspired to take a step back into the past! As always, we would love to hear your feedback, and please let us know of any tips, tricks, or destinations we may have missed!

If you’d like to find more information about these destinations mentioned above, make sure to check out the Let’s Roam Explorer blog . Here you’ll find hundreds of destination guides, must-see lists, and travel blogs that will help make your vacation planning easier. Don’t forget to download the Let’s Roam app before you go. This gives you access to all of our great scavenger hunts , ghost walks, art tours, and pub crawls.

Frequently Asked Questions

The purpose of heritage tourism is to explore the past by visiting archeological sites, museums, and historic attractions. Read more about heritage tourism at the Let’s Roam Explorer blog !

Activities normally associated with heritage tourism could be visiting the ancient ruins of Rome or Mexico , going to a local museum, or even going on a walking tour focusing on unique architecture.

Heritage tourism is different than tourism because it focuses on activities and attractions that are dedicated to preserving the past.

Understanding our heritage is important because it’s easier to understand the world around us. Heritage tourism can play a key role in unlocking the past and bringing it back to life.

If you’re looking for a fascinating heritage tourism destination , look no further than India, Thailand, Italy , New Zealand, Mexico, Morocco, or Egypt!

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Tourism and its Impacts on Conservation

Other languages: Français

Tourism is often perceived as a threat to conservation of World Heritage. In fact, tourism is a platform and a vehicle for presenting heritage to the public, conserving it and guaranteeing its economic and social viability. Hence, tourism is in most cases a balancing mechanism that keeps and protects the heritage itself.

The main premise of the TOURISM theme within the OurWorldHeritage initiative is that defining the key principles of Heritage-Tourism reciprocal relations is imperative. Both tourism and heritage sites are exposed nowadays to critical exogenic and endogenic changes. Among these challenges are the ramifications of COVID-19, and the consequent global economic and social crises. Hence, we argue that it is imperative to conceptually and practically pave a way for a major review of these interrelationships. In so doing, we hope to deconstruct old concepts and reconstruct a new collaborative paradigm based on present challenges and on constructive and complementing synergies, which will assure the continuity and resilience and sustainability of heritage and tourism alike.

Tourism Observation: How Big Data Can Help To Best Monitoring Tourism On World Heritage Sites

This webinar is devoted to the issues of observing and developing sustainable tourism in the heritage site, using digital data produced by tourism activity or by visitors themselves on social networks. The challenge is to build a smart destination, for the benefit of the preservation and enhancement of the cultural sites. This involves the observation and knowledge of the mobility of visitors, their tourist experience and their interpretations of heritage, both from a qualitative and quantitative point of view, by collecting data in situ (wifi, sensors) and online (webscraping, etc.), to inform decision-making concerning tourism, but also to promote practices and policies that integrate these data.

Some 200 draft recommendations for various target groups (national and local governments; UN organisations/agencies, World Heritage Committee, UNESCO, Advisory Bodies (ICOMOS, IUCN & ICCROM), NGOs, local inhabitant associations, universities/research institutes, tourism industry etc.), have been gathered from around the world through the UNESCO-UNITWIN Network on Culture, Tourism and Development, which called for policy recommendations on how tourism and heritage conservation can contribute to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The 3-part event organized on February 1st, 8th and15th, aims at discussing a series of recommendations that have been suggested by different academics and stakeholders on new approaches concerning tourism to WH sites to benchmark better standards for other heritage sites.

This webinar makes more particularly reference to several recommendations:

11. SPATIAL PLANNING AND DESIGN GUIDELINES (SDG#11)

13. TOURISM AND QUALITY EDUCATION (SDG # 4)

21. TECHNOLOGIES FOR SPATIAL MONITORING OF TOURISM

Organised with: Carmelo Ignaccolo (MIT) and Sébastien Jacquot (Paris & Panthéon-Sorbonne)

Moderator: Lorenzo Cantoni , Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland (USI)

Maria Gravari-Barbas : Introduction Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University

Carmelo Ignaccolo : ‘Big data and data visualization techniques for tourism monitoring in Venice’. Recent advances in computation and big data techniques have enabled major break- throughs that have changed the way many of us live, navigate, and experience the built environment of our cities. This is particularly true in major tourist destinations, such as the city of Venice, where the rise of the sharing economy in the tourism sector has impacted both the retail system and the housing stock. By leveraging data collected from TripAdvisor, AirDNA and Google, the research project “Unmasking tourism in Venice” narrates the spatial implications of overtourism in Venice’s historic center at a granular level. The scope of this project is twofold: it generates a “Tourism Index” to map clusters of tourism-related activities and it demonstrates how specific urban form conditions are more prone to overtourism.

Gael Chareyron – Sébastien Jacquot : ‘Digital data for knowledge of tourism in cultural sites’ Tourist observation now integrates data from social networks and digital practices, for the purpose of understanding the profiles, mobility and experiences of visitors. The challenge is to understand the place of cultural sites within tourist destinations, through the relationships with other sites, and the way in which visitor practices build tourist and heritage complexes, on variable scales. We also question the integration of these data in site management.

Sébastien Jacquot – Gael Chareyron : ‘Interpretation from below? Analysing online tourist comments to identify the image and interpretations of heritage’ Platform capitalism is also an economy of recommendation. Tourists become prescribers through their comments, generating visibility for heritage sites. In the past, an agreement between the World Heritage Centre and TripAdvisor aimed to use these recommendations for heritage monitoring purposes. This idea can be pursued, by asking whether the analysis of the comments can be a way to identify the relationship of tourists to heritage, through the way they restitute their experiences and thus enrich the site’s interpretations, from below, bringing out new values or ways of characterizing a tourist destination. Thus, the analysis of these micro narratives on the heritage left by visitors and inhabitants may reveal a plurality of interpretations.

Sairi Piñeros : ‘Tourism practices and big data in World Heritage Sites’ In World Heritage sites, the statistics to studying tourism are typically the following: international arrivals, domestic mobility, occupancy in the accommodation sector, surveys on tourist attractions entrances (museums, parks) or random questionnaires about a specific topic. This data is often a little part of tourism activity and cannot show tourists’ practices, in this case, in word heritage sites. Nowadays, the new technologies, Internet and mobile communications allow tourists to share their experiences easy and fast. Tourists broadcast their pictures, videos, stories and anecdotes through websites such as sites to sharing pictures (Instagram), blogs, forums, travelers’ communities (TripAdvisor) and social networks (Facebook, Twitter and so on). This presentation explains how digital footprints, left by tourists on Internet, may provide valuable information to analyze tourism practices in word heritage sites.

Lorenzo Cantoni : ‘eLearning and MOOCs for tourism. Before and beyond the pandemic’ Digital transformation of tourism has very direct connections with the educational field, in particular when it comes to the training of tourism professionals, with the goal of ensuring SDG4 – Quality Education. In particular, tourism professionals should be equipped with relevant and updated knowledge and skills about eTourism, so to operate in effective and efficient ways and to make the best of (big) data, becoming able to collect and analyse them, as well as to take wise managerial and strategic decisions. Moreover, digital technologies should be considered not only topics to be studied, but also tools that help promoting learning experiences. Because of the pandemic, the need for professionals to learn at a distance in very flexible ways has become cristal clear.

Lorenzo Cantoni is professor at USI – Università della Svizzera italiana (Lugano, Switzerland), Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society, where he is director of the Institute of Digital Technologies for Communication. He is chair-holder of the UNESCO chair in ICT to develop and promote sustainable tourism in World Heritage Sites, established at USI in 2013; in the years 2014-17 he has been President of IFITT – International Federation for IT in Travel and Tourism. He is USI’s Pro-rector for Education and Students’ experience, vice-director of the Master in International Tourism and director of the Master in Digital Fashion Communication, done in collaboration with the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Gaël Chareyron defended his Ph D. degree in computer science and image processing at the Uni- versity Jean Monnet (Saint-Etienne, France) in 2005. He is Dean of Computer Science and head of Master in Data & Artificial Intelligence at ESILV, Paris and member of De Vinci Research Center (DVRC) in digital group. Since 2010 he is associate researcher at EIREST, Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne. His research topics include multimedia and security, computer vision, Big Data & data mining, social media & tourism.

Carmelo Ignaccolo is a Ph.D. Candidate in City Design and Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (DUSP) and an Adj. Faculty of Digital Techniques for Urban Design at Columbia University GSAPP. His academic work employs urban analytics and mapping techniques to analyze the urban morphology of historic cities and to investigate how the built environment affects human cognition and behavior. Prior to MIT, Carmelo worked as an Urban Planner at the Urban Planning and Design Lab of the United Nations Habitat Programme in Nairobi and as an Urban Designer at AECOM in New York City. Carmelo’s work has been exhibited in several international venues, such as the Seoul Architecture Biennale (2019) and at the Bi-City Shenzhen Biennale of UrbanismArchitecture (2020).

Sébastien Jacquot is a lecturer (Maître de conférences) in geography at University Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne (IREST). He is Director of IREST (Institut de Recherches et d’Etudes Supérieures en Tourisme). He is a member of the EA EIREST interdisciplinary research team in tourism, and an associate member of the UMR PRODIG. He is co-responsible for the Heritage Working Group of the Labex Dynamite, member of the UNITWIN network attached to the UNESCO Chair Culture, Tourism, Development (U. Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne). His research is in line with social and urban geography, and focuses on heritage policies, World Heritage and intangible heritage, tourism and digital social networks, tourism observation, metropolitan tourism, heritage from below. He has carried out surveys on remembrance tourism, wine tourism, links between informality and tourism.

Sairi Tatiana Piñeros holds a PhD in geography at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University. She started her studies in geography at the National University of Colombia. She has a Master in Geography of Emerging and Developing Countries (Paris 7 University) and Master in Tourism, Environment, Heritage (Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University). She is currently a research professor at the Externado de Colombia University. Since 2020, she has been an associate researcher at EIREST, Paris Panthéon-Sor- bonne. Her research interests include tourism practices, geographical and tourism imaginaries, perception of space, urban changes, numerical traces, BigData Community-based tourism.

RAPPORTEUR:

Christina Cameron held the Canada Research Chair in Built Heritage at the University of Montreal from 2005 to 2019 where she directed a research program on heritage conservation. She previously served as a heritage executive with Parks Canada for more than thirty-five years. She has worked with the World Heritage Convention since 1987, chairing the Committee in 1990 and 2008 and co-authoring Many Voices, One Vision: The Early Years of the World Heritage Convention (2013).

INTRODUCTIONS

Maria Gravari-Barbas has a degree in Architecture and Urban Design (University of Athens, 1985) and a PhD in Geography and Planning (Paris IV – Sorbonne, 1991). She is the Director of the EIREST, a multidisciplinary research team dedicated to tourism studies, with main focus on cultural heritage, development, and urban-tourism evolutions. Since 2009 she is the director of the UNESCO Chair of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and the coordinator of the UNITWIN network ‘Tourism, Culture, Development’. She is the author of several books and papers related to Tourism, Culture and Heritage. She currently is the Chait of the UNA Europa Alliance (https://www.una-europa.eu/) Steering Committee for Cultural heritage, and the convenor of the tourism theme of OurWorldHeritage initiative.

Heritage Tourism And Locality In India: Part III: Kochi

In this webinar, ‘Locality’ means more than just the local community. This includes the larger non-physical contexts, like the deep structure of the milieu, its cultural and historic characteristics and the plural trajectories of interactive relationships in which institutions, local people and multiple perceptions about heritage and its dynamic historicity are vested.

Often we find that heritage sites by virtue of acquiring a global significance require a refreshing of their connect in the existing context. Here, ‘Locality’ means more than just the local community. This includes the larger non-physical contexts, like the deep structure of the milieu, its cultural and historic characteristics and the plural trajectories of interactive relationships in which institutions, local people and multiple perceptions about heritage and its dynamic historicity are vested. The main framework of enquiry into these complex relationships are:

Mutual re-signification of heritage and locality;

Tourism induced social transformations and planned release of economic potential;

Extending participatory decisions for sustenance of Heritage. Each webinar will be anchored by a local institution.

Organised with: Kerala Museum Kochi

Moderator: Biley E. Menon - Architect and Urban Designer, Kochi

Minja Yang - UNESCO consultant on Culture & Development

K. T. Ravindran - Chairman, Architectural Heritage Advisory Committee, INTACH

Jose Dominic - Co-founder, CGH Earth, Kochi

Bose Krishnamachari - Co-founder, Kochi Biennale Foundation

Aditi Nayar - Director, Kerala Museum, Madhavan Nayar Foundation, Kochi

K. J. Sohan - INTACH, Kerala State Convener

Cultural Heritage Tourism Routes along Yunnan Borders / 云南边境文化遗产旅游线路

Yunnan is located in Southwest China and is home to the nation’s greatest geographical and cultural diversity. This webinar is about creating synergies from socio-cultural, political, economic perspectives and multidimensional flows in borderlands, maintenance of ethnic identity along borders and how to facilitate the SDGs and local sustainable development through ethnic & border tourism?

Yunnan is located in Southwest China and is home to the nation’s greatest geographical and cultural diversity. There are 25 officially recognized ethnic minorities comprising one-third of the province’s total population, living in two-thirds of Yunnan’s territory. 25 counties along over 4000 km borderlines respectively border with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. 16 cross-border ethnic minorities reside on both sides of the border. These cross- border ethnic groups, which have the same origin in history and still maintain close everyday contacts, that retain and inherit the abundant cultural heritage of the region.

This phenomenon is not unique in Yunnan, China. Many border communities worldwide are divided into different countries despite their shared history, culture, traditions and heritage. However, the way of thinking and living are endogenous. Although border communities hold different passports, with frequent and various mobilities in everyday life, the organization of the local society, even cross-border, is still based on trust-oriented social network and co-operation, rather than dominant marketized logic and competition in most modern societies (or urban areas), which induces a variety of societal problems.

Therefore, this event will invite speakers to give their insights on the following questions:

What conditions are needed to create synergies from socio-cultural, political, economic perspectives and multidimensional flows in borderlands?

How can cultural heritage routes facilitate the construction and maintenance of ethnic identity along borders, whilst improving the well-being of locals? In this sense, what criteria should be selected?

How to facilitate the SDGs and local sustainable development through ethnic & border tourism?

Opening and introduction of the OWH initiative: Min (Lucy) Zhang & Zhu Tao (in English and Chinese)

Prof. Xie Hong-zhong (in Chinese)Evaluation Criteria of Cultural Tourism Routes

Mrs. Lian Fang (in Chinese)Diversity of Yunnan World Heritage

Mr. Beesavang Porsengvong (in English) Cultural Tourism Routes Based on Shared Heritage between Laos and China under OBOR Strategy

Prof. Wang Zhi-hui (in English) Exploration of Sustainable Development Path in Mountainous Rural Areas in Yunnan Province

Dr. Han Jian-lei (in Chinese) Analysis of the Structural Characteristics of Regional Tourism Network and Its Influence Mechanism from the Perspective of Multidimensional Flow–Taking Yunnan Province as an Example

Dr. Min (Lucy) Zhang (in English) Cultural Boundaries and Ethnic Representation at Borders

Dr. Zhu Tao (in English) Ethnic Dressing and Heritage Preservation at Borders

Dr. Xian-hai (Kenny) Ban (in Chinese) The Evolution Path of Lijiang Inns in Yunnan under the Influence of Ancient Tea-Horse Trail

Discussion (in Chinese and English)

Conclusions by Prof. Xie Hong-zhong (in Chinese)

Prof. Xie Hong-zhong , PhD in Geography. Depudy dean of School of tourism and hotel management at Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Deputy director of Yunnan Tourism Management Teaching Steering Committee, Member of Academic Committee of Yunnan Provincial Department of culture and tourism, Member of Expert Committee of Yunnan “14th Five Year Plan”, Member of Yunnan Provincial Tourism think tank consortium. Chief expert at Yunnan Tourism chamber of Commerce, Yunnan service trade association and Yunnan Tourism Marketing Association. He has published more than 50 academic articles and more than 10 books.

Lian Fang , founding president of Yunnan Natural and Cultural Conservation Council (YNC), current executive vice president and Secretary General of YNC; She has initiated the establishment of the World Heritage Conservation Union (Yunnan) and served as deputy director general. Her works include World Heritage Three Parallel Rivers, Shilin World Heritage Application, Hani Terrace Heritage Declaration Record, etc. As a curator, she introduced Dunhuang mural exhibition to Yunnan for the first time in 2019 after organizing the “Day of Natural & Cultural Heritage in China” in 2017.

Prof. Wang Zhi-hui . PhD in Public Administration, University of Birmingham, UK. She is currently lecturing in the school of tourism and hospitality, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Yunnan Province, China. Her research interests focus on rural community governance, and higher education management.

Beesavang Porsengvong , Department of Information, Culture and Tourism in Oudomxay Province Northern Laos. Nine years work experiences with tourism industry and government. Experiences of Laos-China exchanges: two times exchange about Chinese language and culture in Jinghong Xishuangbanna and Kunming, Yunnan.

Min (Lucy) Zhang , PhD in Heritage Tourism and Sustainability, University of Rovira i Virgili, Spain & University of Surrey, UK. Her research interests include community-based tourism, cultural heritage and socio-cultural sustainability in tourism destinations. She has consulted for UNDP on various projects on ethnic tourism and poverty alleviation in China.

Han Jian-lei , PhD candidate, master supervisor, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Yunnan, China. Head of research group “Border Tourism Studies”. He has presided over 4 projects including National Social Science Foundation Youth Program and published more than 10 academic articles in journals such as Human Geography.

Xian-hai (Kenny) Ban , PhD candidate at Siam University, Thailand. His research interest focuses on hotel management. He currently serves as a lecturer at the School of tourism and hotel management, Yunnan University of Finance and Economic.

Minja Yang Coordinator

Maria Gravari Barbas Convener

Valentina Araya

Silvia Aulet

Carlos Burgos Tartera

Lorenzo Cantoni

Geoff DeVito

Evinc Dogan

Francoise Ged

Fekri Hassan

Cristina Iamandi

Carmelo Ignaccolo

Shikha Jain

Pascale Marcotte

Michele Prats

Carmen Maria Ramos

KT Ravindran

Ilaria Rosani

Haifaa Abdulhalim

Zineb Chakir

Bouzid Sabeg

AFFILIATED INSTITUTES:

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Diversity and genders.

