Sustainable Tourism and cultural heritage

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Sustainable Tourism

and

Cultural Heritage

A Review of Development Assistance and Its Potential to

Promote Sustainability


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Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations

Preface

Acknowledgements

Executive Summary..................................................................................................................................... i

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1

2. The Context ........................................................................................................................................... 3

2.1. Tourism: System, Economic Impact, and Market........................................................................32.2. Culture and Its Preservation......................................................................................................... 52.3. Culture as a Tourism Attraction................................................................................................... 62.4. The Impacts of Tourism............................................................................................................... 72.5. Sustainable Tourism: Concepts and Objectives........................................................................... 82.6. Ecotourism and Parallels to Cultural Heritage Tourism .............................................................. 9

2.7. Industry Responses to Sustainable Tourism................................................................................. 92.8. The Realities of Industry Structure: A Role for Development Cooperation Programs.............. 11

3. Achieving Sustainability: Selected Strategies ..................................................................................... 14

3.1. Feasibility Studies, Project Formulation, and EIAs ................................................................... 143.2. Getting the Framework Right: Policy and Planning .................................................................. 153.3. Organizing for Sustainability: Institutional Issues..................................................................... 163.4. Partnerships: A Key Component................................................................................................ 173.5. The Basics: Marketing and Infrastructure Development ........................................................... 183.6. Financing: The Funding Necessary for Sustainability............................................................... 193.7. Site purchase, Restoration, and Preservation .............................................................................21

3.8. Site-level Planning and Management Techniques ..................................................................... 213.9. Training in Tourism Management ............................................................................................. 233.10. Certification and Accreditation ............................................................................................... 233.11. Entrepreneurial and Hospitality Training and Financial Assistance........................................ 243.12. Information and Communication............................................................................................. 263.13. Research and Information Gathering....................................................................................... 273.14. Summary ................................................................................................................................. 28

4. Development Cooperation Agencies and Tourism.............................................................................. 29

4.1. Development Cooperation: A Brief Summary........................................................................... 294.2. Development Cooperation and Tourism: Overview and Selected Agencies ............................. 304.3. Development Cooperation and Tourism: Some Principles and Lessons Learned ..................... 36

5. Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 38

References ................................................................................................................................................ 40

Endnotes ................................................................................................................................................. 47

Appendices1. Players, processes, and documents: A review of selected activities within

cultural heritage tourism and sustainable tourism....................................................................... 552. The impacts of cultural tourism in Tana Toraja, Indonesia .......................................................... 633. List and description of relevant IDB, USAID, and World Bank projects..................................... 67


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4. List and description of relevant projects sponsored by other agencies ......................................... 755. List and description of tourism projects undertaken by German Development Cooperation ....... 796. Case Study 1: The Ghana Central Region Project ........................................................................ 857. Case Study 2: The Training and Technology Transfer Program in Thailand ............................... 89


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List of Abbreviations

Abbreviations are common in many fields, including those of tourism, cultural heritage management, anddevelopment cooperation. Abbreviations used only in limited areas (e.g., in one paragraph) are describedin the text. Those with broader use and relevance are listed below.

ADB Asian Development Bank

AfDB African Development Bank

BMZ German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development

CHM Cultural Heritage Management

CHT Cultural Heritage Tourism

DFID Department for International Development (UK)

EIA Environmental impact analysis

EU European Union

GEF Global Environment Facility

GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit (Germany)

ICCROM International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Prop-

erty

ICOMOS International Council on Monuments and Sites

IDB Inter-American Development Bank

IUCN The World Conservation Union

NGO Non-governmental organization

NORAD Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

PATA Pacific Asia Travel Association

SD Sustainable development

SIDA Swedish International Development Agency

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

ST Sustainable tourism

UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNEP United Nations Environment ProgrammeUNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

USAID US Agency for International Development

WTO World Tourism Organization

WTTC World Travel and Tourism Council


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Preface

The objective of this report on Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Heritage is to present the state ofthe art of knowledge, experiences and best practices from different multi- and bilateral agenciesthat have worked with this issue. The report draws on experience from sites and destinations

around the world, including many that are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

It is often said that knowledge in this field needs to be further developed before Sustainable Tour-ism can be integrated into multi- and bilateral development co-operation policies.

NWHO wants to show that this is not the case.

Arild Molstad A/S had administrative responsibility for the report, and Mr. Molstad contributed toits content in various ways. Kreg Lindberg (Institute of Transport Economics TI) had overallresponsibility for report writing and content. Don Hawkins contributed information on the activi-ties of selected agencies, including the World Bank and USAID, as well as the material containedin Appendix 3 and 4. Walter Jamieson contributed background information on several topics dis-

cussed in the report. The case studies are based on material provided by Hawkins (Appendix 6)and Jamieson (Appendix 7).

This report is based on the experiences of the authors and available published and unpublished in-formation. There will, of course, be a lot of literature, case studies and other information relevant tothe concept of Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Heritage that is not published in this report.

Nevertheless, in our opinion, the relevant knowledge exists. Through multi- and bilateral partner-ships that also involve the private sector, strategies, programs and projects can be developed andimplemented. It is due time that this is recognised so that action can be taken.

The Strategy for Environment in Norwegian Multi- and Bilateral Development Co-operation rec-

ognizes as a priority the development of models for sustainable tourism in prioritized areas of cul-tural interest (Agenda 21).

NWHO believes the time to take action is now, and we want to be a partner in developing thesestrategies, programs and projects.

Kris EndresenDirector, NWHONovember 1999


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Acknowledgements

Kim Blackford provided research assistance, especially relating to World Bank and USAID activities.The following people reviewed drafts of the report and provided helpful comments: Jan Vidar Haukeland

(TI), Henning Lauridsen (TI), Juan Jorge Luna-Kelser (IDB), Mark Phillips (USAID), and SynnveVinsrygg (Riksantikvaren). In addition, several people provided relevant information during reportpreparation. These contributions are gratefully acknowledged.


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Executive Summary

This report 1) provides an up-to-date overviewof the relationship between protection of cul-tural heritage, including World Heritage Sites,and tourism, 2) describes strategies that can

lead to sustainable tourism where cultural heri-tage is a key factor, and 3) points out how de-velopment cooperation can play a role in thisprocess, with a particular focus on Africa andAsia.

The mutual dependence that exists between tour-ism and cultural heritage is becoming more evi-dent. While culture heritage creates a foundationfor tourisms growth, tourism has the power togenerate funds that make conservation possible.Cultural heritage loses much of its meaning with-

out an audience, and a society participating in andbenefiting from it. Without sustainable manage-ment, tourism loses its potential for growth.

The focus of this report is how to promotesymbiosis rather than conflict between theneeds of conservation management and tour-ism, and particularly how development coop-eration can play a role in achieving this sym-biosis.

Recent growth has catapulted the tourism industry

into the position of becoming arguably the biggestindustry in the world, with a 12% share of globalGDP. Its size threatens vulnerable destinationswhose culture heritage is their main attraction,while on the other hand sustainable tourism canplay a vital part in addressing such developingcountry problems as poverty, poor infrastructure,unemployment, and a decline in a nations senseof cultural identity.

Though it has not been fully tapped, tourism hasthe potential to create benefits specifically for thepoor in destination countries. Indeed, the Britishdevelopment cooperation agency (DFID) has fo-cused on a pro-poor approach as part of its in-volvement in tourism.

Tourism poses important challenges for develop-ment assistance, which so far has involved itself inthis sector only to a minor degree. The reportpoints out that arguments against bilateral andmultilateral development assistance roles in tour-ism are real, but often overstated and that these

problems are not unique to tourism: many are ge-neric to development cooperation and the devel-opment process. The report concludes that a fail-ure of development agencies to become involved

in tourism represents a failure to capitalize on theconsiderable opportunities it presents in terms ofresource management and sustainable develop-ment.

Development cooperation can help tackle chal-lenges such as global underestimation of the valueof culture- and nature-based attractions; currencyleakage that deprive local communities of tour-ism-generated income; a private industry preoccu-pied with short-term profits at the expense oflong-term resource management; and a lack of

experience and administrative/organizationalstructure.

These challenges are particularly dramatic in thearea of cultural heritage, as damage inflicted uponlocal culture is accelerating and often irreparable(these are non-renewable resources). The "userpays" principle is often neglected, while the "freeand open access" argument is invoked by thetourism industry. The industry is characterized by"market failure," which means that a laissez-faireapproach may not lead to socially-desirable re-

sults. Therefore, there is a need for governmentintervention. The report identifies and outlines arange of private-public sector alliances, usingstrategies and mechanisms ("best practices") thathave proved successful. Practical cases are pro-vided to illustrate ways to meet these challenges.

The report argues that development of sustain-able tourism can be consistent with the aim ofdevelopment cooperation in general. Moreover,sustainable tourism represents a hithertolargely neglected opportunity for a developingcountry to generate employment opportunities(including for poor people), growth, and amore viable economy on terms that do not runcounter to its long-term interests.