Heritage and Tourism

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Duncan Light

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If we consider heritage as the contemporary process through which human societies engage with, and make use of, their pasts (Harvey, 2001; Smith, 2006), then tourism is a well-established part of this process. People have long been intrigued and fascinated by the past and have been drawn to make their own visits to places of historic resonance. History-based tourism was well established by the nineteenth century, but increased dramatically in the second half of the twentieth century, so that it is now one of the most popular and globally widespread forms of special interest tourism. Moreover, tourism now represents the most conspicuous way in which history and the past are appropriated and commodified for economic gain in contemporary societies (see Chapter 29 on Heritage in Consumer Marketing, this volume) and heritage tourism is a major economic activity in almost all countries of the world. For this reason it is not inappropriate to talk of a heritage tourism industry (cf. Hewison, 1987), which comprises a diverse range of actors from the public, private and voluntary sectors along with authorizing institutions operating at a range of levels from the local to the supra-national. The management of heritage tourism is an increasingly professionalized activity, supported by numerous specialist training courses, and this has given rise to a new generation of professional heritage managers. As a discrete form of tourist demand and practice, heritage tourism has also been the focus of academic scrutiny for more than four decades, and there is now an academic journal ( The Journal of Heritage Tourism ) dedicated to this activity.

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Light, D. (2015). Heritage and Tourism. In: Waterton, E., Watson, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Heritage Research. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137293565_9

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Exploring the relationships between heritage tourism, sustainable community development and host communities’ health and wellbeing: A systematic review

Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Translational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom

* E-mail: [email protected]

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Translational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Program, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia

Cristy Brooks,
Emma Waterton,
Hayley Saul,
Andre Renzaho

Published: March 29, 2023
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282319
Reader Comments

Previous studies examining the impact of heritage tourism have focused on specific ecological, economic, political, or cultural impacts. Research focused on the extent to which heritage tourism fosters host communities’ participation and enhances their capacity to flourish and support long-term health and wellbeing is lacking. This systematic review assessed the impact of heritage tourism on sustainable community development, as well as the health and wellbeing of local communities. Studies were included if they: (i) were conducted in English; (ii) were published between January 2000 and March 2021; (iii) used qualitative and/or quantitative methods; (iv) analysed the impact of heritage tourism on sustainable community development and/or the health and wellbeing of local host communities; and (v) had a full-text copy available. The search identified 5292 articles, of which 102 articles met the inclusion criteria. The included studies covering six WHO regions (Western Pacific, African, Americas, South-East Asia, European, Eastern Mediterranean, and multiple regions). These studies show that heritage tourism had positive and negative impacts on social determinants of health. Positive impacts included economic gains, rejuvenation of culture, infrastructure development, and improved social services. However, heritage tourism also had deleterious effects on health, such as restrictions placed on local community participation and access to land, loss of livelihood, relocation and/or fragmentation of communities, increased outmigration, increases in crime, and erosion of culture. Thus, while heritage tourism may be a poverty-reducing strategy, its success depends on the inclusion of host communities in heritage tourism governance, decision-making processes, and access to resources and programs. Future policymakers are encouraged to adopt a holistic view of benefits along with detriments to sustainable heritage tourism development. Additional research should consider the health and wellbeing of local community groups engaged in heritage tourism. Protocol PROSPERO registration number: CRD42018114681.

Citation: Brooks C, Waterton E, Saul H, Renzaho A (2023) Exploring the relationships between heritage tourism, sustainable community development and host communities’ health and wellbeing: A systematic review. PLoS ONE 18(3): e0282319. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282319

Editor: Tai Ming Wut, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HONG KONG

Received: April 29, 2022; Accepted: February 14, 2023; Published: March 29, 2023

Copyright: © 2023 Brooks et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper.

Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Tourism, heritage, and sustainable development go hand in hand. Socio-economically, tourism is considered a vital means of sustainable human development worldwide, and remains one of the world’s top creators of employment and a lead income-generator, particularly for Global South countries [ 1 ]. For most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), tourism is a key component of export earnings and export diversification, and a major source of foreign-currency income [ 1 ]. In 2019, prior to the international travel restrictions implemented to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), export revenues from international tourism were estimated at USD 1.7 trillion, the world’s third largest export category after fuels and chemicals with great economic impacts. Tourism remains a major part of gross domestic product, generating millions of direct and indirect jobs, and helping LMICs reduce trade deficits [ 1 ]. It accounts for 28 per cent of the world’s trade in services, 7 per cent of overall exports of goods and services and 1 out of 10 jobs in the world [ 1 ]. Given this, it is anticipated that tourism will play a strong role in achieving all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but particularly Goals 1 (No poverty), 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 12 (Responsible consumption and production), 13 (Climate action) and 14 (Life below water).

To ensure tourism’s continued contribution to sustainable development efforts, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has established the T4SDG platform in order to “to make tourism matter on the journey to 2030” [ 2 ]. Likewise, in recognition of the relationship between heritage, tourism, and sustainable development, UNESCO launched the World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme, which was adopted by the World Heritage Committee in 2012. This Programme encapsulates a framework that builds on dialogue and stakeholder cooperation to promote an integrated approach to planning for tourism and heritage management in host countries, to protect and value natural and cultural assets, and develop appropriate and sustainable tourism pathways [ 3 ].

The addition of ‘heritage’ creates an important sub-category within the tourism industry: heritage tourism. This study adopts a broad definition of ‘heritage’, which encompasses the intersecting forms of tangible heritage, such as buildings, monuments, and works of art, intangible or living heritage, including folklore, cultural memories, celebrations and traditions, and natural heritage, or culturally infused landscapes and places of significant biodiversity [ 4 ]. This encompassing definition captures ‘heritage’ as it is understood at the international level, as evidenced by two key UNESCO conventions: the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage , which protects cultural, natural, and mixed heritage; and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage , which protects intangible heritage. Although the identification, conservation and management of heritage has traditionally been driven by national aspirations to preserve connections with history, ancestry, and national identity, the social and economic benefits of heritage tourism at community levels have also been documented [ 5 ].

Heritage tourism, as one of the oldest practices of travelling for leisure, is a significant sector of the tourism industry. It refers to the practice of visiting places because of their connections to cultural, natural, and intangible heritage and is oriented towards showcasing notable relationships to a shared past at a given tourism destination [ 4 ]. It contributes to global interchange and inter-cultural understanding [ 4 ]. Heritage tourism places economic and political value on recognised heritage resources and assets, providing additional reasons to conserve heritage further to the cultural imperatives for its maintenance [ 5 ]. By drawing on the cultural and historical capital of a community, heritage tourism can contribute to the flourishing of local communities and their positive sustainable development. However, as this systematic review will demonstrate, when applied uncritically and without meaningful engagement with the needs of local stakeholder, heritage tourism can also elicit damaging effects on community health and wellbeing.

First published in 1987, the classic report ‘ Our Common Future’ , more commonly known as the Brundtland Report, conceptualised sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [ 6 ]. Although this definition still works for many purposes, it emphasised the critical issues of environment and development whilst turning on the undefined implications of the word ‘needs’. In the report, the concept of sustainable development thus left unspecified the assumed importance of distinct cultural, political, economic, and ecological needs as well as health needs. Drawing on the work of globalization and cultural diversity scholar, Paul James [ 7 ], in this study we have defined ‘positive sustainable development’ as those “practices and meanings of human engagement that make for lifeworlds that project the ongoing probability of natural and social flourishing”, taking into account questions of vitality, relationality, productivity and sustainability.

Study rationale

For many years, the impact of heritage tourism has predominantly been viewed through ecological [ 8 , 9 ], economic and cultural [ 10 , 11 ] or political [ 12 ] lenses. For example, it has often been assumed that the conservation of historic, cultural, and natural resources, in combination with tourism, will naturally lead to sustainable local economies through increases in employment opportunities, provisioning of a platform for profitable new business opportunities, investment in infrastructure, improving public utilities and transport infrastructures, supporting the protection of natural resources, and, more recently, improving quality of life for local residents [ 13 – 15 ].

Similarly, the impact of heritage tourism on health and wellbeing has tended to focus on visitors’ wellbeing, including their health education and possible health trends, medical aspects of travel preparation, and health problems in returning tourists [ 16 – 18 ]. It has only been more recently that host communities’ health needs and wellbeing have been recognised as an intrinsic part of cultural heritage management and sustainable community development [ 19 ]. In this literature, it has been hypothesised that potential health implications of heritage tourism are either indirect or direct. Indirect effects are predominantly associated with health gains from heritage tourism-related economic, environmental, socio-cultural, and political impacts [ 20 ]. In contrast, health implications associated with direct impacts are closely associated with immediate encounters between tourism and people [ 20 ]. Yet, little is known of the overall generative effects of heritage tourism on sustainable community development, or the long-term health and wellbeing of local communities. For the first time, this systematic review identified and evaluated 102 published and unpublished studies in order to assess the extent to which heritage tourism fosters host communities’ participation and, consequently, their capacity to flourish, with emphasis placed on the long-term health impacts of this. The primary objective of the review was to determine: (1) what the impacts of heritage tourism are on sustainable community development; as well as (2) on the health and wellbeing of local host communities. Understanding the relationship between heritage tourism, sustainable community development and health is essential in influencing policies aimed at improving overall livelihood in local host communities, as well as informing intervention strategies and knowledge advancement.

This systematic review adhered to the guidelines and criteria set out in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 statement [ 21 ]. A protocol for this review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018114681) and has been published [ 22 ].

Search strategy

In order to avoid replicating an already existing study on this topic, Cochrane library, Google Scholar and Scopus were searched to ensure there were no previous systematic reviews or meta-analyses on the impact of heritage tourism on sustainable community development and the health of local host communities. No such reviews or analyses were found. The search then sought to use a list of relevant text words and sub-headings of keywords and/or MeSH vocabulary according to each searched database. Derived from the above research question, the key search words were related to heritage tourism, sustainable community development, and health and wellbeing of local host communities. A trial search of our selected databases (see below) found that there are no MeSH words for heritage and tourism. Therefore, multiple keywords were included to identify relevant articles.

To obtain more focused and productive results, the keywords were linked using “AND” and “OR” and other relevant Boolean operators, where permitted by the databases. Subject heading truncations (*) were applied where appropriate. The search query was developed and tested in ProQuest Central on 22 November 2018. Following this search trial, the following combination of search terms and keywords, slightly modified to suit each database, was subsequently used:

(“Heritage tourism” OR tourism OR “world heritage site” OR ecotourism OR “heritage based tourism” OR “cultural tourism” OR “diaspora tourism” OR “cultural heritage tourism” OR “cultural resource management” OR “cultural heritage management” OR “historic site”)

(“Health status” [MeSH] OR “health equity” OR health OR community health OR welfare OR wellbeing)

(“sustainable development” [MeSH] OR sustainab* or “community development” or “local development” or “local community” or “indigenous community”)

The search covered the following bibliographic databases and electronic collections:

Academic Search Complete
Australian Heritage Bibliography (AHB)
Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA)
CAB Abstracts
ProQuest Central
Science And Geography Education (SAGE)
Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure

In addition, grey literature were also sourced from key organisation websites including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the Smithsonian Institution.

Where the full texts of included articles could not be accessed, corresponding authors were contacted via e-mail or other means of communication (e.g., ResearchGate) to obtain a copy. A further search of the bibliographical references of all retrieved articles and articles’ citation tracking using Google Scholar was conducted to capture relevant articles that might have been missed during the initial search but that meet the inclusion criteria. For the purposes of transparency and accountability, a search log was kept and constantly updated to ensure that newly published articles were captured. To maximise the accuracy of the search, two researchers with extensive knowledge of heritage tourism literature (EW and HS) and two research assistants with backgrounds in public health and social sciences implemented independently the search syntax across the databases and organisations’ websites to ensure no article was missed.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Criteria used in this systematic review focused on the types of beneficiaries of heritage tourism, outcomes of interest, as well as the intervention designs. The outcomes of interest were sustainable community development and evidence for the overall health and wellbeing of local host communities. In this systematic review, sustainable community development was defined in terms of its two components: ‘community sustainability’ and ‘development’. Community sustainability was conceptualised as the “long-term durability of a community as it negotiates changing practices and meanings across all the domains of culture, politics, economics and ecology” (pp. 21, 24) [ 23 ].

In contrast, development was conceptualised as “social change—with all its intended or unintended outcomes, good and bad—that brings about a significant and patterned shift in the technologies, techniques, infrastructure, and/or associated life-forms of a place or people” (p. 44) [ 7 ]. To this, we added the question of whether the development was positive or negative. Thus, going beyond the Brundtland definition introduced earlier and once again borrowing from the work of Paul James, positive sustainable development was defined as “practices and meanings of human engagement that make for lifeworlds that project the ongoing probability of natural and social flourishing”, including good health [ 23 ].

Health was defined, using the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition, as “overall well-being” and as including both physical, mental and social health [ 24 ]. While there is no consensus on what wellbeing actually means, there is a general agreement that wellbeing encompasses positive emotions and moods (e.g., contentment, happiness), the absence of negative emotions (e.g., depression, anxiety) as well as satisfaction with life and positive functioning [ 25 ]. Therefore, wellbeing in this systematic review was conceptualised according to Ryff’s multidimensional model of psychological wellbeing, which includes six factors: autonomy; self-acceptance, environmental mastery, positive relationships with others, purpose in life, and personal growth [ 26 ].

In terms of intervention and design, this systematic review included peer-reviewed and grey literature sources of evidence [ 27 , 28 ] from quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies. Intervention designs of interest were observational studies (e.g. longitudinal studies, case control and cross-sectional studies) as well as qualitative and mixed-methods studies. The following additional restrictions were used to ensure texts were included only if they were: (i) written in English; (ii) analysed the impact of heritage tourism on sustainable community development and health and/or wellbeing of local host communities; (iii) research papers, dissertations, books, book chapters, working papers, technical reports including project documents and evaluation reports, discussion papers, and conference papers; and (iv) published between January 2000 and March 2021. Studies were excluded if they were descriptive in nature and did not have community development or health and wellbeing indicators as outcome measures.

The year 2000 was selected as the baseline date due to the signing of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by Member States in September of that year. With the introduction of the MDGs, now superseded by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there was an increase in commitment from government and non-governmental organizations to promote the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism [ 29 , 30 ]. Editorials, reviews, letter to editors, commentaries and opinion pieces were not considered. Where full text articles were not able to be retrieved despite exhausting all available methods (including contacting corresponding author/s), such studies were excluded from the review. Non-human studies were also excluded.

Study selection and screening

Data retrieved from the various database searches were imported into an EndNote X9 library. A three-stage screening process was followed to assess each study’s eligibility for inclusion. In the EndNote library, stage one involved screening studies by titles to remove duplicates. In stage two, titles and abstracts were manually screened for eligibility and relevance. In the third and final screening stage, full texts of selected abstracts were further reviewed for eligibility. The full study selection process according to PRISMA is summarised in Fig 1 . A total of 5292 articles from 10 databases and multiple sources of grey literature were screened. After removal of duplicates, 4293 articles were retained.

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282319.g001

Titles and abstracts were further screened for indications that articles contain empirical research on the relationship between heritage tourism, sustainable community development and the health and wellbeing of local host communities. This element of the screening process resulted in the exclusion of 2892 articles. The remaining 1401 articles were screened for eligibility: 1299 articles were further excluded, resulting in 102 articles that met our inclusion criteria and were retained for analysis. Study selection was led by two researchers (EW and HS) and one research assistant, who independently double-checked 40% of randomly selected articles (n = 53). Interrater agreement was calculated using a 3-point ordinal scale, with the scoring being ’yes, definitely in’ = 1, ’?’ for unsure = 2, and ’no, definitely out’ = 3. Weighted Kappa coefficients were calculated using quadratic weights. Kappa statistics and percentage of agreement were 0.76 (95%CI: 0.63, 0.90) and 0.90 (95%CI: 0.85, 0.96) respectively, suggesting excellent agreement.

Data extraction

Data extraction was completed using a piloted form and was performed and subsequently reviewed independently by three researchers (AR, EW and HS), all of whom are authors. The extracted data included: study details (author, year of publication, country of research), study aims and objectives, study characteristics and methodological approach (study design, sample size, outcome measures, intervention), major findings, and limitations.

Quality assessment

To account for the diversity in design and dissemination strategies (peer-reviewed vs non-peer-reviewed) of included studies, the (JBI) Joanna Briggs Institute’s Critical Review Tool for qualitative and quantitative studies [ 31 ], mixed methods appraisal Tool (MMAT) for mixed methods [ 32 ], and the AACODS (Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance) checklist for grey literature [ 33 ] were used to assess the quality of included studies. The quality assessment of included studies was led by one researcher (CB), but 40% of the studies were randomly selected and scored by three senior researchers (AR, EM, and HS) to check the accuracy of the scoring. Cohen’s kappa statistic was used to assess the agreement between quality assessment scorers. Kappa statistics and percentage of agreement were 0.80 (95%CI: 0.64, 0.96) and 0.96 (95%CI: 0.93, 0.99) respectively, suggesting excellent interrater agreement. The quality assessment scales used different numbers of questions and different ranges, hence they were all rescaled/normalised to a 100 point scale, from 0 (poor quality) to 100 (high quality) using the min-max scaling approach. Scores were stratified by tertiles, being high quality (>75), moderate quality (50–74), or poor quality (<50).

Data synthesis

Due to the heterogeneity and variation of the studies reviewed (study methods, measurements, and outcomes), a meta-analysis was not possible. Campbell and colleagues (2020) [ 34 ] recognise that not all data extracted for a systematic review are amenable to meta-analysis, but highlight a serious gap in the literature: the authors’ lack of or poor description of alternative synthesis methods. The authors described an array of alternative methods to meta-analysis. In our study we used a meta-ethnography approach to articulate the complex but diverse outcomes reported in included studies [ 35 ]. Increasingly common and influential [ 36 ], meta-ethnography is an explicitly interpretative approach to the synthesis of evidence [ 36 , 37 ] that aims to develop new explanatory theories or conceptualisations of a given body of work on the basis of reviewer interpretation [ 37 ]. It draws out similarities and differences at the conceptual level between the findings of included studies [ 37 ], with the foundational premise being the juxtaposition and relative examination of ideas between study findings [ 37 ]. Resulting novel interpretations are then considered to transcend individual study findings [ 36 ].

Originating with sociologists Noblit and Hare [ 36 , 38 ], and adopted and expanded upon by other researchers [ 36 , 37 ], meta-ethnography involves a 7-stage process of evidence synthesis and concludes with the translation and synthesis of studies [ 38 ]. The approach centres around the emergence of concepts and themes from included studies that are examined in relation to each other and used to synthesise and communicate primary research findings. In meta-ethnography, the diversity of studies such as the heterogeneity and variation of included studies in the present review, is considered an asset opposed to an issue in synthesis or translation of research findings [ 37 ].

Common threads, themes and trends were identified and extracted from both qualitative and quantitative narratives to generate insight on the impact of heritage tourism on sustainable community development and health. In order to increase reproducibility and transparency of our methods and the conclusions drawn from the studies, the narrative synthesis adhered to the “Improving Conduct and Reporting of Narrative Synthesis of Quantitative Data” protocol for mixed methods studies [ 39 ]. One of the primary researchers (CB) summarised the study findings and narrated the emerging themes and subthemes. The emerging themes were discussed with all authors for appropriateness of the content as well as for consistency. All studies were included in the synthesis of evidence and emergence of themes. The meta-ethnographic approach involved the following processes:

Identifying metaphors and themes.

Included studies were read and reviewed multiple times to gain familiarity and understanding with the data and identify themes and patterns in each study. As noted above, data was extracted from each study using a piloted template to remain consistent across all studies. The aims and/or objectives of each study was revisited regularly to validate any extracted data and remain familiar with the purpose of the study. Themes and, where relevant, sub-themes were identified, usually in the results and discussion section of included studies.

Determining how the studies were related.

Studies were grouped according to WHO regions (see Table 1 ). Thematic analysis was compared across all included studies regardless of region to identify common themes and/or sub-themes to determine how studies were related to one another. Although this review included a widely varied and large number of studies (n = 102), the findings of each study nonetheless had a common underpinning theme of heritage-based tourism. This enabled the identification of communal categories across the studies indicating their relatedness. For example, there were common themes of socio-cultural, socio-economic, community health, wellbeing, and empowerment factors and so on.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282319.t001

Translation and synthesis of studies.

Themes and, where relevant, sub-themes within each study were considered and compared to the next study in a process repeated for all included studies. Such translation of studies compares and matches themes across a corpus of material, and usually involves one or more of three main types of synthesis: reciprocal translation, refutational translation, and line of argument [ 37 ]. Themes were condensed and streamlined into main thematic areas, in addition to outlining common topics within those thematic areas. The primary researcher (CB) undertook this process with discussion, validation and confirmation of themes and topics from three other researchers (EW, HS and AR). Translation between studies and the resulting synthesis of research findings followed the process of the emergence of new interpretations and conceptualisation of research themes. A line of argument was also developed, and a conceptual model produced to describe the research findings, which is shown in Fig 2 . Both the line of argument and conceptual model were agreed upon by all authors.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282319.g002

A total of 102 studies were included in the analysis. Of these, 25 studies were conducted in the Western Pacific region, 23 in the African region, 20 in the Region of the Americas, 17 in the South-East Asia region, 12 in the European region, and 1 in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The remaining 4 studies reported on multiple regions. This may at first seem surprising given the prominence of European cultural heritage on registers such as the World Heritage List, which includes 469 cultural sites located Europe (equivalent to 47.19% of all World Heritage Properties that are recognised for their cultural values). However, any studies focusing on Europe that did not also examine sustainable community development and the overall health and wellbeing of local host communities were screened out of this systematic review in accordance with the abovementioned inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results of the data extraction and quality assessment across all included studies are presented in Table 1 . Of the included studies, 24 used a mixed methods design, 22 studies were qualitative, 36 were quantitative and 20 were grey literature (see Table 1 for more detail regarding the type of methods employed). Of these, 48 studies were assessed as high quality (>75), 32 as moderate quality (50–74) and 22 as poor quality (<50).

The major health and wellbeing determinant themes emerging from the included studies were grouped according to social, cultural, economic, and ecological health determinants. Fig 3 presents the proportion of included studies that investigated each of the four health determinants when assessed by WHO region. A large proportion of economic studies was shown across all regions, although this focus was surpassed by the social health determinant in the South-East Asia region ( Fig 3 ). Studies on the social health determinant also yielded a strong proportion of studies across most other regions, although notably not in the African region. This was closely followed by an ecological focus among the Americas, South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions. The Americas had the highest proportion of cultural studies, with the European region being the lowest proportionally ( Fig 3 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282319.g003

More specifically, for studies focused on Africa, 100% of the publications included in this review explicitly investigated the economic benefits of tourism on wellbeing (74% of them exclusively), with European-focused studies reflecting a similarly high interest in economic wellbeing (91% of publications). Across the Americas, economic determinants of wellbeing were investigated in 86% of publications and in the Western Pacific, methods to investigate this variable were built into 80% of included studies. By comparison, this research demonstrates that only just over two thirds of articles reporting on the South-East Asia region shared this focus on economic determinants (65% of publications). Instead, social determinants of wellbeing form a stronger component of the research agenda in this region, with 76% of publications investigating this theme in studies that also tended to consider multiple drivers of health. For example, in 47% of publications reporting on the South-East Asia context, at least three themes were integrated into each study, with particular synergies emerging between social, economic and ecological drivers of wellbeing and their complex relationships.

Similarly, 47% of publication reporting on the Americas also included at least three health determinants. Research outputs from these two regions demonstrated the most consistently holistic approach to understanding wellbeing compared to other regions. In Africa, only 13% of the papers reviewed incorporated three or more themes; in the Western Pacific, this figure is 32% and in Europe only 8% of research outputs attempted to incorporate three or more themes. It seems unlikely that the multidimensional relationship between socio-economic and ecological sustainability that is always in tension could be adequately explored given the trend towards one-dimensional research in Africa, the Western Pacific and particularly Europe.

The associated positive and negative impacts of heritage tourism on each of the health and wellbeing determinants are then presented in Table 2 , along with the considered policy implications. Some of the identified positive impacts included improved access to education and social services, greater opportunities for skill development and employment prospects, preservation of culture and traditions, increased community livelihood and greater awareness of environmental conservation efforts. Negative impacts of tourism on host communities included forced displacement from homes, environmental degradation and over-usage of natural resources, barriers to tourism employment and reliance on tourism industry for income generation and economic stability, dilution and loss of cultural values and practices, civil unrest and loss of social stability, increased rates of crime and disease and lack of direct benefit to local communities. Both positive and negative impacts across each health and wellbeing determinant had acknowledged implications on policy development, many of which revolved around governance and ownership of tourist activities, participation of the local community in tourism sectors and active management of environmental protection programs. Such themes are shown in Table 2 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282319.t002

Recent thematic trends can be observed in Table 3 , whereby the percentage of research outputs that investigate economic drivers of health and wellbeing produced since 2019 are shown. In Africa, Europe and the Americas, the proportion of outputs investigating economic health determinants since 2019 is the smallest ( Table 3 ), being 17% in Africa and the Americas, and 36% in Europe, respectively. On the contrary, 50% of Western Pacific region studies since 2019 had research focused on the economic drivers of wellbeing in relation to heritage tourism. Moreover, 65% of studies included economy-focused research in South-East Asia, with more than half of those outputs produced in the last two years ( Table 3 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282319.t003

The proportion of research outputs where local community members were asked to give their opinions as participants is presented in Table 4 , where they were invited to co-lead the research but were excluded from data production. In the Western Pacific region, there was a relative lack of participation (either as researchers or stakeholders) by local communities in the studies included in this review. Meaningful modes of community participation in the South-East Asian region can be calculated to 65%, more closely in line with Africa, Europe and the Americas ( Table 4 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282319.t004

This systematic review is the first of its kind to explicitly consider the relationships between heritage tourism and host communities; specifically, the impact of tourism on host communities’ capacity to flourish and support long-term health and wellbeing. Such impacts were found to be both positive and negative, with either direct or indirect consequences on the development of local governance policies. Our synthesis revealed that there are important regional variations in the way that determinants of health–social, cultural, economic or ecological–drive tourism research agendas. They commonly included considerations of social dynamics, access and health of the local community, empowerment and participation of host communities in tourism-based activities and governance, employment opportunities, preservation or erosion of culture, and environmental influences due to tourism promotion or activity.

Economic impacts represented the strongest focus of the studies include in this review, often to the detriment of other cultural or environmental considerations. With the exception of South-East Asia, studies focused on all other WHO regions (Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Western Pacific) were overwhelmingly built around attempts to understand economic variables as determinants of health and wellbeing, and in some instances were likely to focus on economic variables in lieu of any other theme. Given the steady growth of an interest in economic variables in South-East Asia since 2019, it is plausible that this will soon represent the largest concentration of studies in that region, too.

This trend towards emphasis on economic influences is problematic given that some of the emerging impacts from tourism-related practices identified in this review were found to be common across multiple determinants of health and thus not limited to economic health alone. For example, the limitation placed on access to prime grazing land for cattle belonging to local residents was perceived to be a negative impact both ecologically and economically [ 60 , 141 ]. This may be considered detrimental from an environmental standpoint due to the alteration of the local ecosystem and destruction of natural resources and wildlife habitat, such as the building of infrastructure to support the development of tourist accommodation, transport, and experiences.

Economically, the loss of grazing land results in reduced food sources for cattle and consequently a potential reliance on alternative food sources (which may or may not be accessible or affordable), or in the worst-case scenario death of cattle [ 92 ]. In turn, this loss of cattle has an adverse impact on the financial livelihood of host communities, who may rely on their cattle as a sole or combined source of income. Considered in isolation or combination, this single negative impact of tourism–reduced grazing access–has flow-on effects to multiple health determinants. Therefore, it is important to consider the possible multifactorial impacts of tourism, heritage or otherwise, on the host communities involved (or at least affected) given they may have a profound and lasting impact, whether favourable or not.

The potential interrelationships and multifactorial nature of heritage tourism on the health and wellbeing of host communities were also identified among a number of other studies included in this review. For example, a study from the Western Pacific Region explored connections between the analysis of tourism impacts, wellbeing of the host community and the ‘mobilities’ approach, acknowledging the three areas were different in essence but converging areas in relation to tourism sustainability [ 125 ]. That said, the cross-over between social determinants was not always observed or presented as many studies primarily focused on a single health domain [ 43 – 51 , 53 , 55 – 57 , 59 , 61 , 71 , 74 , 86 – 90 , 103 , 104 , 108 – 110 , 118 , 130 , 134 – 136 , 138 – 140 ]. Some studies, for instance, focused on poverty reduction and/or alleviation [ 134 , 135 ], while others focused solely on cultural sustainability or sociocultural factors [ 109 , 110 , 118 ], and others delved only into the ecological or environmental impacts of tourism [ 86 , 89 ]. As noted above, the majority of studies that focused on a single health determinant considered economic factors.

A common theme that spanned multiple health domains was the threat of relocation. Here, local communities represented in the reviewed studies were often at risk of being forced to relocate from their ancestral lands for tourism and/or nature conservation purposes [ 41 , 60 , 80 , 131 ]. This risk not only threatens their way of life and livelihood from an economic perspective, but will also have social implications, jeopardising the sustainability and longevity of their cultural traditions and practices on the land to which they belong [ 41 , 60 , 80 , 131 ]. Moreover, it may have ongoing implications for the displacement of family structures and segregation of local communities.

Importantly, this systematic review revealed that cultural determinants of health and wellbeing were the least explored in every region and were in many instances entirely omitted. This is at odds with the increasingly prevalent advice found in wider heritage and tourism academic debates, where it is argued that cultural institutions such as museums and their objects, for example, may contribute to health and wellbeing in the following ways: promoting relaxation; providing interventions that affect positive changes in physiology and/or emotions; supporting introspection; encouraging public health advocacy; and enhancing healthcare environments [ 142 – 144 ]. Likewise, Riordan and Schofield have considered the cultural significance of traditional medicine, citing its profound importance to the health and wellbeing of the communities who practice it as well as positioning it as a core element of both local and national economies [ 145 ].

Of greater concern is the finding of this review that of the relatively small number of papers investigating cultural health determinants, many recorded profoundly negative and traumatising outcomes of tourism development, such as a rise of ethnoreligious conflict, loss of ancestral land, a dilution of cultural practices to meet tourist demands, and a loss of cultural authenticity [ 41 ]. Consequently, comparative studies that focus on cultural determinants, in addition to economic and environmental determinants, are currently lacking and should therefore be prioritised in future research. In fact, only one fifth of those papers included in this review adopted the qualitative approach needed to probe the socio-cultural dimensions of health. Novel qualitative research methods to investigate community health are therefore a major research lacuna.

Just as solely equating community health and wellbeing with economic flourishing is problematic, so too is assuming that health is reducible only to clinical care and disease [ 146 ], given that "[i]deas about health … are cultural” [ 146 ]. Early indications of an acceptance that culture and heritage might be central to community health and wellbeing can be found in UNESCO’s 1995 report, Our Creative Diversity : Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development [ 147 ]. More recently, this notion is evidenced in the 2019 Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention [ 148 ] and the 2020 Operational Directives for UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage [ 149 ], both of which indicate the need for a major shift in research foci towards cultural determinants of health and wellbeing if research is to keep pace with assumptions now operating within international policy [ 148 , 149 ].

Although Africa, Europe and the Americas are the three regions with the highest proportion of papers investigating the economic benefits of tourism on health and wellbeing, these regions are also the most responsive to the above recommended changes in policy and debate (see Table 3 ). In these three regions, the proportion of outputs investigating economic health determinants since 2019 is the smallest, demonstrating a recent decline in research that is persuaded by the a priori assumption that economic wellbeing automatically equates to cultural wellbeing. Despite demonstrating the most holistic approach to understanding health and wellbeing across all the themes, an upwards trend in economy-focused research was identified in South-East Asia, since more than half of the economic outputs were produced in the last two years. Such a trend is potentially problematic for this region because it may reinforce the notion that the main benefits of tourism are direct and financial, rather than refocusing on the tension created by indirect effects of tourism on quality of life and community wellbeing.

Conversely, this review demonstrates that the Western Pacific region has persisted with research focused on the economic drivers of wellbeing in relation to heritage tourism (see Table 3 ). This persistence may be explained by the relative lack of participation (either as researchers or stakeholders) by local communities in any of the studies included in this review (see Table 4 ). Indeed, the Western Pacific had the lowest occurrence of community participation and/or consultation in establishing indicators of wellbeing and health and/or opinions about the role of tourism in promoting these.

On the contrary, while seemingly demonstrating the second highest proportion of exclusionary research methods as discussed above, South-East Asia remains the only region where any attempts were made to ensure community members were invited to design and co-lead research (see Table 4 ). Nonetheless, meaningful modes of participation in this region were found to be more closely in line with the deficits found in Africa, Europe, and the Americas. This lack of approaches aimed at including affected communities as researchers in all but one instance in South-East Asia is an important research gap in tourism studies’ engagement with health and wellbeing debates.

Importantly, this failure to adequately engage with affected communities is at odds with the depth of research emanating from a range of health disciplines, such as disability studies, occupational therapy, public health, and midwifery, where the slogan ‘nothing about us without us’, which emerged in the 1980s, remains prominent. Coupled with a lack of focus on cultural determinants of health, this lack of participation and community direction strongly indicates that research studies are being approached with an a priori notion about what ‘wellbeing’ means to local communities, and risks limiting the relevance and accuracy of the research that is being undertaken. Problematically, therefore, there is a tendency to envisage a ‘package’ of wellbeing and health benefits that tourism can potentially bring to a community (regardless of cultural background), with research focusing on identifying the presence or absence of elements of this assumed, overarching ‘package’.

Interestingly, along with the paucity of full and meaningful collaboration with local community hosts in tourism research, there were no instances across the systematic review where a longitudinal approach was adopted. This observation reinforces the point that long-term, collaborative explorations of culturally specific concepts including such things as ‘welfare’, ‘benefit’, ‘healthfulness’ and ‘flourishing’, or combinations of these, are lacking across all regions. To bring tourism research more in line with broader debates and international policy directions about wellbeing, it is important for future research that the qualities of health and wellbeing in a particular cultural setting are investigated as a starting point, and culturally suitable approaches are designed (with local researchers) to best examine the effects of tourism on these contingent notions of wellbeing.

Importantly, a lack of longitudinal research will lead to a gap in our understanding about whether the negative impacts of tourism increase or compound over time. Adopting these ethnographies of health and wellbeing hinges upon long-term community partnerships that will serve to redress a research gap into the longevity of heritage tourism impacts. Furthermore, of those papers that asked local community members about their perceptions of heritage tourism across all regions, a common finding was the desire for greater decision-making and management of the enterprises as stakeholders. It seems ironic, therefore, that research into heritage tourism perceptions itself commonly invites the bare minimum of collaboration to establish the parameters of that research.

In a small number of papers that invited community opinions, local stakeholders considered that the tourism ‘benefits package’ myth should be dispelled, and that responsible tourism development should only happen as part of a wider suite of livelihood options, such as agriculture, so that economic diversity is maintained. Such a multi-livelihood framework would also promote the accessibility of benefits for more of the community, and this poses a significant new direction for tourism research. For example, an outcome of the review was the observation that infrastructure development is often directed towards privileged tourism livelihood options [ 150 ], but a more holistic framework would distribute these sorts of benefits to also co-develop other livelihoods.

Although there is a clear interest in understanding the relationship between heritage, tourism, health and wellbeing, future research that explores the intersections of heritage tourism with multiple health domains, in particular social and cultural domains, is critical. Indeed, the frequency with which the negative impacts of heritage tourism were reported in the small number of studies that engaged local community participants suggests that studies co-designed with community participants are a necessary future direction in order for academics, policymakers and professionals working in the field of heritage tourism to more adequately address the scarce knowledge about its socio-cultural impacts. The accepted importance of community researchers in cognate fields underscores that the knowledge, presence and skills of affected communities are vital and points to the need for similar studies in heritage tourism.

Conclusions

There are five main findings of this systematic review, each of which is a critical gap in research that should be addressed to support the health and wellbeing in local communities at tourism destinations. Firstly, whilst one of the primary findings of this systematic review was the increase in employment opportunities resulting from tourism, this disclosure arose because of a strong–in many cases, exclusive–methodological focus on economic indicators of health and wellbeing. Such research reveals that heritage tourism may significantly reduce poverty and may be used as a poverty-reducing strategy in low-income countries. However, the assumption underlying this focus on the economic benefits of tourism for health and wellbeing is that economic benefits are a proxy for other determinants of health, e.g., cultural, social, environmental, etc., which are otherwise less systematically explored. In particular, the ways in which combinations of environmental, social, cultural, and economic determinants on wellbeing interact is an area requires considerable future research.

Secondly, whilst economic drivers of wellbeing were the most common area of research across all regions, the impacts of tourism on cultural wellbeing were the least explored. Moreover, in many publications culture was entirely omitted. This is perhaps one of the most troubling outcomes of this systematic review, because in the relatively small number of papers that did investigate the cultural impacts of tourism, many reported traumatising consequences for local communities, the documentation of which would not be recorded in the majority of papers where cultural wellbeing was absent. Tourism’s profoundly damaging consequences included reports of a rise in ethnoreligious violence, loss of ancestral land and the threat of forced relocation, not to mentioned extensive reports of cultural atrophy.