The authors of this report conclude that there is asolid, and growing, basis for action. In additionto the knowledge and experience of developmentagencies, there is extensive expertise within theconsultancy and academic world, among NGOs,as well as inside the tourism industry itself. How-


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ever, the importance of collaboration and infor-mation exchange in project development and im-plementation is vital. As is a sense of urgency tocombat the disappearance of cultural landscapesthat have value far beyond what can be measuredin economic terms; they are central, often fast-disappearing symbols of national identity and

uniqueness. As expressed by World Bank Presi-dent James Wolfensohn, culture can be justi-

fied for tourism, for industry, and for employ-

ment, but it must also be seen as an essential

element in preserving and enhancing national

pride and spirit.1


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1. Introduction

Tourism to sites of cultural and natural signifi-cance has existed at least since the time of GreekAntiquity, as reflected by Hellenistic worlds in-

vention of the Seven Wonders of the World. Inmore recent times, 157 countries have ratified theWorld Heritage Convention of 1972 (protectingthe world's cultural and natural heritage), and 582sites are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heri-tage List. UNESCO's Director General F. Mayorexpressed it this way:

The potential benefits of World Heritage ex-

tend far beyond the sites which have been

listed, since these areas can play a leadershiprole in setting standards for protected areas as

a whole, can bring resources for training

which will be of wider application, and can be"flagships" in terms of raising public aware-ness of conservation issues.

Together with other culture and nature areas, theseWorld Heritage Sites are important tourism at-tractions and form the backbone of the tourismindustry. Indeed, inscription on the World Heri-tage List can quickly cause a site to become amajor tourist attraction.

There is some debate regarding the exact size

and growth of tourism, but it clearly is one ofthe largest industries in the world, if not theabsolute largest. The World Travel and Tour-ism Council (WTTC) estimates that tourismgenerated 192 million jobs and $3.6 billion2 inGDP in 1999, which is 12% of the world total.WTTC forecasts continued growth, with an-nual rates of 3% between 1999 and 2010 for theworld as a whole.3

In short, tourisms economic impact is significantand still growing. Moreover, much of the em-

ployment and associated income involves foreignexchange earnings. In addition, though there iswide variability across destinations and regions,tourism generally provides jobs of various types(from unskilled to skilled, part-time to full-time)and for both genders. Thus, tourism can make animportant contribution to economic development.Tourism also generates a variety of other impacts,both positive and negative. For example, it canhelp keep traditions alive and finance the protec-tion of cultural and natural heritage, as well as

increase visitor appreciation of that heritage. Con-versely, tourism can damage heritage when notwell managed.

Thus, there is a tension between tourism and cul-tural and natural heritage management, indeedbetween tourism and broader societal values.Tourism is a double-edged sword. As noted byUNESCO:

Cultural tourism can encourage the revivalof traditions and the restoration of sites andmonuments. But unbridled tourism canhave the opposite effect. Here there is a realdilemma. Is there not a risk that the boomin cultural tourism, by the sheer weight ofnumbers involved, may harbour the seeds of

its own destruction by eroding the very cul-tures and sites that are its stock in trade?

Or, as stated by Egyptologist Rainer Stadelman,Tourism is already a catastrophe. But we have toadmit that without tourism there would be nopublic interest, and without that there would be nomoney for our work.4 The tension between sym-biosis and conflict has been repeated in manycontexts and provides the motivation for this re-port. On the one hand, cultural heritage can serveas a tourism attraction, while tourism can lead to

financial and political support for management ofthis heritage. On the other hand, there is also po-tential conflict insofar as tourism can damagecultural heritage, and limits on visitation can dam-age tourism (or hinder its expansion).

What is clear is that tourism is growing and willhave an increasing impact on cultural heritage. Inits forecast Tourism: 2020 Vision, the WorldTourism Organization (WTO) predicts that cul-tural tourism will be one of the five key tourismmarket segments in the future, and notes that

growth in this area will present an increasingchallenge in terms of managing visitor flows tocultural sites.5 The focus of this report is how topromote symbiosis rather than conflict, and par-ticularly how development cooperation can fa-cilitate achievement of this objective.

The means to achieve symbiosis is to pursue well-managed tourism in cultural and natural heritagesettings. Although members of the tourism indus-try may oppose specific measures or management


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in specific settings, industry organizations notethat the challenge is to manage the future growthof the industry so as to minimise its negative im-pacts on the environment and host communitieswhilst maximising the benefits it brings in termsof jobs, wealth and support for local culture andindustry, and protection of the built and natural

environment.

A recurring theme in this report is the motivationfor involving development cooperation in the pro-cess of achieving sustainable tourism, as well asthe roles that assistance can play. One can justifyproviding technical assistance, training, and finan-cial support in tourism just as in other economicsectors, like agriculture, that create jobs and in-come. However, for reasons discussed in Section2.8, there is a more specific rationale for devel-opment cooperation that stems from the nature of

the tourism industry and relevant power relation-ships.

Development cooperation can be an importantlever, an important stimulus, for achieving sus-tainable tourism. If sustainable tourism isachieved, it will not only help development coop-eration agencies achieve economic developmentgoals, but also cultural heritage managementgoals. For example, tourism can financially con-tribute to resource management. In addition, localresidents may see tourism-related jobs as concrete

benefits of cultural heritage management, whichcan enhance public support for that heritage.

Section 2 of this report describes the tourism de-velopment context, including a rationale for de-velopment cooperation. Section 3 reviews severalstrategies that promote sustainability in tourism.Section 4 reviews issues in development coopera-tion generally, as well as what selected agencieshave done within tourism. Section 5 is a conclud-ing statement that reiterates the importance of de-velopment cooperation in the sector. The appendi-

ces contain various material, starting with anoverview of relevant agencies and processes out-side the bilateral and multilateral assistance sector.Other appendices contain a case study of tour-isms impacts in Tana Toraja, Indonesia, data-bases of relevant development cooperation proj-ects, and two case studies of tourism projectsfunded by development cooperation, one in Ghanaand one in Thailand.

It is worth noting several limitations, assumptions,and definitions in the context of this report. First,the focus is on cultural heritage. However, culturaland natural heritage often overlap, such that is-sues, examples, and experiences from naturetourism can also be relevant in the present context(and vice versa). This is discussed in Section 2.6.

Second, the focus is on tourism, but it is recog-nized that the involvement of development agen-cies in cultural heritage clearly goes beyond tour-ism.6 Culture, like nature, can be an importantcomponent of economic development generally,not just in tourism. Moreover, culture providebenefits internationally to those who have not vis-ited, and may never visit, sites. Such existenceand option values helped motivate funding forenvironmental programs such as the Global Envi-ronment Facility (a multi-billion dollar fund forenvironmental projects), and similar values in the

culture context also justify development coopera-tion.7

Third, for purposes of this report, cultural heri-tage tourism (CHT) is viewed as travel concernedwith experiencing cultural environments, includ-ing landscapes, the visual and performing arts, andspecial lifestyles, values, traditions and events. Itis important to stress that CHT involves not onlytangible or visible heritage such as sites, colors,materials, and settlement patterns, but also intan-gible heritage such as societal structures, tradi-

tions, values, and religion. However, the primaryfocus of this report will be on tangible culture.

Tourism can be, and often is, defined quitebroadly to include business and other forms oftravel. The present focus is on recreational travel,the laymans concept of tourism. Likewise, thefocus will not be on volunteer tourism, in whichtourists work on projects, though this can be animportant tool for cultural resource management.For example, the Cultural Restoration TourismProject is organizing an effort to rebuild the Bal-

dan Baraivan temple in Mongolia. Several smallgroups of "volunteer-tourists" are brought to thesite to help with the restoration work.8

The focus of this report is on assistance by bilat-eral and multilateral development cooperationagencies. The general activities of UNESCO,UNEP, WTO, and other agencies and organiza-tions are discussed in Appendix 1. Geographi-cally, the focus is on Asia and Africa.9


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Lastly, it should be noted that this report is basedon the experience of the authors, published andunpublished literature, personal communicationwith relevant actors, and other related sources.Site visits and detailed evaluation of the examplespresented here were not undertaken as part of theproject.10


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2. The Context

Readers of this report may come from varied dis-ciplinary areas, so this section provides briefbackground on relevant aspects of tourism and

culture. Background on development cooperationis presented later (Section 4).

2.1. Tourism: System, Economic Impact, andMarket

There are numerous books on what might looselybe called the tourism system the nature andstructure of actors and their relationships in tour-ism. This section provides a brief description ofthat system. One of the key features of tourism is

the diversity in attractions, destinations, and busi-ness characteristics. Given this diversity, the fol-lowing is inevitably a simplified overview.

At the core, and the focus of this report, are at-tractions, in this case cultural and natural heritageattractions. These attractions can be grouped as:11

Features within the natural environment. Man-made buildings, structures and sites that

were designed for a purpose other than at-tracting visitors, such as religious worship,

but which now attract substantial numbers ofvisitors who use them as leisure amenities. Man-made buildings, structures, and sites

that are designed to attract visitors and arepurpose-built to accommodate their needs,such as theme parks.

Special events.