Linked to this lack of understanding about the cultural impacts of tourism on wellbeing, the third finding of this review is that there are far fewer studies that incorporate qualitative data, more suited to document intangible cultural changes, whether positive or negative. Furthermore, more longitudinal research is also needed to address the subtle impacts of tourism acting over longer timescales. The systematic review revealed a lack of understanding about how both the negative and positive outcomes of heritage tourism change over time, whether by increasing, ameliorating, or compounding.

The fourth finding of this research is that, to a degree and in certain regions of the world, research is responding to international policy. This review has illustrated that, historically, Africa, Europe and the Americas prioritised research that measured the economic effects of tourism on health and wellbeing. However, after 2019 a shift occurred towards a growing but still under-represented interest in social-cultural wellbeing. We propose that this shift aligns with recommendations from UNESCO’s 2019 Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention [ 148 ] and the 2020 Operational Directives for UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage [ 149 ]. The exception to this shift is the Western Pacific region, where the economic impacts of tourism are increasingly prioritised as the main indicator of wellbeing. Given the overall efficacy of policy for steering towards ethical and culturally-grounded evaluations of the impacts of tourism, we would urge heritage policymakers to take account of our recommendations ( Table 2 ).

The policy implications emerging from this review are the fifth finding and can be distilled into a few key propositions. There is a need for meaningful decolonising approaches to heritage tourism. More than half of the negative consequences of heritage tourism for health and wellbeing could be mitigated with policy guidance, contingent cultural protocols and anti-colonial methods that foreground the rights of local (including Indigenous) communities to design, govern, lead, and establish the terms of tourism in their local area. Although ‘participation’ has become a popular term that invokes an idea of power symmetries in tourism enterprises, it is clear from this systematic review that the term leaves too much latitude for the creep of poor-practice [ 151 ] that ultimately erodes community autonomy and self-determination. Participation is not enough if it means that there is scope for governments and foreign investors to superficially engage with community wellbeing needs and concerns.

Furthermore, calls for ‘capacity-building’ that effectively re-engineer the knowledges of local communities are fundamentally problematic because they presuppose a missing competency or knowledge. This is at odds with impassioned anti-colonial advocacy [ 152 ] which recognises that communities hold a range of knowledges and cultural assets that they may, and should be legally protected to, deploy (or not) as a culturally-suitable foundation that steers the design of locally-governed tourism enterprises. In short, to maximise and extend the benefits of heritage tourism and address major social determinants of health, host communities’ presence in heritage tourism governance, decision making processes, and control of and access to the resultant community resources and programs must be a priority. Future policymakers are encouraged to make guidance more explicit, enforceable and provision avenues for feedback from local communities that offers the protections of transparency. It is also imperative that researchers involve and empower local community groups as part of studies conducted in relation to their health and wellbeing. If current practices remain unchanged, the primary benefit of tourism could easily be rendered inaccessible through lack of education and/or appropriate training which was frequently identified as a barrier to community participation.

Supporting information

S1 checklist. prisma 2009 checklist..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282319.s001

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge Della Maneze (DM) and Nidhi Wali (NW) for their contributions to the literature search and initial data extraction.

Declarations

The authors hereby declare that the work included in this paper is original and is the outcome of research carried out by the authors listed.

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The Fantasy of Heritage Tourism

“Returning” to a place you’ve never been

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The first generation of immigrants wants to survive, the second wants to assimilate, and the third wants to remember, the sociologist Marcus Lee Hansen wrote in 1938. The fourth, fifth, and sixth? Apparently they now want to go on a luxury vacation to visit the Welsh coal mines their ancestors crossed an ocean to escape.

So-called heritage tourism has grown into its own travel category, like skiing and whale watching. In 2019, an Airbnb survey found that the share of people traveling to “trace their roots” worldwide had increased by 500 percent since 2014; the company announced that it was teaming up with 23andMe, the DNA-testing service, to meet this demand, offering trips to clients’ ancestral homelands. Ancestry, the company behind the family-search website, has partnered with a travel agency. The governments of Germany and Scotland have websites devoted to heritage tourism. Conde Nast Traveller is all over this trend . In Dublin, the Shelbourne Hotel’s “genealogy butler” can research your Irish side, if you so please. The Conte Club, a boutique travel service known for its focus on privacy and members-only jet rentals, will take you and your partner on a week-long “ DNA-mapped journey ” starting at $35,000 (flights not included). Should you wish to go very far back in time, the agency can make that happen. Rebecca Fielding, the CEO, told me about one client who was obsessed with the idea that he had descended from Genghis Khan. DNA tests can’t possibly prove a connection that old, Fielding said, but the Conte Club was happy to arrange his trip to Mongolia.

Kyle Betit, the genealogist who runs Ancestry’s travel business, told me that his clients experience something much more “personal” and “deep” than what’s available to “the typical tourist.” Ancestry genealogists can create bespoke itineraries tailored to a family’s history, down to the villages or even the streets where they once lived. The company’s most popular destinations were Italy and Ireland. In 2023, it took 44 individual clients or groups on such voyages. This year, it’s offering two genealogy cruises .

Read: What can you do with the world’s largest family tree?

Who takes such a trip? According to the Airbnb survey, Americans top the list, followed by Canadians and Australians. Those most likely to go are between the ages of 60 and 90—mainly retirees with cash to spare. Dave Richard Meyrick, whom Ancestry put me in touch with, is a representative example.

Meyrick is 73 and lives in Las Vegas, where he worked at the MGM Grand hotel and casino until his retirement. He recently came into a small fortune—not at the poker table, but after winning a lawsuit against the U.S. military. The Agent Orange that the Army sprayed over Vietnam when he was fighting there caused Meyrick to lose most of his eyesight years after he returned. The newly enriched man has no wife and no kids—“that I know of,” he told me, with a chuckle—so indulging in a decadent vacation was the logical course of action. The question was where to go.

He had recently been on an unremarkable cruise through the Gulf of Mexico when a free trial for Ancestry.com appeared on his screen in spring 2020. He learned that he was ninth in a line of Richard Meyricks. He found his paternal grandfather—who was born in Wales and fought for Canada in World War I—in mustard-gas records that might explain his grandpa’s weird cough. Meyrick had always assumed that his paternal grandmother’s ancestors were also from Wales; actually, they were German, from the medieval city of Heidelberg and the Alpine region of Bavaria.

Soon he got a promotional email from Ancestry: If he wanted to see where his father’s parents came from, the company was there to help. He replied, intrigued. Betit scheduled a video call. The team helped him book a trip to Germany, where his father’s ancestors were innkeepers on the grounds of a princely castle. The inn has been renovated, and is now the chic office of a finance firm. During a stop in Munich, Meyrick drank beer at Oktoberfest. He then went to Wales, where another branch of his father’s ancestors worked the mines and steel mills in a village that dates back to the 1600s.

He told me that the deterioration of his eyesight had changed his perception of traveling. He couldn’t see the sites or landscapes very well, but his genealogy helped him feel connected to the places he visited. At the Welsh church where his ancestors had been baptized, married, and buried, Meyrick met a local history buff, who told him a story. In the early 1700s, a villager with a habit of hiding behind stagecoaches to rob the wealthy messed with the wrong rich man, a big landowner, and was hanged. The historian was convinced that the unfortunate thief was among Meyrick’s ancestors. Could this fabulous connection be true? Ancestry’s genealogists weren’t able to confirm it, and Meyrick said that his source had seemed a little senile. Still, he assured me, the $50,000 trip was “money well spent.”

This year, he plans to do his mother’s side.

Heritage tourism may only be catching on among Americans now, but governments have been pushing it for decades.

After World War II, tourism was considered a major component of diplomacy. Marshall Plan funds were earmarked to build not just roads and city centers but also ski slopes and airports. The Eisenhower administration created the People-to-People Program, promoting international pen-pal networks and sporting events in hopes of uniting countries against the Soviet Union.

Europe welcomed America’s tourists, and tried to encourage more to come. Some hosted “homecomings”—festivals meant to lure the children and grandchildren of emigrants back to visit. Greece held one in 1951; Lebanon, in 1955; Sweden, in 1965–66. Ireland hosted annual homecomings starting in 1953. These campaigns were, in the words of the Swedish historian Adam Hjorthén, “the earliest coordinated attempts at adopting ancestry in the promotion of mass tourism.”

They were also a failure, as people didn’t go. The Irish homecoming— called An Tóstal , or “a gathering,” and sponsored by the founder of Pan Am Airways—went on for six years before a tourist-board report admitted that the word fiasco didn’t sufficiently convey how badly the effort had flopped.

For heritage tourism to take off, a few changes had to occur. First, plane tickets needed to get a lot cheaper. As the Pan Am founder, of all people, should have known, transatlantic flights then cost a lot of money—airfare from New York to London in 1950 was about $8,700 in today’s dollars . That year, only about one in 250 Americans went overseas at all. In 2019, at the pre-pandemic peak of traveling, this number was one in three .

Even if they had the money, travelers might not have chosen to spend it on connecting with their homelands. For a long time, genealogy struck many people in the United States as elitist. Most European settlers, the historian Russell Bidlack wrote , “had escaped from a society where the traditions of inheritance and caste had denied them opportunity for a better life.” Genealogy was for people obsessed with nobility, or for WASPs living off borrowed glory.

This began to change in the 1970s and ’80s, when genealogy became cool. The publication of Roots , Alex Haley’s 1976 novel about a seven-generation lineage, starting with a man sold into slavery in Gambia and ending with an American descendant not unlike the author, was a turning point. The book topped the New York Times best-seller list for more than five months and inspired two TV adaptations and eventually a whole genre of trace-your-ancestry reality shows. Genealogy was no longer just a hobby for pedigree-loving Europeans but became a tool for everyone, including marginalized groups, to understand their past.

Still, genealogy was hard work, at least until the advent of the internet in the 1990s made public records accessible and searchable. Infobases, a seller of floppy disks with genealogy databases catering to Mormons, who have a particular interest in the subject for theological reasons, purchased Ancestry, then a local publisher and magazine specializing in genealogy. Ancestry.com went online in 1996. By the mid-2010s, DNA testing was mainstream—packaged, commoditized. The tests convinced people that the connection they felt to the place of their ancestors was “really real,” as Naomi Leite, an anthropologist at SOAS University of London, put it to me. An American could now possess hard evidence that he was 12.5 percent Greek.

But when that American goes on a vacation to Santorini, what exactly is he hoping to find?

From the June 2016 issue: The false promise of DNA testing

Heritage is the name Americans give to the past when they realize they’ve already lost it. They want to claim it back. And when they finally go to these places where they had never been, travelers say they are “returning.”

This mode of traveling across space and time is ultimately a journey into the self—the reconstruction of a grand story that started long ago and ends with you. It provides order and meaning to travel that might otherwise seem arbitrary, while still providing plenty of choices: After all, the further you go into your family tree, the more branches you may have to pick from. Solène Prince, who studies heritage travel in Sweden, told me that people tend to focus on the lineage that they view as most “socially desirable”: “Americans and Canadians like to be Swedish,” she said. “It’s progressive.”

A segment of this industry targets Black Americans. Ghana, from which many enslaved Africans were sent to the New World, had its own homecoming— a “Year of Return”— for Africans in the diaspora in 2019. One and a half million people visited the continent that year, Ghana’s tourism department reported. But most heritage tourism tacitly serves white Americans. (Ancestry mentions Ghana in a list of possible Personal Heritage Journeys, but when I asked if anyone had taken advantage of that trip, a company spokesperson said not yet.)

Genealogy may be the product of painstaking research, but it’s also a fantasy, about who we are and who we’d like to be. Many Americans want to be something else: “Time and again, I have heard genealogists be very disappointed to learn that, in fact, they’re all white,” Jackie Hogan, the author of Roots Quest: Inside America’s Genealogy Boom , noted once in an interview . “If America is a melting pot, this is people wanting to unmelt it and find what makes them special,” Leite, the anthropologist, told me.

From the July/August 2018 issue: The weird, ever-evolving story of DNA

But even if white Americans think they want to be something other than white, when it comes time to travel, they mostly want to go to Europe. Fielding, of the Conte Club, told me that the top destinations for its DNA trips were all in Europe. Even when a DNA test uncovers ancestry outside this part of the world, clients tend to ignore it and “put their money where their comfort zone is”—meaning travel to the places they might have gone to anyway.

Reading testimonials from Ancestry travelers online, I got the impression that a big appeal of a heritage trip is marveling at how bad struggles were in remote places compared with the safety and comfort of present-day America. “I am grateful for them leaving and everything they went through, so we could have the life we have,” one traveler said after visiting the Italian sulfur mines where their grandparents once worked. “I think it made me appreciate not only them, but the sacrifices they had to go through so I could live comfortably here in the United States,” said another one who went to Ireland. There’s a hint of smug pride behind this gratitude exercise.

But at least one traveler came away with a more disquieting narrative, according to Joe Buggy, one of Ancestry’s genealogists. He had an American client who learned, while visiting his ancestors’ quaint little village, that everyone in town believed his grandfather had committed a murder there. They all thought he’d fled to Australia. Maybe that’s why Grandpa never talked about Ireland.

Open access
Published: 23 March 2022

Research progress and knowledge system of world heritage tourism: a bibliometric analysis

Juan Zhang 1 , 2 ,
Kangning Xiong 1 ,
Zhaojun Liu 1 &
Lixiang He 2 , 3

Heritage Science volume 10 , Article number: 42 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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In the context of integrating culture and tourism, world heritage tourism research has become a focus in tourism research in recent years. There are increasing discussions in academic circles on the content and methods of this field. Clarifying the knowledge system of research is conducive to dialogue with international theoretical frontiers and integrating, analyzing, and predicting the progress and lineage from a more comprehensive perspective. Still, few studies on the knowledge system of world heritage tourism research have been conducted. To fill this gap, this study uses the SSCI and SCI sub-databases of Web of Science Core Collection as the data source with the help of CiteSpace and VOSviewer software to measure the knowledge system of world heritage tourism research. A bibliometric analysis of 567 publications between 1992 and 2020 was conducted to construct a framework of a knowledge system based on literature statistics and content analysis, revealing the geographic research regions, theories and methods, themes and contents, trend evolution, and future research inspiration. The results show that: (1) the number of publications tends to increase gradually, with the highest in 2019. The authors and research institutions are mainly concentrated in Europe, America, East Asia. China has the highest publications. More literature on cultural heritage as a geographical study area than natural heritage. (2) The research themes, objects, and methods of the sample literature have become more diversified with the advancement of the research stage. The literature on multi-stakeholder research is the largest, followed by tourism impacts and research on World Heritage Sites’ resource management techniques and methods. These studies provide a multifaceted interpretation of the sustainable development of World heritage tourism, mainly from the perspectives of both supply and demand. However, the theoretical system is still incomplete. (3) Future research should strengthen the theoretical system construction, research innovation, cooperation, and research exchange in world heritage tourism research. Pay more attention to the research on the pluralistic value system of world heritage. Focus on exploring research on world heritage tourism’s resilience and localization dilemmas under the impact of the New Crown epidemic. To reveal the synergistic mechanisms and paths of diversified livelihoods of World Heritage Sites’ residents in ecologically fragile and impoverished areas.

Introduction

Research on world heritage (WH) tourism began to emerge in the mid-twentieth century and has shown rapid growth in the early twenty-first century and continues today. A World Heritage Site (WHS) is a scarce area of outstanding universal value (OUV) that requires long-term protection, is non-renewable and irreplaceable, as identified by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and World Heritage Committee (WHC) [ 1 ]. World Heritage-listed areas typically receive an order of magnitude more tourist visits than their non-listed counterparts [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. These areas are also often used as a means of economic regeneration through tourism development [ 5 , 6 , 7 ], as they have a significant economic impact on local communities [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. In addition, WHSs contribute to national image building [ 12 , 13 , 14 ] and promote destination branding [ 13 , 15 , 16 ]. Thus various national and regional governments actively apply for WHSs [ 15 ]. As of December 2021, the total number of enlisted heritage sites is 1154, including cultural, natural, and mixed categories, registered in 167 countries. In recent decades, WHSs have attracted a great deal of attention in promoting tourism and economic development and heritage conservation, driven by the benefits of the “WH” brand. The series of impacts and challenges arising from the inscription and development frenzy has led to a lively debate and a re-examination of WH tourism in the light of the increasingly popular concept of sustainable tourism development.

Tourism utilization and WH conservation are inevitably intertwined, and there is a symbiotic or tension between the two [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. The development of tourism can create new values and social relations for WHSs and is often seen as a tool to combat poverty and promote sustainable development [ 8 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. However, many WHSs also face challenges by the rapidly expanding tourism industry, population pressure, environmental pollution, conflicts between residents, tourists, government, and other stakeholders threaten WH conservation and sustainability. The interaction between conservation and use has become a vital issue in WH tourism research [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Development pressure due to local socio-economic issues, poor legislation and management, and inappropriate tourism operations are the leading causes of conflicts between heritage conservation and tourism development [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].

Controversies in academic circles regarding WH tourism research are becoming increasingly intense, and differences in positions and perspectives have divided the study into different categories. For example, environmentalists believe that WH and tourism are entirely contradictory. The development of tourism poses a threat to the environmental protection of WHSs [ 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Scholars concerned with social development emphasize that tourism can promote the economic development of WHSs [ 5 , 8 , 22 ]. Socio-ecological conservation advocates focus on exploring the synergy between environmental conservation and tourism economic development in WHSs [ 34 , 35 ]. It is essential to clarify WH tourism research’s progress and academic dynamics to advance research in the field, thus explaining the unique research objects and focus.

Existing studies have been categorized and reviewed mainly in terms of fundamental issues of WH tourism destinations, tourism activities, tourists, and other stakeholders, mostly an analysis of the content of the literature. While review studies based on bibliometric analysis have emerged in recent years, integrated accounting and prognosis of the development lineage of WH tourism research are relatively rare. A knowledge system is structured knowledge that members of a discipline or field use to guide their practice or work [ 36 ], including a systematization of the structure, principles, and examples of professional knowledge generated by members through continuous discovery and validation. The organization of the knowledge system facilitates the self-reflective growth and reproduction of WH tourism research [ 37 ]. A single visual knowledge map can hardly reflect the intrinsic nature of the knowledge system, and a single content analysis method is slightly lacking in objectivity. To fill this gap, this study mainly uses two types of scientometric tools, CiteSpace and VOSviewer, which integrates quantitative analysis represented by scientometric analysis, knowledge mapping, and keyword clustering, and content analysis represented by topic reading to identify the research progress and knowledge system of WH tourism research. To provide a comprehensive and objective overview of the current state of research in the field and provide a scientific reference for subsequent research. To achieve this, we set the following objectives:

To reveal the basic characteristics of the literature (section 3: changes in the number of publications, authors, research institutions, geographical research areas).

To identify key areas of research progress (sections 4–5: key research areas and contents, research theories and methods, and evolution of research trends).

To build a framework of knowledge (sections 6–7).

Material and methods

Research methods.

Bibliometric analysis helps decipher and map the cumulative scientific knowledge and evolutionary nuances of well-established fields by making sense of large volumes of unstructured data in rigorous ways. It enables and empowers scholars to gain a one-stop overview, identify knowledge gaps, derive novel ideas for investigation, and position their intended contributions to the field [ 38 ]. In recent years, bibliometric analysis in heritage tourism has emerged sporadically [ 39 , 40 ]. However, there is a relative lack of bibliometrics on tourism research in WHSs.

Science mapping is a generic domain analysis and visualization [ 41 ]. It is a study of scientific knowledge and belongs to scientometrics [ 42 ]. Several valuable scientific knowledge mapping tools have been born in bibliometric analysis, such as CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Sci2, BibExcel, Carrot2, etc. CiteSpace software can more intuitively and quickly visualize the focus and evolutionary trends in a specific field than other visualization and analysis software. It can reveal the inner connection between knowledge bases, conducive to better grasping the key points and future research development direction. VOSviewer software has unique advantages in graph display and clustering technology and is often used to display large networks [ 43 ]. The combined use of CiteSpace and VOSviewer software visualizes the highlights and trend evolution of WH tourism research. Using bibliometric visualization software for statistical data analysis, combined with content analysis, we objectively interpret WH tourism research progress and construct a knowledge system framework to provide scientific reference for WH conservation and utilization.

Defining terms

WHS is a rare and irreplaceable treasure of humanity recognized by UNESCO and WHC as a heritage site and natural landscape of OUV. OUV is the criterion for being selected as a WHS. It means cultural and/or natural significance, which is exceptional to transcend national boundaries and be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity. The World Heritage List (WHL) published by UNESCO divides WHS into three main categories: cultural site (including cultural landscapes), natural site, and mixed cultural and natural site. According to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (Convention) promulgated in 1972, world cultural heritage means cultural objects, architectural ensembles, and sites of OUV. World natural heritage refers to natural features of OUV, threatened animal and plant habitat areas, wild places of interest, or delineated natural areas. Only properties that partially or fully satisfy cultural and natural heritage definitions in Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention can be considered “mixed cultural and natural heritage.” Following the Convention’s definition of WH, we focus on the tourism development of world cultural, natural, and mixed heritage sites. Therefore, publications that meet the following conditions are excluded.

A study of heritage tourism unrelated to WHS.

Articles and comments on intangible heritage.

Document selection

In this study, we used the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database as the data source, selected one of the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) databases to search. The reason for using this database is that it is one of the most widely recognized international databases with data going back to 1900 and provides a rich, comprehensive collection of information from more than 18,000 authoritative, high-impact scholarly journals worldwide. Search the literature using 5 sets of keywords. (a) “world heritage” and “tourism,” (b) “world cultural heritage” and “tourism,” (c) “world natural heritage” and “tourism,” (d) “mixed heritage” and “tourism,” (e) “cultural landscape,” “world heritage” and “tourism.” Without limiting the starting time, the data were last updated on December 31, 2020.

Searches returned 672 documents (Fig. 1 ): (a) 604 documents for world heritage and tourism, (b) 29 documents for world cultural heritage and tourism, (c) 24 documents for world natural heritage and tourism, (d) 3 documents for mixed heritage and tourism, and (e) 12 documents for cultural landscape, world heritage and tourism. We excluded 10 documents not in English, and 28 documents that appeared in two searches or more (duplicates). Finally, a full-text assessment was carried out, resulting in 567 papers (Additional file 1 : Appendix S1).

Approach for the material selection

Document analysis

In the final data analysis phase, an analysis protocol has been applied to critically analyze the collected publications’ content and describe it in a structured way (Fig. 2 ). It sought to gather each document’s essential characteristics, focus, content, and existing gaps and needs in WH tourism research. Finally, a full-text assessment was conducted to summarize findings and problems with existing studies and present future research needs.

Analysis protocol for the material collection

Basic characteristics of the selected publications

Year of publication.

As shown in Fig. 3 , the number of publications generally showed an upward trend from 1992 to 2020. At the end of the twentieth century, related scholars began to pay attention to this emerging field, and the results appeared one after another. However, the number of articles published between 1992 and 2006 was small because of the initial research stage, with an average of only 2 articles per year. Since 2007, the number of articles has increased significantly, in 2019 was as high as 94, indicating that the academic community’s research on world heritage tourism is highly enthusiastic.

The number of publications per year

First author’s country

The sample literature came from more than 50 countries in total, and the top 10 countries in terms of the number of publications were mainly concentrated in East Asia, Europe, and America (Fig. 4 ). China has the most significant number of publications, accounting for 20%. The early research literature was mainly concentrated in developed countries like Australia and the United Kingdom. Research in China began to appear in 2003, with a significant increase in volume in 2009, and maintained the world’s top-ranking number of publications during 2014–2020. Since China joined the Convention in 1985, it has become one of the fastest-growing countries in the world in terms of the number of WHSs, attracting the attention of the academic community and increasing the number of research results year by year. By the 43rd World Heritage Conference, 55 WHSs have been successfully nominated, ranking first in the world with Italy. It can be seen that the geographical distribution of research literature is positively related to the level of regional economic development and the number of WHSs.

Number of publications from the top 10 countries at different periods

Authors and institutions

(1) authorship and cooperation networks.

There were 475 first authors on the 567 sample papers. In Fig. 5 , the larger font size of the authors’ names indicates more publications, and the larger nodes indicate more collaboration between authors. It shows that Su, Rasoolimanesh, Martinez-Perez A, Xu, and Buckley are the top five in terms of the total number of publications. And the collaborative network has a core–edge structure with fewer connections between the nodes, indicating that only a few researchers collaborate, and the majority of scholars are weakly connected. Most research teams were formed after 2011, indicating that research on WH tourism has gradually increased since then. For example, Su and Wall have collaborated on many publications on community engagement in heritage sustainable management research. Rasoolimanesh and Jaafar have produced many results around resident perception research in heritage sites, with 6 articles published in 2016.

Author co-cited network

(2) Issuing institution

According to the frequency in Table 1 , the top ten research institutions in terms of the number of publications are mainly universities and colleges, and there are relatively few research institutes. Sun Yat-Sen University and the Renmin University of China are the primary research institutions in China. The rest of the research institutions are mainly located in Canada, Australia, Spain, and Malaysia. Research institutions have specialized WH tourism research groups, such as Sun Yat-sen University in China, whose primary literature is contributed by the team of Zhang, Xu, and Sun.

Geographical study area

There are 56 world natural heritage sites and 123 cultural heritage sites studied in 434 documents. 155 of these articles (36%) are about natural sites, 254 (59%) about cultural sites, and 25 about mixed heritage sites (5%). The WHSs that appeared more than 2 times in the sample literature were counted and sorted by their countries (Table 2 ). It shows that China, Australia, Spain, Malaysia, Korea, and Cambodia are the hot geographical areas of academic research, with the Great Barrier Reef (n = 18), Melaka and George Town (n = 15), and Angkor (n = 11) being the most prominent. In recent years, research results about Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area and Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area in China and the archaeological heritage of the Lenggong Valley in Malaysia have increased.

Key research areas and content

Keywords are a condensation and distillation of the core content of the literature. A high frequency of keywords can reflect the focus in a particular area [ 44 ]. Using the CiteSpace keyword analysis function to identify the main topics of interest to the academic community. Table 3 shows the keywords with a word frequency greater than 10 times. It can be seen that management, conservation, impact, perception, satisfaction, sustainable tourism, and stakeholders are the concerns in WH tourism research. In addition, we found that keywords such as customized authenticity, adaptive management, social-ecological system, sustainable livelihood, and resilience had a word frequency of fewer than 5 times, giving us some clues to track the frontier. Although the high-frequency keywords can reflect the main focus of existing research, the article’s overall idea and the mainline cannot be seen through the keywords.

Research themes

After identifying the high-frequency keywords, the research themes in the field were further clarified. To avoid the limitation of keywords, combining keyword clustering with full-text reading, the key research areas of WH tourism research were summarized into the following 8 themes.

(1) Sustainable tourism

The sustainable tourism theme contains 86 articles (15% of total). Scientific research has always been very focused on assessing the sustainability of tourism [ 45 ]. The development of governmental sustainable management strategies (n = 25), community residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards participation in tourism development (n = 28), spatial evolution of destinations (n = 8), low-carbon environmental measures in ecotourism (n = 12), and community livelihood diversification (n = 13) have been studied as factors influencing sustainable tourism in WHSs. Among them, the most crucial academic attention has been paid to the relationship between community support and sustainable tourism. Several empirical studies have been conducted, showing that local and community participation in WH management is necessary for sustainable tourism [ 46 , 47 ]. Empowering local communities to participate effectively in tourism decision-making and to be able to share equitably in the benefits of tourism development is an essential principle of sustainable tourism [ 25 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Sustainable tourism has been widely accepted to mediate tensions and balance the relationship between heritage conservation, tourism management, social pressure, and economic development.

(2) Authenticity

The theme includes 14 articles (2% of total). The UNESCO have adopted authenticity as a critical principle for inscription on the WHL [ 1 ]. In the tourism context, three commonly used authenticity concepts are objective authenticity, constructive authenticity, and existential authenticity [ 53 ]. Studies of authenticity in WH tourism focus on existential authenticity (n = 10) and constructive authenticity (n = 4). Existential authenticity emphasizes tourists’ perceptions, experiences, and preferences of authenticity, including experiences, emotions, attachments, and identities [ 54 ]. Scholars generally agree that the authenticity of the tourist experience has a significant impact on satisfaction and loyalty and that the quality of WH tourism is enhanced by authenticity [ 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ]. The perception of authenticity increases the heritage destination value [ 60 ]. Constructed authenticity discussions focus on customized authenticity that tourists can seek and embrace even in publicly staged or produced contexts [ 61 ]. The debate on the authenticity of WH tourism has shifted from the static perspective to how authenticity is interpreted [ 62 ]. The acceptance of authenticity itself depends on tourists’ perceptions.

Authenticity is a controversial concept in WH tourism studies [ 53 , 63 ]. Some scholars have even suggested that the concept should be abandoned because of its problematic nature [ 64 ]. Despite its clear importance, authenticity is a problematic and insufficiently explored concept, which hinders its practical application [ 53 ]. So fewer articles are examining the use of authenticity in WH tourism practice. However, with the rapid development of WH tourism and the microscopic shift in WH tourism research, Scholars have attempted to explore the impact of different authenticity on the visitor experience. They have confirmed that understanding how visitors interpret authenticity is vital for marketing and managing heritage sites [ 56 , 57 ]. After 2017, there has been a marked increase in research on the application of authenticity in WH tourism practice. The number of articles is relatively small because it is still exploratory.

(3) Management techniques and methods of tourism resources

The second-highest number of publications (22% of the total) studied management techniques and strategies for WH tourism resources, with 124 articles. Dynamic conservation and multidisciplinary research are fundamental approaches to planning and sustainable management of WH. The main focus is on techniques and methods for WH resource survey and assessment (n = 32), management and conservation enhancement (n = 57), presentation and education (n = 14), visitor flow forecasting (n = 3), visitor safety management (n = 6), and itinerary design (n = 12). Thanks to the continuous progress of technology, a series of new technologies and methods such as 3D technology [ 65 ], geoinformation technology, and remote sensing(RS) [ 66 , 67 ], augmented reality(AR) [ 68 ], and mixed reality (MR) [ 69 ] have facilitated the management and conservation of WH tourism resources. Western scholars focus on the physical conservation of heritage sites, and research and conservation also focus on achieving this goal through technology [ 65 , 70 , 71 ]. Recently, scholars have taken social-ecological system theory [ 34 ], adaptive management theory [ 72 ], and resilience theory [ 35 , 73 ] to analyze the resource conservation and tourism development contradictions and propose synergistic paths on this basis.

(4) Tourism impacts

There are 110 articles on the tourism impacts (20% of total). The impacts of tourism on WHSs is mainly environmental (n = 50), economic (n = 13), social (n = 15), and cultural (n = 5), with some studies discussing the combined impact (n = 27). There is a consensus in the academic community that demographic pressure from tourism remains a major threat to WHSs’ environmental and cultural integrity. Highly intensive tourist demand significantly challenges the sustainability of WHSs [ 74 , 75 ]. In addition, local socio-economic development pressures and mismanagement also pose challenges to its health. Most studies have examined the objective environmental impacts by assessing tourism environmental capacity, ecological tourism footprint, and eco-efficiency. The destruction of the natural environment and ecosystems of WHSs and the intensification of environmental pollution of air, water, vegetation, soil, etc. are the major negative environmental impacts [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 ], or assessing the environmental impacts from the perspective of residents’ perceptions [ 10 , 80 , 81 ]. Tourism development contributes to sustainable livelihoods, women’s empowerment and gender equality, and improved recreational facilities and public amenities in WHSs [ 9 , 22 , 23 , 82 , 83 , 84 ]. However, it can also result in negative impacts such as increased cost of living, rising real estate and prices, income imbalance, littering, and host-client conflict [ 85 ]. In addition, scholars represented by Jimura, Rasoolimanesh, and Kim have confirmed through their studies that the rapid development of WH tourism has improved the cultural identity of residents to some extent. Traditional arts and culture have been preserved and revived to some extent. Still, it has also weakened the local spirit of local communities and created a series of conflicts between village historical heritage conservation and tourism development [ 8 , 9 , 80 , 86 , 87 ].

(5) Stakeholders

This topic has the largest publications, including 143 articles (25% of total). WH tourism stakeholders were studied mainly by residents (n = 45), tourists (n = 54), government departments (n = 19), tourism enterprises (n = 10), and multiple stakeholder interactions (n = 15). Scholars often use perception studies as a breakthrough to study stakeholder synergy. Visitor perception studies are useful for understanding their motivations and expectations for undertaking WH tourism, strengthening visitor management, and promoting destination marketing and promotion. Studies have been conducted on visitor perceptions mainly from heritage presentation and interpretation, marketing, and management. The research mainly focuses on the relationship between tourists’ perceived value, quality of experience, satisfaction, and loyalty [ 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 ]. The perceived impact of tourism development by community residents is a key and necessary element of community engagement research [ 25 , 95 , 96 , 97 ]. Scholars have studied residents’ perceptions or attitudes through cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons. They agree that socio-economic status, local attachment, environmental attitudes and values, and participation in the planning and decision-making process become the main factors determining residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts [ 98 , 99 ]. The local attachment is the most critical element [ 100 ].

As the leading force in the “inscription” process, the government is the guarantor of the rational development of heritage tourism resources and the involvement of stakeholders. Many issues hinder the sustainable development and management of heritage tourism in developing countries. Lack of political will, government priorities, and financial assistance are the main constraints to WH management [ 101 , 102 , 103 ]. Although governments do not hesitate to develop tourism, their mismanagement is inevitably criticized [ 104 , 105 , 106 ]. Travel agencies and tourism companies are an integral part of WH conservation. Research on tourism companies has focused on maximizing economic benefits and exploring breakthrough innovations at the firm level in the context of cultural tourism clusters [ 107 , 108 ]. The perceptions of corporate managers regarding their social responsibility in WH conservation have not received much attention from scholars [ 109 , 110 ].

(6) World heritage value

21 papers discuss the value of WH (4% of total). The study is mainly focused on OUV (n = 8), economic value (n = 6), and social value (n = 7). Research on OUV of WH focuses on different stakeholders’ perceptions of heritage values and the factors that influence them. Some studies focus on discussing OUV narration from a guide’s perspective [ 111 , 112 ]. However, the understanding and claiming of the pluralistic value of heritage has not been given much attention. Tourists’ tourism satisfaction and education level are the main factors influencing their perception of OUV [ 113 , 114 ]. Residents’ perception of OUV positively impacts local attachment and willingness to preserve heritage. The conditional value assessment method (CVM) is a commonly used method for estimating the economic value of WHSs, providing a scientific reference for admission management systems and better brand marketing [ 86 , 103 , 115 , 116 ]. In addition, recent studies have explored how to construct heritage social values based on OUV and have indicated that social values are beneficial to enhance the international and national image and tourism attractiveness of WH destinations [ 117 ]. Heritage values are artificially assigned by different heritage subjects rather than naturally generated and self-evidently existing. The identified OUV emphasizes the materiality of heritage with a Eurocentric perspective. However, there is also a need to focus on non-material content such as people and activities associated with WHSs to better convey heritage stories and a sense of place [ 112 , 118 ].

(7) Destination brand image building and marketing

The theme includes 40 articles (7% of total). Studies have focused on WH brand equity management (n = 11), marketing strategies, platforms and tools (n = 12), stakeholder perceptions of WHS brand image (n = 8), visitor market segmentation (n = 5), and heritage promotional discourse (n = 4). WH represents the international identity of the inducted country, and it can play an essential role in building a national image and the highly competitive global tourism market [ 12 ]. The success of the inscription is a great honor for the selected country, and the “WH” brand is widely used in marketing campaigns to promote national tourism and increase the destination’s visibility. Scholars generally agree that the WHL helps build destination images [ 13 , 119 ] and discusses using the WH brand for destination image building and marketing. It is also argued that establishing emotional attachment to build destinations and the interpretation of authenticity by tourists are vital issues in branding tourism destinations in today’s tourism market [ 56 , 120 ]. Although the WHL is a powerful brand that significantly impacts tourism, it still requires proper management to maintain brand equity. However, brand image building and marketing need to be integrated with the local culture [ 121 ], focus on local storytelling, and highlight the elements that characterize its heritage value to develop differentiated marketing.

(8) Impact of the World Heritage List on tourism demand

The literature examining the impact of the WHL on tourism demand includes 29 articles (5% of total). The majority of scholars see “inscriptions” and “accessions” as “magnets” that attract tourists and guarantee an increase in the number of visitors to heritage sites. They generally believe that “inscription” positively impacts local tourism demand (n = 22). It has been shown to have a positive impact on local tourism demand through the use of “inscription” in China [ 4 , 122 , 123 , 124 ], Italy [ 125 , 126 ], Spain [ 127 ], Israel [ 15 ], and other case studies confirm this finding. Contrary findings (n = 7) argue that the WHL does not necessarily promote tourism [ 128 , 129 , 130 ]. Some scholars in the recent literature have questioned the assumption of a linear relationship between the total number of WHSs and tourism demand in previous studies, emphasizing the need to distinguish between the different impacts of tangible and intangible heritage on tourism demand [ 131 ]. The effects of the WHL on heritage tourism vary from country to country and region to region, with findings running depending on the study area, research perspective, and methodology. The disagreement among scholars makes the research on the effect of WHL on tourism demand consistently popular [ 4 , 130 , 132 ].

Research theory and methodology

Given the small number of high-frequency keywords regarding research methods reflected in Table 3 , all keywords were analyzed in this paper to gain insight into the main theories and methods in the field. In addition, a glossary of terms representing specific research theories and methods was summarized by analyzing the content of the literature (Table 4 ). Various well-established theories such as sustainability development theory (n = 67), community participation theory (n = 62), stakeholder theory (n = 25), place attachment theory (n = 17), authenticity theory (n = 16), sustainable livelihood (n = 13), social-ecological system theory (n = 10), resilience theory (n = 7), social exchange theory (n = 6), and planned behavior theory (n = 5). Scholars have used these theories to argue for problem and pathway studies of WH tourism. Research methods are mainly qualitative (n = 151) and quantitative (n = 327), or a combination of both (n = 89), and quantitative analysis methods are becoming increasingly diverse.

Evolution of research trends

With the continuous advancement of WH conservation practices, WH tourism research themes are becoming increasingly diverse (Fig. 6 ). Based on the number of publications, keyword clustering analysis, and interpretation of the leading research content of the literature, the following stages are used to characterize the evolution of research trends in this field.

Evolution map of world heritage tourism research theme

The first stage (1992–2006): the newborn stage. The number of WHSs grew slowly during this period, and research in WH tourism is beginning to receive attention, but not much heat. The literature in this stage is small, and the clustering of keywords is not apparent because of the small amount of literature. The research package mainly includes the functional zoning planning of WHSs, the impact of tourism activities on the natural environment, and the impact of national tourism policies on the development of WHSs. More studies at the macro level mainly focus on proper conservation management of tourism resources and exploring sustainable development strategies. In addition, there are more studies on the management and conservation of WH based on tourists’ perspectives, emphasizing the management of tourists to promote the WH conservation. In terms of resource types, there are more case studies about the Great Barrier Reef, a world natural heritage site.

Phase 2 (2007–2017): rapid development phase. During this period, the proliferation of WHSs and the range of challenges and impacts of tourism overdevelopment have generated a lively debate in academic circles. The publications showed a rapid growth trend in 2007 and beyond, with increasingly rich keywords and rapidly diversifying research themes. Theoretical thinking and practical research have been expanded, and research perspectives have been broadened with distinctive interdisciplinary features. The research on WH conservation gradually changes from “balancing conservation and development” to the paradigm of “conservation for development.” Therefore, besides focusing on the conservation of heritage resources, the socio-economic benefits of WH are gradually being paid attention to, and the impact of WHL on tourism demand has become a more intense issue of debate among scholars. In addition, the conservation philosophy of world natural heritage sites is undergoing a shift from neglecting communities to valuing them, from absolute conservation to gradient conservation, and paying more attention to human needs and development. Therefore, studies on multiple stakeholders have become more prosperous. Residents’ perception, community involvement, local attachment, tourists’ experience, tourists’ loyalty, and satisfaction and the relationship between them have become the focus of scholars’ attention.

Phase 3 (2018-): deepening research phase. The WH has moved from rapid quantitative growth to enhanced conservation and management quality. Research in this period expands slowly and is the most in-depth type of research. New ideas such as digitalization, cultural creativity, and low-carbon tourism are also penetrated in WH resource conservation. Scholars began to focus on areas such as the evolution of cultural space in WHSs, the construction of WH brand assets, residents’ responsibility and attitude towards heritage conservation, well-being, and the resilience of socio-ecological systems. Meanwhile, further deepening research on the impact of the WHL on tourism continuity, the spatial and temporal evolution of residents’ perceptions, the promotion of destination images and brand effects, the construction of heritage authenticity, and sustainable livelihoods of communities. Continued attention is paid to exploring pathways for the management and sustainable tourism development of WHSs.

Knowledge system framework for world heritage tourism research

To better understand the progress and lineage of WH tourism research, a framework of knowledge system is constructed. This framework is based on the basic characteristics of the literature, the key research areas and content, research theories, the evolution of research trends, and future research gaps summarized in the previous section [ 133 ] (Fig. 7 ). The first box’s contents in the left column are derived from high-frequency keywords. The keywords in each box are sorted in word frequency from highest to lowest. For example, in the first box of the first column, the highest frequency is “management,” and the lowest is “conflict.” The sustainable tourism theme is summarized by extracting 11 keywords and interpreting the content of the literature and presented inside the first column of key research areas and content. The other 7 themes were extracted by the same method. The endpoint of the whole knowledge system framework points to two intersecting circles. It consists of three high-frequency keywords: “world heritage,” “tourism,” and “world heritage tourism,” indicating that world heritage and tourism are inseparable.

Knowledge system of world heritage tourism research

Around the binary debate of conservation and utilization, the conservation and management practices and the tourism and leisure practices of WHSs have become two main lines of research, respectively. Research perspectives are mainly cut from both supply and demand sides but are not discrete. For example, WH tourism authenticity focuses on both the interpretation of authenticity by tourists in the demand perspective and the management and development of heritage resources in the supply perspective. The supply-side perspective emphasizes the study of destination management, the tourism impacts on WHSs, and stakeholders such as communities and governments in management as the focus of WH tourism. In particular, the ecological, social, economic, and cultural impacts of tourism on WHSs, sustainable livelihoods, and community perceptions have received continued attention from scholars. The demand-side perspective focuses on WH tourism from a marketing perspective, with branding and marketing of destinations, the impact of the WHL on tourism demand, and the relationship between visitor experience, perception, and satisfaction as the primary research components.

In terms of research theories, academics mainly draw on relevant theories from sociology, anthropology, and ecology to explain and solve the contradiction between WH conservation and tourism development. The interdisciplinary trend is more prominent. However, there is a lack of theoretical research on geography. From the perspective of the human-land relationship system in WHS, future research should fully use geography’s comprehensive and systematic nature. And apply it more to the management techniques and methods of WH tourism resources to better understand the contradiction between WH conservation and tourism development and balance the relationship between them.

Knowledge gaps with implications for future research

WH tourism research focuses on the conservation and use of WHSs and examines the development of society through the interaction of the two. How to realize the synergy between WH conservation and tourism development will be a continuing focus of scholars in this field of research. Future research can focus on exploring the following areas.

Innovative ways of representing World Heritage

From a demand-side perspective, subsequent WH tourism demand research should focus on people’s subjective constructs, such as tourists’ cultural needs and preferences. To match consumer perceptions with the intrinsic values characterized by WH [ 14 ] and target brand building and marketing. Demand research on the supply side should explore how to cut through the origin and form of WH and bring heritage back to today’s social life through the industrialization of cultural tourism. The storytelling of WH and cultural communication in WH tourism should be the focus of scholars’ later research. Among them, local culture plays a vital role in the sustainable management of WHSs, and intangible elements such as memories, emotions, and feelings related to WHSs should also attract the attention of scholars. In addition, most of the current studies are on cultural heritage, while there is relatively little research literature on the cultural lineage of natural heritage. Future research should strengthen the value of natural heritage constructed based on OUV and pay attention to local spiritual maintenance and humanistic values. Mainly focus on exploring the mechanism of the construction of cultural confidence and cultural identity in WH conservation and exploring the synergistic path of heritage conservation and tourism development.

To explore world heritage management models with local characteristics in developing countries to synergize conservation and tourism development

Compared with leading foreign studies, WH tourism research in developing countries is more concerned with management systems, government policies, and community participation. Most of the existing studies have explored the issues themselves. There are more case studies and fewer studies that summarize the patterns. More attention needs to be paid to micro-area studies to draw on the results and paradigms of current research. Taking China as an example, localized management and development models should be explored in light of the unique characteristics of WHS, such as focusing on the sustainable development of WHS in karst ecologically fragile and poor areas. It is necessary to propose targeted WH tourism management policies based on adaptive and collaborative community management [ 77 ] and seek a win–win model for WH conservation and regional development. A multi-element, multi-scale and multi-system approach should be adopted to explore the evolutionary patterns of tourism development in WHSs. The aim is to strengthen the capacity to predict the evolution of WHSs’ spatial patterns and structures and improve the ability to regulate and support decision-making for sustainable development. In addition, it is necessary to build an inclusive, democratic, and dialogical space, deepen the research on the role mechanisms of different stakeholders in WH conservation and tourism development, pay attention to the research on the value perception and local attachment of tourism business managers, further clarify their social responsibilities, attitudes, and behaviors, and their influencing factors, and optimize their roles in heritage conservation and management. At the same time, it should strengthen the research on the localization dilemma of WH under the influence of the new corona epidemic and focus on the multiple livelihood synergy mechanism and path of residents in WHSs in ecologically fragile and poverty-stricken areas.

Promote the integration of World Heritage research with cutting-edge issues of the times

The help of modern science and technology such as big data, cloud computing, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, digital conservation technology, interactive display technology, information space management technology, and other vital technologies provide new paths for comprehensive, systematic, and complex research on WH. They provide scientific and technological support to expand further the depth and breadth of research on WH tourism. Subsequent research should focus on combining technology and local heritage characteristics, highlighting the “materialization” of technology while emphasizing humanistic care. In addition, the new crown epidemic has exposed and exacerbated tourism’s vulnerability, especially for communities that are highly dependent on tourism as a source of livelihood, and sustainability is threatened. At the same time, the epidemic has also had a tremendous impact on government management practices, tourist travel behavior, tourism business operation models, changes in management models, host-client relationships, market demand, and consumption habits. They are making it necessary to explore adaptive management models and future directions for the industry appropriate for local practices. Finally, resilience theory emphasizes studying the historical relationship between society and its environment. The study of the mechanism of community resilience on WH conservation may become a breakthrough point for adaptive management research. In the future, we need to pay attention to the study of the resilience path of WH tourism after the new crown epidemic to enhance the resilience of communities in WHSs.

Based on the “Web of Science” database, the knowledge mapping software CiteSpace and VOSviewer were applied, combined with bibliometric and content analysis methods, to reveal the knowledge system’s themes, trends, and frameworks of WH tourism research. From the essential characteristics of the literature, chronologically, the research began in the 1990s, achieved rapid development in the first decade of the twenty-first century, and is booming. It is mainly concentrated in countries and regions with rich WH resources, developed economies, and more mature tourism industries. Although a specific group of authors has been formed, a particular research circle has not yet been created. The cooperative relationship between most authors is weak. Research institutions are mainly concentrated in universities.

The increasing refinement of WH conservation concepts and tourism development practices has contributed to research trends. The evolution of the research phases shows that WH tourism research has gradually become more microscopic and specific, with further development of theoretical analysis and scientific practice and the expansion of the study to multiple stakeholders such as tourist objects and external societies. Research topics have shifted to the micro-level, such as residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts and the cultural and economic impacts on WHSs. As research deepened and diversified, several new concepts and techniques began to be applied to WH resource conservation and evaluation. Although the expansion of research has gradually slowed down, deepening research exploring the multidisciplinary intersection and multiple research methods and perspectives have further advanced.

The knowledge system has formed a multidisciplinary and multi-level comprehensive research situation. In terms of research methods, the combination of qualitative and quantitative is the main focus. The methods of quantitative analysis are becoming more and more diversified, mostly cutting from micro cases for empirical research, and the research content is mainly focused on both supply and demand of WH tourism. However, the theoretical system is not yet perfect. The knowledge mapping, constructed knowledge systems, and inherent knowledge linkages presented in WH tourism research have specific academic value. The evolution of the knowledge system further deepens the disciplinary innovativeness. Whether from supply or demand, future research should seek breakthrough points based on existing research, innovate WH representation, tell heritage stories, and strengthen research on the cultural lineage of natural heritage sites. To promote the integration of WH research with cutting-edge issues of the times, research the paths of resilience and localization dilemmas of WH tourism after the new crown epidemic, and focus on the inhabitants of WHSs in ecologically fragile and impoverished areas. We will also study the mechanism and paths of multi-livelihood synergy for residents in environmentally vulnerable and poor regions. We will strengthen theoretical system construction, research innovation, and exchange and cooperation to form a more prosperous and in-depth knowledge system of WH tourism research.

Availability of data and materials

Data sharing is not applicable to this manuscript as no datasets were generated or analyzed.

Abbreviations

World Heritage

World Heritage Site

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

World Heritage Committee

World Heritage List

Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage

Conditional value assessment method

Geographic information system

Partial least square-structural equation modelling

Analytic hierarchy process

Principal component analysis

Analysis of variance

Remote sensing

Augmented reality

Mixed reality

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Guizhou normal university. We would also like to thank anonymous reviewers for their helpful and productive comments on the manuscript.

This work was supported by the Key Project of Science and Technology Program of Guizhou Province (No. 5411 2017 Qiankehe Pingtai Rencai), the World Top Discipline Program of Guizhou Province (No.125 2019 Qianjiao Keyan Fa), the China Overseas Expertise Introduction Program for Discipline Innovation (No.D17016), the Strategic Action Plan of Guizhou Undergraduate Higher Education Institutions to Serve the Rural Industrial Revolution(No. Qianjiaohe KY[2018]086), the Postgraduate Education Innovation Program Project of Guizhou Province (No. Qianjiaohe YJSCXJH [2020] 112).

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Juan Zhang, Kangning Xiong & Zhaojun Liu

School of Management Science, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang, 550025, China

Juan Zhang & Lixiang He

School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China

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JZ and KNX developed the concept of this work. JZ wrote the manuscript, KNX and ZJL reviewed the whole text and made comments and suggestions to improve it. LXH edited parts of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Supplementary Information

Additional file 1: appendix s1..

List of the 567 publications considered in bibliometric analysis.

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Zhang, J., Xiong, K., Liu, Z. et al. Research progress and knowledge system of world heritage tourism: a bibliometric analysis. Herit Sci 10 , 42 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-022-00654-0

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-022-00654-0

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Unesco social media, kremlin and red square, moscow.

Description

Inextricably linked to all the most important historical and political events in Russia since the 13th century, the Kremlin (built between the 14th and 17th centuries by outstanding Russian and foreign architects) was the residence of the Great Prince and also a religious centre. At the foot of its ramparts, on Red Square, St Basil's Basilica is one of the most beautiful Russian Orthodox monuments.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Le Kremlin et la place Rouge, Moscou

Indissolublement lié à tous les événements historiques et politiques les plus importants survenus en Russie depuis le XIII e siècle, le Kremlin a été construit entre le XIV e et le XVII e siècle par des architectes russes et étrangers exceptionnels. C'était la résidence du grand-prince ainsi qu'un centre religieux. Au pied de ses remparts, sur la place Rouge, s'élève la basilique Basile-le-Bienheureux, l'un des plus beaux monuments de l'art orthodoxe.

الكرملين والساحة الحمراء، موسكو

يرتبط الكرملين ارتباطاً وثيقاً بجميع الأحداث التاريخيّة والسياسيّة المهمّة التي توالت على روسيا منذ القرن الثالث عشر ولقد جرى تشييده بين القرنين الرابع والسابع عشر على يد مهندسين روس وأجانب استثنائيين. وكان الكرملين مقرّ الأمير الكبير كما كان مركزاً دينيّاً. عند أسفل أسواره في الساحة الحمراء شيدت بازيليك القديس بازيل وهي من أروع تحف الفنّ الأرثوذكسي.

source: UNESCO/CPE Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

莫斯科克里姆林宫和红场

由俄罗斯和外国建筑家于14世纪至17世纪共同修建的克里姆林宫，作为沙皇的住宅和宗教中心，与13世纪以来俄罗斯所有最重要的历史事件和政治事件密不可分。在红场上防御城墙的脚下坐落的圣瓦西里教堂是俄罗斯传统艺术最漂亮的代表作之一。

El kremlin y la Plaza Roja de Moscú

Indisolublemente vinculado a los más trascendentales acontecimientos históricos y políticos de Rusia desde el siglo XIII, el kremlin de Moscú fue construido entre los siglos XIV y XVII por toda una serie de excelentes arquitectos rusos y extranjeros. Además de ser la residencia del Gran Príncipe, fue un importante centro religioso. Al pie de sus murallas, en la Plaza Roja, se alza la basílica de San Basilio el Bienaventurado, uno de los más hermosos monumentos de arte ortodoxo.

モスクワのクレムリンと赤の広場

source: NFUAJ

Kremlin en Rode Plein, Moskou

Het Kremlin is onlosmakelijk verbonden met alle belangrijke historische en politieke gebeurtenissen in Rusland sinds de 13e eeuw. Het werd door de Grote Prins Yuri van Kiev gesticht als residentie en religieus centrum. De bouw vond plaats tussen de 14e en 17e eeuw en het ontwerp was in handen van uitstekende Russische en buitenlandse architecten. Binnen de muren van het Kremlin vindt men een reeks meesterwerken qua architectuur, maar ook beeldende kunst en religieuze monumenten van uitzonderlijke schoonheid. Aan de voet van de stadsmuren, op het Rode Plein, bevindt zich een van de mooiste Russisch-orthodoxe monumenten, de Pokrovkathedraal ook wel Basiliuskathedraal genoemd.

Source: unesco.nl

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

At the geographic and historic centre of Moscow, the Moscow Kremlin is the oldest part of the city. First mentioned in the Hypatian Chronicle in 1147 as a fortification erected on the left bank of the Moskva river by Yuri Dolgoruki, Prince of Suzdal, the Kremlin developed and grew with settlements and suburbs which were further surrounded by new fortifications - Kitaigorodsky Wall, Bely Gorod, Zemlyanoy Gorod and others. This determined a radial and circular plan of the centre of Moscow typical of many other Old Russian cities.

In 13th century the Kremlin was the official residence of supreme power - the center of temporal and spiritual life of the state. The Kremlin of the late 15th – early 16th century is one of the major fortifications of Europe (the stone walls and towers of present day were erected in 1485–1516). It contains an ensemble of monuments of outstanding quality.

The most significant churches of the Moscow Kremlin are situated on the Cathedral Square; they are the Cathedral of the Dormition, Church of the Archangel, Church of the Annunciation and the bell tower of Ivan Veliki. Almost all of them were designed by invited Italian architects which is clearly seen in their architectural style. The five-domed Assumption Cathedral (1475–1479) was built by an Italian architect Aristotele Fiorvanti. Its interior is decorated with frescos and a five-tier iconostasis (15th–17th century). The cathedral became the major Russian Orthodox church; a wedding and coronation place for great princes, tsars and emperors as well as the shrine for metropolitans and patriarchs.

In the same square another Italian architect, Alevisio Novi, erected the five-domed Church of the Archangel in 1505-1508. From the 17th to 19th century, its interior was decorated by wonderful frescos and an iconostasis. In this church many great princes and tsars of Moscow are buried. Among them are Ivan I Kalita, Dmitri Donskoi, Ivan III, Ivan IV the Terrible, Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich Romanovs.

The Cathedral of the Dormition was built by Pskov architects in 1484–1489. Inside the cathedral some mural paintings of 16th–19th century have been preserved and the icons of Andrei Rublev and Theophanes the Greek are part of the iconostasis.

In 1505-1508 the bell tower of Ivan Veliki was built. Being 82 metres high it was the highest building in Russia which became the focal point of the Kremlin ensemble.

Among the oldest civil buildings of the Moscow Kremlin, the Palace of the Facets (1487–1491) is the most remarkable. Italian architects Marco Fryazin and Pietro Antonio Solario built it as a great hall for holding state ceremonies, celebrations and for receiving foreign ambassadors. The most noteworthy civil construction of the 17th century built by Russian masters is the Teremnoi Palace.

From the early 18th century, when the capital of Russia moved to St. Petersburg, the Kremlin mainly played a ceremonial role with religious functions. By the end of the century the architectural complex of the Kremlin expanded with the Arsenal reconstructed after the Fire of 1797 by Matvei Kazakov. The Senate was built in 1776–1787 according to the plans of the same architect as the home of the highest agency of State power of the Russian Empire - the Ruling Senate. Today it is the residence of the President of Russia.

From 1839 to 1849 a Russian architect K.A. Thon erected the Great Kremlin Palace as a residence of the imperial family which combined ancient Kremlin buildings such as the Palace of the Facets, the Tsarina’s Golden Chamber, Master Chambers, the Teremnoi Palace and the Teremnoi churches. In the Armory Chamber built by K.A. Thon within the complex of the Great Kremlin Palace, there is a 16th century museum officially established by the order of Alexander I in 1806.

Red Square, closely associated with the Kremlin, lies beneath its east wall. At its south end is the famous Pokrovski Cathedral (Cathedral of St Basil the Blessed), one of the most beautiful monuments of Old Russian church architecture, erected in 1555–1560 to commemorate the victory of Ivan the Terrible over the Kazan Khanate. In the 17th century the cathedral gained its up-to-date appearance thanks to the decorative finishing of the domes and painting both inside and outside the cathedral. The construction of Red Square was finished by the late 19th century together with the erection of the Imperial Historic Museum (today the State Historical Museum), the Upper Trading Rows (GUM) and the Middle Trading Rows. In 1929, , Lenin’s Mausoleum, designed by A.V. Shchusev and an outstanding example of the Soviet monumental architecture, was finished.

Criterion (i) : The Kremlin contains within its walls a unique series of masterpieces of architecture and the plastic arts. There are religious monuments of exceptional beauty such as the Church of the Annunciation, the Cathedral of the Dormition, the Church of the Archangel and the bell tower of Ivan Veliki; there are palaces such as the Great Palace of the Kremlin, which comprises within its walls the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and the Teremnoi Palace. On Red Square is Saint Basil the Blessed, still a major edifice of Russian Orthodox art.

Criterion (ii) : Throughout its history, Russian architecture has clearly been affected many times by influences emanating from the Kremlin. A particular example was the Italian Renaissance. The influence of the style was clearly felt when Rudolfo Aristotele Fioravanti built the Cathedral of the Dormition (1475-79) and grew stronger with the construction of the Granovitaya Palace (Hall of the Facets, 1487-91) by Marco Fryazin and Pietro Antonio Solario. Italian Renaissance also influenced the towers of the fortified enceinte, built during the same period by Solario, using principles established by Milanese engineers (the Nikolskaya and the Spasskaya Towers both date from 1491). The Renaissance expression was even more present in the classic capitals and shells of the Church of the Archangel, reconstructed from 1505 to 1509 by Alevisio Novi.

Criterion (iv) : With its triangular enceinte pierced by four gates and reinforced with 20 towers, the Moscow Kremlin preserves the memory of the wooden fortifications erected by Yuri Dolgoruki around 1156 on the hill at the confluence of the Moskova and Neglinnaya rivers (the Alexander Garden now covers the latter). By its layout and its history of transformations (in the 14th century Dimitri Donskoi had an enceinte of logs built, then the first stone wall), the Moscow Kremlin is the prototype of a Kremlin - the citadel at the centre of Old Russian towns such as Pskov, Tula, Kazan or Smolensk.

Criterion (vi) : From the 13th century to the founding of St Petersburg, the Moscow Kremlin was directly and tangibly associated with every major event in Russian history. A 200-year period of obscurity ended in 1918 when it became the seat of government again. The Mausoleum of Lenin on Red Square is the Soviet Union’s prime example of symbolic monumental architecture. To proclaim the universal significance of the Russian revolution, the funerary urns of heroes of the revolution were incorporated into the Kremlin’s walls between the Nikolskaya and Spasskaya towers. The site thus combines in an exceptional manner the preserved vestiges of bygone days with present-day signs of one of the greatest events in modern history.

From the date of including the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square on the World Heritage List all the components representing the Outstanding Universal Value of the property are within its boundaries. The territory and the integrity of the World Heritage property have also remained unchanged. Within its boundaries the property still comprises all the elements that it contained at the date of nomination. The biggest threat, however, is unregulated commercial development of the adjacent areas.

Authenticity

The history of the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square is reflected in the archival documents of 12th–19th century, for example in medieval chronicles, cadastral surveys, estimated construction books, painted lists, inventories, foreign notes and in graphic matters such as manuscripts, chronicles, plans, drafts, engravings, lithographs, sketches of foreign travelers, paintings and photographs. These documents are exceptionally valuable information sources. Comparison of the data received from archival documents and those obtained in the process of field study gives the idea of authenticity of the property and its different elements. This comparison also serves as the basis for project development and for the choice of the appropriate methods of restoration that may preserve the monuments’ authenticity.

On the border of the ensemble a number of monuments destroyed in the 1930s were reconstructed according to measured plans.

Protection and management requirements

The statutory and institutional framework of an effective protection, management and improvement of the World Heritage property “Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow” has been established by laws and regulations of the Russian Federation and the city of Moscow.

According to the decree of the President of RSFSR of 18 December 1991 № 294, the Moscow Kremlin was included among especially protected cultural properties of nations of Russia - the highest conservation status for cultural and historical monuments in Russian legislation.

“Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow” is a Cultural Heritage Site of federal importance. State protection and management of federal sites is provided by Federal Law of 25.06.2002 № 73-FZ “On cultural heritage sites (historical and cultural monuments) of nations of the Russian Federation”. The federal executive body responsible for protection of the cultural property is the Department for Control, Supervision and Licensing in the Cultural Heritage Sphere of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.It is in charge of all methodological and control functions concerning restoration, usage and support of cultural heritage sites and the territories connected.

The World Heritage property is situated in the urban environment of Moscow. The city policy regarding cultural heritage protection and town-planning regulation is the responsibility of Moscow City Government, represented by the Department of Cultural Heritage, the Department of Urban Development and the Committee for Urban Development and Architecture of Moscow. In 1997 the boundaries of the protective (buffer) zone were approved in order to preserve the property, and to maintain and restore the historical architectural environment as well as the integral visual perception of the property.. There is a need to ensure the creation of an appropriate buffer zone and to develop close liaison between all stakeholders, including the Moscow City authorities, to ensure that constructions around the property do not impact adversely on its Outstanding Universal Value.

The World Heritage property is used by the following organizations: FGBUK (Federal Government Budgetary Institution of Culture), the State Historical and Cultural Museum-preserve “The Moscow Kremlin”, the Administrative Department of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federal Guard Service of the Russian Federation and OJSC “GUM Department Store”.

Official site of 'The Moscow Kremlin' State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site
Moscow Kremlin Museums Telegram Group (in Russian only)
Moscow Kremlin Museums VKontakte Page (in Russian only)
Moscow Kremlin Museums Dzen Page (in Russian only)
State Historical Museum VKontakte Group (in Russian only)
Msk Guide Page (in Russian only)
Official site of the State Department Store
State Historical Museum (in Russian only)

State of Conservation (SOC)

Gansu Mayors Commit to Sustainable Tourism that Prioritizes Heritage Preservation, Environmental Conservation and Community Empowerment

The symposium was attended by 73 participants onsite, including 14 leaders from five municipalities, professors and students from universities in Lanzhou, representatives from tourism-related organizations and companies, as well as UNESCO experts, Category 2 Centers and UNESCO Chairs. Additionally, 210 representatives from seven other municipal bureaus of culture and tourism from Gansu participated online. The Gansu Dialogue initiative is carried out within the framework of the Gansu Revitalization and Innovation Project, a collaboration between UNESCO, the World Bank, and Gansu's Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

The symposium aimed to use sustainable tourism as a transformative force along the Silk Road, positioning Gansu Province as a model for integrating culture and creativity into sustainable tourism development strategies.

Mr. Yan Yongqiang hosting the opening ceremony

The opening ceremony, hosted by Mr. Yan Yongqiang (Deputy Director of Gansu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism), was kicked off by Mr. He Xiaozu (Director of Gansu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism)’s speech introducing Gansu’s remarkable achievements in sustainable tourism and cultural preservation. Director of UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, Prof. Shahbaz Khan’s opening remarks highlighted the significance of the Gansu Dialogue gathering provincial leaders, mayors, and experts for a constructive dialogue. World Bank Global Coordinator for Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism, Dr. Ahmed Eiweida shared his thoughts on balancing tourism, heritage preservation, environmental conservation and community engagement.

Prof. Shahbaz Khan making opening remarks

Two keynote presentations were delivered to set the stage for the discussions to take place throughout the day. Mr. Peter Debrine (Senior Project Officer, Leader of Sustainable Tourism Programme, UNESCO World Heritage Centre) invoked rethinking on destination and visitor management and the need for innovative models to tackle existing challenges and foster community-based tourism. Prof. Zhang Chaozhi (UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Tourism in UNESCO Designated Sites) shared case analysis on how to retain visitors for long heritage-based route, which is applicable to the routes along the Silk Road in Gansu.

Mr. Peter Debrine and Prof. Zhang Chaozhi delivering keynote presentations

Panel 1: Cultural Heritage Preservation and Tourism Development

Dr Li Kuanghan, Director Assistant for the UNESCO World Heritage Institute of Training and Research in the Asia and Pacific Region (WHITRAP Beijing), raised placemaking as an approach to foster sustainable tourism in heritage sites and analyzed cases including Maijishan Grottoes visitor management and Dali Dong Village community empowerment. Prof. Yang Yi (Associate professor of Lanzhou University) shared Gansu’s innovative digital solutions for culture and tourism that create new experiences for visitors.

In the panel discussion, Mr. Sun Xiaoqiang (Chairman of the Board of Gansu Culture and Tourism Group) shared his perspectives as a private sector representative on how to balance economic growth and cultural heritage preservation. Lintao representative Mr. Yin Wentao emphasized the importance of funding opportunities, public outreach and community involvement in his work preserving Majiayao culture, while Jiuquan representative Ms. Zhang Weiting highlighted the government’s role in legislation and regulation to ensure the sustainable diretion.

Panel 2: Balancing Tourism Growth, Environmental Conservation and Climate Action

Dr. Cecilie Smith-Christensen, the Founder of World Heritage Catalysis and lead developer of the UNESCO Visitor Management Assessment & Strategy Tool (VMAST) emphasized the importance of transformative practices in transitioning from sustainable tourism within growth-dependent economies to energy-positive tourism within regenerative economies. Drawing from her experiences collaborating on World Bank projects, Prof. Li Xiaomei, Associate Professor at Lanzhou City University, stressed the importance of integrating environmental and social impact assessments into tourism development evaluations.

Mr. Wang Rui from Ganzhou showcased the good practices of Lushuiwan Resort and procurement of electric buses under the World Bank GRIP project. Mr. Yuan Deping, the site manager at Zhangye Danxia, discussed initiatives such as the Zhangye carbon offset project and promotion of low-carbon travel practices. Ms. Bao Cuixia, representative from Dingxi, stressed the role of schools in educating future generations about environmental protection, advocating for a holistic approach to sustainable tourism development.

Panel 3: Community Involvement and Empowerment Through Tourism

Dr. Shao Yong, the Executive Director of UNESCO World Heritage Training and Research Centre for the Asia-Pacific Region (WHITRAP Shanghai), highlighted the importance of inclusive community participation in fostering sustainable development, drawing from WHITRAP Shanghai’s pilot project in China and the inclusive development initiatives in Pingyao. Mr. Duan Qibin, leveraging his experience in advising international projects, emphasized the necessity of empowering communities for sustainable tourism through the cultivation of new productive forces.

During the discussion, Mr. Mu Xinfeng from Longnan discussed the process of community participation in transforming traditional villages into 4A-level scenic spots, leading to a significant increase in local residents' income. Mr. Ma Chao from Tianshui emphasized the role of community engagement behind the success of the popular local dish, "ma la tang". Mr. Xu Yuan from Zhangye shared the lesson-learnt from the colorful Danxia, where efforts were made to preserve the ethnic Mongolian characteristics of the indigenous population in Pingshanhu Grand Canyon project.

The Second Gansu Dialogue was closed with remarks from Prof. Khan, Dr. Eiweida and Mr. He Xiaozu. They all expressed the appreciation for experts’ and local leaders’ sharing of innovative experiences and highlighted their commitment to continue the partnership among the three organizations to position Gansu province as a model for integrating culture and creativity into sustainable tourism development strategies.

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Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism prepares for April 8 eclipse

by Kylon Williams

One of the most highly anticipated natural events takes place April 8th, and Arkansas is the best place to see it. (PHOTO: KATV)

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — One of the most highly anticipated natural events takes place April 8th, and Arkansas is the best place to see it.

The path is set to be directly above Arkansas, making places like Little Rock, Hot Springs, Texarkana, Jonesboro, and Conway tourist hot beds for this historical event.

The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism is expecting a record number of visitors into the state and preparing for the rush of people.

RELATED STORY: Is this total solar eclipse in Arkansas worth the hype?

“We look forward to welcoming everyone to Arkansas for this historic event,” said Shea Lewis, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism and director of Arkansas State Parks. “The Great North American Eclipse will be a memorable occasion for many and a chance to experience the beauty of The Natural State. Our parks and heritage locations will be fully staffed and ready to handle any safety issues.”

It is recommended that those looking to experience the eclipse in these places arrive early and leave later to avoid the heavy traffic.

Thirteen of Arkansas' Welcome Centers at the state's borders will have the resources to give the visiting public a safe and memorable eclipse experience.

For more information about Arkansas Welcome Centers, visit arkansas.com/arkansas-welcome-centers .

If you need any information about the eclipse, weather, traffic, lodging, and safety, you can go to Arkansas.com/eclipse .

There will be many events to entertain and inform over the weekend at state parks, heritage sites, and tourism attractions.

RELATED STORY: From Krispy Kreme to SunChips, more and more companies roll out solar eclipse promotions

There are 52 state parks that the solar eclipse will be in the path of totality.

Entry into state parks will be on a first come, first serve basis until there is no more space for further entry.

There are maps with an estimate number of vehicles allowed by different park locations found at arkansasstateparks.com/articles/parkseclipsemaps .

Lists of events provided by state parks are available at arkansasstateparks.com/events .

Places that usually focus on the heritage and history of Arkansas will be open during the eclipse and may even have special eclipse programming.

The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism is prepped and eager for this historic event for not only Arkansas, but also for the the nation.

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Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism is ready for the Great North American Eclipse

Today at 5:00 a.m.

by Bradly Gill

Photo submitted: This photo shows the diamond photo ring effect, which occurs during a total eclipse of the sun.

The Great North American Eclipse on April 8, 2024 is a highly anticipated event. And Arkansas is in a top-notch location to experience it. The path of totality is set to make a large appearance in the state, stretching from the southwest corner of Arkansas to the northeast point. Overall, 53 of the state's 75 counties are in this path, including cities like Little Rock, Hot Springs, Texarkana, Conway, and Jonesboro. The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism is primed and prepared for the expected record number of visitors to the state.

"We look forward to welcoming everyone to Arkansas for this historic event," said Shea Lewis, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism and director of Arkansas State Parks. "The Great North American Eclipse will be a memorable occasion for many and a chance to experience the beauty of The Natural State. Our parks and heritage locations will be fully staffed and ready to handle any safety issues."

Among the key tips for experiencing the eclipse in Arkansas is to arrive early and stay late to avoid traffic delays.

Thirteen Arkansas Welcome Centers can be found at various entry points to Arkansas. These centers will have resources available for the traveling public to help ensure safety and a memorable experience for visitors. More details on Arkansas Welcome Centers can be found at arkansas.com/arkansas-welcome-centers.

Arkansas.com/eclipse is a go-to resource for eclipse information. Here you can find details about the eclipse as well as links to traffic, weather, safety, eclipse events and lodging resources.

Arkansas' state parks, heritage sites and tourism attractions have a variety of entertaining and educational activities to take part in over eclipse weekend. Arkansas has 52 state parks and 26 state park locations are in the path of totality. For more details on experiencing the eclipse in an Arkansas State Park and information like safety tips and eclipse times, visit arkansasstateparks.com/eclipse. Please note that entry to Arkansas State Parks will be on a first-come basis and when the park is full, further entry may not be available. Maps with details on the estimated number of day-use vehicles permitted at each park location are available at arkansasstateparks.com/articles/parkseclipsemaps.

Details on events at Arkansas State Parks can be found at arkansasstateparks.com/events. Venues highlighting the state's heritage, including the Old State House Museum, Historic Arkansas Museum and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock will be open during the eclipse and some will also have special eclipse programming and events leading up to that day too. More details can be found at arkansasheritage.com.

The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism is ready for the Great North American Eclipse and this exciting time in history for the nation and Arkansas.

Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism

The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism protects and promotes our state's natural, cultural and historic assets, contributing to a thriving economy and high quality of life. It is made up of three divisions: Arkansas State Parks, Arkansas Heritage and Arkansas Tourism.

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Despite the Soviet past, today’s Moscow is a dynamic, cutting-edge city – and the most populous in Europe. Well-heeled Muscovites flaunt their wealth by sipping Champagne with sushi at elite restaurants and shopping for designer labels at frighteningly expensive boutiques. Meanwhile, a growing middle-class has seen a proliferation of hip bars and trendy cultural centres.

While the Russian capital has striven to move on, recent tensions with the West have stirred up memories of the past. Moscow has previously led the way with protests against Vladimir Putin, but even with the tumbling ruble and economic sanctions, his popularity remains strong.

This doesn’t make Russia a no-go area, and Moscow – with its cosmopolitan, globe-trotting denizens – is not the formidable crucible often depicted. In summer, temperatures soar and the city’s vast parklands flourish. The historic Gorky Park received a complete makeover in 2012, installing free Wi-Fi and even a beach, while the Soviet behemoth that was the Rossiya Hotel has been demolished to make way for an ambitious central park.

Before that project comes to fruition, there is Red Square to marvel at, not least the mind-boggling St Basil’s Cathedral. Built by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, its multi-coloured domes and acid-trip patterns seem to defy logic. Nearby is the 14th-century Kremlin and seat of the tsars.

Indeed architecture is one of the city’s main attractions, especially for aficionados of Soviet buildings. All too many have been destroyed to make way for gleaming 21st-century skyscrapers, but Stalin’s unmistakable Seven Sisters still stand tall against the modern towers.

The city is naturally keen to celebrate its great writers, composers and artists too. This sophisticated city boasts world-class institutions like the Bolshoi Theatre, the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.

As for nightlife, the city is becoming increasingly hedonistic – whether jazz, rock or vodka is your thing, there are plenty of options. Even the culinary circuit has come on leaps and bounds, though an evening at one of the city’s growing stable of world-class restaurants requires considerable investment. This is, after all, a capital of oligarchs.

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Featured hotels, izmailovo (gamma-delta).

Constructed to accommodate visitors to the 1980 Olympics, the concrete towers of the Izmailovo boast a staggering 8,000 rooms. Institutional in atmosphere, and located far out in the northern suburbs, the hotel is handy for the enormous Izmaylovo Market and has decent city centre links. There are several onsite restaurants and in-room Wi-Fi is available too.

Peking Hotel

Built in 1956 as a little sister to Stalin's Seven Sister skyscrapers, and intended as post-war headquarters for the secret police, Moscow's Peking Hotel is a heritage hotel with a small 'h', in a good location just northwest of the centre. Although slightly old-fashioned, its 130 rooms are comfortable enough, with satellite TV and en-suite bathrooms.

Warsaw Hotel

Although its location may not be one of Moscow's most picturesque, the Warsaw Hotel is convenient for Gorky Park. Considering the quality of the competition, this is one of the best cheap options in the city, with clean and comfortable rooms, albeit in a rather dated style. Wi-Fi is complimentary and the Oktyabrskaya Metro station is right next door.

Golden Apple

A boutique hotel on a refreshingly human scale, the Golden Apple offers imaginative styling and a personal touch that many 5-star hotels lack. Behind the baroque facade, its minimalist rooms are cosy, and there's an onsite restaurant and an open-plan bar too. Staff speak excellent English and there's Wi-Fi access, a gym and a sauna.

Historical Hotel Sovietsky

In the 1950s, Joseph Stalin decreed that the famous Yar restaurant should be upgraded to a hotel and the Historical Hotel Sovietsky was born. It quickly became a showcase for the image of sophistication that the Soviet government wished to present to the world, and its 107 rooms still conjures up the nostalgia of this period in history.

Hotel Danilovsky

It's hard to imagine a more atmospheric place to stay than the 12-century precincts of the historic Danilovsky Monastery. Set amidst chapels and gardens, the hotel is a modern construction, but the rooms are comfortable and all have a view of the stately monastery buildings. There's a sauna and bar onsite too.

Mission Moscow : A Conversation with Evgeny Kozlov

Mr. Evgeny Kozlov, Deputy Head Mayor of Moscow Government and Chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee, who has come to the city to attain BLTM, the annual prestigious travel event at the Leela Ambience Convention Centre, Delhi spoke with TW Editor Anirban Dasgupta on his vision and goal with the all-new tourism initiatives in Moscow.

The bond between India and Russia has a long history of culture, literature, love, and of course politics. But recently, there has also been a lot of talk about Gastronomical tourism. Any personal experience with this?

My personal take on the bond between India and Russia stems from my recent experience of trying authentic Indian cuisine in Moscow. I thoroughly enjoyed the spicy flavours of the Curry dish I tried and it left a lasting impression on me. This made me appreciate the cultural exchange between our two countries even more. I believe that Moscow, being a culinary hub, is a great place for people from all over the world, including Indian visitors, to immerse themselves in our rich history and culture. It’s a unique experience that brings people together and showcases the diversity of the gastronomic universe. Moscow has a thriving food scene with various international cuisines to explore, from Chinese to South African and Latin American. This culinary diversity reflects the open-mindedness and curiosity of the Russian people when it comes to trying new types of food. Moscow truly has something for everyone, and I encourage Indian tourists to come and indulge in this gastronomic journey.

How optimistic are the post-pandemic recovery figures?

After the Covid-19 pandemic, we have witnessed a remarkable recovery in tourism in Moscow. In fact, we have been able to restore 90% of the pre-pandemic tourist flow. In the first half of 2023, almost a million foreign tourists visited Moscow, with over 600,000 of them arriving during the summer season. Among the non-CIS countries, China has led the way in terms of tourist traffic, followed by Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and India. Prior to the pandemic, India’s tourist flow was steadily growing at a rate of 12-15% annually. Although we faced challenges during the pandemic, we have now put in place all the necessary conditions for a successful recovery. Moscow is known for hosting numerous international exhibitions, forums, congresses, and conferences, attracting approximately 3.6 million business visitors in the past year alone. Among these visitors, India ranks third in terms of foreign business tourists in Moscow. To further promote tourism, we have initiated the MICE Ambassadors training program in India, which aims to assist Indian businesses in exploring opportunities and selecting relevant events in Moscow.

Can you please share your vision for future tourism development in Moscow?

Thank you for asking this question. I have a multi-faceted vision for the future tourism development in Moscow.

Firstly, I believe that tourism should provide a personal and authentic experience for each individual. Therefore, customization of experiences is crucial. For business tourists, we aim to offer special infrastructure facilities that cater to their specific needs and requirements. We are closely collaborating with infrastructure providers to ensure seamless experiences for those visiting Moscow for business purposes. On the other hand, when it comes to leisure or family tourists, we recognize the importance of providing a support system and guidelines for those traveling with their families, especially children. We are working with museums, theatres, and restaurants to customize their services and products to cater to tourists of all ages, including children. Furthermore, I envision rearranging tourism in Moscow to encourage visitors to delve into the history and heritage of our country. A significant part of my tourism goal is to motivate and inspire the youth and younger generations to travel to Russia. This involves providing affordable pricing for accommodations, entertainment, museums, and other attractions.

We are already constructing tailor-made infrastructure that specifically targets the young generation in Russia, and by next year, we plan to extend and promote these offerings to international young visitors as well. By rebranding the image of Moscow as a destination for longer stays, relaxation, and enjoying various facilities, we aim to change the perception that it is merely a transit or stop-over city. Lastly, the beautiful weather in Moscow during the summer months provides an opportunity to create delightful memories for tourists. I want every visitor to experience the sunshine, green landscapes, parks, cafes, restaurants, swimming pools, and sports facilities that Moscow has to offer during this time.

In summary, my vision for the future of tourism in Moscow revolves around creating customized travel experiences for every type of traveller.

How do you prioritize sustainability and responsible tourism practices in the development of business tourism?

How easy or difficult is it to get a Visa for an Indian Tourist at present?

Acquiring a Visa for Indian tourists has become easier with the introduction of the e-visa system. Since its launch in August 2023, more than 30,000 tourists have already utilized this system. The e-visa offers several advantages over traditional visas, such as avoiding the need to visit consulates or embassies. The application process only requires a digital photograph and a scan of the passport data page. The e-visa has a validity period of 60 days from the date of issuance, with a maximum stay of 16 days in Russia. This convenient and streamlined process is available to citizens of 55 countries, including India. Indian tourists are currently ranked third in terms of business travellers from outside the CIS countries visiting Moscow.

Author: Anirban

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Jordan's Rich Heritage, Tourism Treasures Leave Lasting Impression at Expo 2023 Doha

D oha, March 28 (Petra) - The International Horticultural Expo 2023 Doha Qatar, hosted by Qatar for six months, drew to a close in Doha on Thursday, marking a historic milestone as the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa.

Jordan participated in the exhibition, which commenced on October 2nd. The Jordanian pavilion emerged as a focal point of interest, showcasing the nation's rich tapestry of tourism, agriculture, archeology, and heritage. Its presence served as a beacon, casting a spotlight on Jordan throughout the exhibition's duration, ultimately fostering increased tourist inflow and foreign investment interest in various sectors such as hotels, restaurants, and entertainment establishments.

Throughout the six-month expo, the Jordanian Pavilion welcomed a diverse array of visitors, including members of the Jordanian community in Qatar, as well as individuals from various Arab and foreign nationalities, alongside numerous officials and delegates from other participating countries. The pavilion attracted an estimated 90,000 visitors over the duration of the event, averaging approximately 5 visitors daily.

Participation in Expo Doha afforded Jordan a platform to showcase its investment promotion strategy for 2023-2026, highlighting the Kingdom's investment environment, its advantages, developmental regions, priority sectors, and the potential returns on investment for both public and private sector stakeholders.

The Jordanian pavilion showcased an array of iconic landmarks, monuments, and indigenous crops from across the Kingdom's diverse landscapes, alongside promoting Jordan's renowned tourist and archaeological sites.

Designed in the form of a tent, blending modernity with ancient traditions and Jordanian culture, the pavilion featured native plants such as wormwood and aloe vera, complemented by traditional artifacts including robes, lanterns, mahabish, coffee pots, handmade rugs, pillows, and tables made from sheepskins.

The Jordan Valley region, celebrated for its lush forests and towering trees including cypress, oak, pine, and acacia, stood as a cornerstone of the Jordanian Pavilion, representing the nation's agricultural wealth.

Visitors were treated to a mosaic floor from Madaba spanning 42 square meters, alongside elaborate models depicting landmarks like the Roman Theater, Petra, and the majestic hills of Wadi Rum, leaving a lasting impression of Jordan's natural beauty and architectural marvels.

Many visitors expressed that their experience at the Jordanian pavilion sparked a desire to explore Jordan firsthand. Guests had the opportunity to indulge in traditional Jordanian cuisine, notably Mansaf, a dish renowned across the Arab world.

The Jordanian pavilion at Expo Doha offered visitors a virtual journey through Jordan's most iconic tourist destinations and historical sites, capturing the essence of the kingdom's cultural heritage and natural wonders, inspiring countless individuals to plan future visits to Jordan.

//Petra// AO

28/03/2024 14:34:28

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Interior Department’s Office of Native Hawaiian Relations Announces $1 Million in NATIVE Act Funding for Native Hawaiian Organizations

Date: Thursday, April 4, 2024 Contact: [email protected]

HONOLULU — The Department of the Interior’s Office of Native Hawaiian Relations today announced $1 million in funding for Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs) through the Heritage Opportunities in Hawaiʻi (HŌʻIHI) grant program. The funding is made possible by the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience (NATIVE) Act, which enables Indigenous communities to participate in national tourism goals and strategies.

This is the third year that funding has been made available to NHOs through the HŌʻIHI grant program.

"The Heritage Opportunities in Hawaiʻi Program seeks to encourage a tourism model that accurately showcases Native Hawaiian culture and traditions while providing protection and awareness for Hawaiʻi’s natural and cultural resources," said Joan Mooney, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget . “These resources provide Indigenous communities with access to resources, technical assistance and grants to build sustainable recreational and cultural travel and tourism infrastructure and capacity, spur economic development and create good jobs.”

The HŌʻIHI program establishes a more inclusive national travel and tourism strategy and provides opportunities to NHOs that have the potential to deliver significant benefits, including job creation, elevated living standards and expanded economic opportunities, to the Native Hawaiian Community.

“We are seeking grant awardees for 2024 who exemplify Hawaiʻi’s overall movement towards regenerative tourism, with projects enhancing Native Hawaiian Community involvement, and presenting culturally mindful education opportunities for kamaʻāina and visitors alike,” said Keʻala Fukuda, Heritage Opportunities in Hawaiʻi Program manager .

Under the program, the Department awards grants to applicants to utilize their amassed Indigenous Knowledge and expertise in Native Hawaiian cultural practices to develop and implement a new, or enhance an existing, engagement program that:

Educates visitors on the history, usage, purposes of, and protocols associated with a traditional Native Hawaiian cultural practice;
Engages visitors in the cultural practice such that they develop a first-hand, authentic experience resulting in a greater understanding and appreciation for the Native Hawaiian culture and Hawaiʻi; and as appropriate, tangible products or outputs that reflect their participation in the cultural practice; and
Undertakes related activities with visitors that convey respect and reaffirm the principle of reciprocation to the place, resources, and traditional knowledge holders and practitioners, as well as the sustainability of the cultural practice.

Native Hawaiian cultural practices may include, but are not limited to, traditional food production and preparation, health and healing, material gathering and production of implements, products and adornments, construction and recreation, and cultural activities such as dance, chant, song and arts.

The Hawaiian value of hōʻihi, meaning respect, reflected in the ʻōlelo noʻeau, or Hawaiian proverb, “E hōʻihi aku, e hōʻihi mai,” meaning “show respect, get respect” represents the core principle of the HŌʻIHI program. Through showing respect, visitors can then be welcomed as guests with a shared kuleana, or responsibility, to perpetuate the values and importance of Native Hawaiian Indigenous Knowledge and cultural practices.

The Department anticipates awarding 12 grants in 2024, ranging between $75,000 and $200,000, with an anticipated average of $100,000. Depending on their proposals, successful NHOs may use grant funding for up to three years from the date of award. Eligible applicants must affirm that they are a Native Hawaiian Organization as defined in the NATIVE Act. More information regarding the NATIVE Act can be found on our website .

A video conference will take place on Monday, April 15, 2024, at 12 p.m., Hawaiʻi Standard Time for interested applicants to receive an overview of the Heritage Opportunities in Hawaiʻi Program Grant Program and 2024 priorities. Please contact Keʻalapualoke Fukuda for more details about the video conference at [email protected] .

Grant applications must be submitted electronically to Grants.gov no later than 5:59 p.m., HST, Monday, June 3, 2024.

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Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2024 officially launched

The festival from 11-15 april in bangkok is in celebration of unesco's inscription of ‘songkran in thailand, traditional thai new year festival’ on the prestigious intangible cultural heritage of humanity list..

Bangkok, 2 April 2024 – The Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2024 was officially launched at the 42nd Thailand Tourism Festival in Bangkok, promising a grand celebration of the traditional Thai New Year, a UNESCO-listed Intangible Cultural Heritage. The festival is scheduled from 11-15 April in Bangkok.

Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2024 officially launched

Tourism and Sports Minister, Ms. Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol, said “The Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2024 marks the global recognition of the vibrant celebration of Thai New Year. The five-day spectacle is a part of the government’s soft power promotion policy to boost the country’s cultural significance on the global stage.”

The opening ceremony offered a prelude into the epic spectacle as preparations begin for the five-day event, which has been planned by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in celebration of UNESCO’s inscription of ‘Songkran in Thailand, Traditional Thai New Year Festival’ on the prestigious Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List.

The vibrant parade of distinctive Songkran processions from five regions, including a stunning procession of the Nang Songkran goddess of 2024, exhibited only a part of the epic parade of 20 processions planned for 11 April.

The 11 April parade will march along the Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue, starting from the Phan Fa Lilat Bridge and concluding at Sanam Luang, and will remain there until 15 April.

Heading the stretch of 20 exquisite processions will be the procession of Buddha image, followed by the procession of Mahodhara Devi – the Nang Songkran goddess of 2024, the processions of distinctive Songkran traditions of 16 provinces along with cultural performances from over 1,000 performers, the processions of unique Songkran traditions of five other provinces, and the processions of Thai soft power.

Songkran in Thailand is celebrated nationwide as a three-day Thai New Year holiday from 13-15 April. Songkran is on 13 April, which is also National Elderly Day. April 14 and April 15 were declared later as National Family Day and Thai New Year Day, respectively.

The five-day festival features a packed schedule of events to offer tourists a delightful glimpse into the nationwide celebrations of Songkran and for Thais to be proud of the nation’s cultural heritage.

Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, Mrs. Puangpet Chunlaiad, said “Songkran for Thais is a time for people who have moved to other cities or towns to travel back home for family reunions, pay respects to the elders and ask for blessings, as well as visiting temples for merit-making activities. People are advised always to be careful when travelling during this celebratory time.”

The Ministry of Culture is inviting everyone to participate in Songkran festivities in Bangkok and five other unique locations, namely Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Samut Prakan, Chon Buri, and Phuket, to celebrate the UNESCO ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ status of Songkran in Thailand.

“Thais are also encouraged to visit temples to make offerings and to pray for good luck in provinces with the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet, Ayutthaya, Udon Thani, and Phetchabun, as well as exploring local experiences at the 10 model tourism communities of 2023,” Culture Minister, Mr. Sermsak Pongpanit, said.

The 10 model tourism communities announced by the Ministry of Culture are located in Kanchanaburi, Chumphon, Chiang Saen, Phrae, Yasothon, Ranong, Ratchaburi, Lamphun, Samut Sakhon, and Udon Thani.

TAT is also using the opening ceremony as a centre stage to launch 72 faith-based tourism routes in different locations across five regions.

Some of the routes include the journey to pay homage to Buddha relics, the trip in the footprints of high-revered monks, and the travel itinerary to visit famous temples. Each route comprises tourism communities, local attractions, temples and monasteries, and distinctive culinary experiences.

The “Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2024” as well as Songkran festivities across the country during 12-16 April are expected to inspire more travel and tourism activities, resulting in 24.42 billion Bath in overall tourism revenue.

This constitutes 8.76 billion Baht from international tourism and 15.66 billion Baht from domestic tourism with, 510,000 visitor arrivals and 4.29 million domestic trips.

Songkran celebrations in Bangkok are expected to generate 3.69 billion Baht in revenue and attract 653,590 domestic trips.

TAT Newsroom

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Exploring the relationships between heritage tourism, sustainable community development and host communities’ health and wellbeing: A systematic review

Introduction

Study rationale

Search strategy

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Study selection and screening

Data extraction

Quality assessment

Data synthesis

Identifying metaphors and themes.

Determining how the studies were related.

Translation and synthesis of studies.

Conclusions

Supporting information

Acknowledgments

Declarations

The Fantasy of Heritage Tourism

Research progress and knowledge system of world heritage tourism: a bibliometric analysis

Introduction

Material and methods

Defining terms

Document selection

Document analysis

Basic characteristics of the selected publications

First author’s country

Authors and institutions

(2) Issuing institution

Geographical study area

Key research areas and content

Research themes