Destinations often contain more than one attrac-tion, though major attractions (such as the Egyp-tian pyramids) can be either the sole or the leadingattraction at a destination. Within a destination,

there are various tourism facilities, such as hotelsand restaurants. To some degree, these facilitiesdepend on the attractions, but the difference be-tween the two can be blurred, as some facilities(such as famous hotels) are themselves attractions.Attractions can be classified using various typolo-gies, such as ownership (e.g., public or private)

and whether they are primary or secondary interms of visitor decisions to visit a destination.

Tourism is a complex product and can be classi-fied by:

Destination/activity type (e.g., beach, nature,culture, activity, visiting friends and relatives VFR);

Type of travel (e.g., organized in tour or freeindependent traveler FIT);

Source market (e.g., domestic or interna-tional); and

Travel cost/style (e.g., high-end/luxury orbudget/backpacker).

Moreover, the scope of visitation to cultural andnatural heritage attractions goes beyond technicaldefinitions of tourism, which may require over-night stays or minimum distances traveled duringthe journey. Though much of the focus in Asiaand Africa is on international tourism, visitationby nearby residents can generate some of the sameimpacts, both positive and negative, as visitationby persons living thousands of kilometers away.

The diversity of travel relevant in the present

context includes both tourists who pay travelagents thousands of dollars for trips to the furthestreaches of the globe to residents visiting a nearbymuseum. To simplify matters, key actors, espe-cially for international visitation, include 1) theoutbound (source-market) operators, both at thewholesale and retail levels, that sell tours to trav-elers, 2) the inbound (ground) operators that or-ganize and lead the trips in the destination coun-try, and 3) the attraction that is being visited.

Regardless of how tourists travel, the tourism

phenomenon generates substantial positive eco-nomic impacts around the world. The followingtable provides estimates from the WTTC.


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Table 1: WTTC Economic Impact Estimates for Travel and Tourism (1999)

Region GDP EmploymentBillions % of Total Annual % Millions % of Total

of $ in Region Growth* of Jobs in Region

World 3,550 11.7 3.0 192.3 8.2

North Africa 20 6.8 6.0 2.2 7.4Sub-Saharan Africa 26 11.2 5.2 9.6 7.4North America 1,171 11.8 2.5 21.2 11.9Latin America 90 5.6 6.1 8.9 6.0Caribbean 29 20.6 5.5 3.6 15.8Oceania 68 14.7 3.8 2.1 16.0Northeast Asia 537 10.0 2.8 57.2 7.1Southeast Asia 81 10.6 5.5 15.2 7.3South Asia 27 5.3 9.1 22.3 5.4

Europe 1,461 14.0 2.6 47.8 13.2Middle East 41 7.3 5.2 2.0 6.1

*1999-2010 estimated, adjusted for inflationGDP = Gross Domestic ProductSource: WTTC (1999)

These data not only show the current importanceof tourism as a generator of jobs and income, butalso the expected future growth, despite the recent

economic problems in Asia. With the exception ofNortheast Asia, all the regions within Africa andAsia are expected to grow faster than the worldaverage for 1999 to 2010. Though inter-regionaltravel, especially from Europe and North Amer-ica, historically has been a major part of the mar-ket, intra-regional travel, especially in Asia, isexpected to be increasingly important as popula-tion, incomes, and leisure time increase.12

Future growth estimates paint a rosy picture fortourism, and those that want to benefit from it.

However, the increase in demand is comple-mented by an increase in supply, as destinationsreact to the opportunities created by tourism. Theavailability of cultural resources (especially his-toric tangible resources) is ultimately limited.Nonetheless, new cultural attractions continue tobe developed.13 As the EU notes:

while global tourist demand is on the increase,the number of destinations and global capacityare advancing even more quickly.... To hold on

to their market share, destinations will have tocope with competition by enhancing qualityand by diversifying their products and markets.

Emerging and potential destinations will haveto find their niche in this competitive market bycapitalising on their uniqueness and noveltyand by avoiding mistakes made by other desti-

nations.

This competition does not mean that CHT sitesneed to be turned into cultural Disneylands, butrather that attention needs to be paid to consumertastes and desires should tourism be desired atheritage sites. This might lead, for example, togreater attention to creative presentation and in-

terpretation. With respect to heritage sites inOECD countries, it has been observed that:14

it is perhaps no accident that some of the new

heritage attractions which rapidly gained sub-

stantive market shares in the 1980s relied lesson the physical resource of their location andmore on the presentation of this place through

multi-media interpretation: quite literally con-structing the resource to meet perceived de-

mands.


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Many heritage sites in Asia and Africa have reliedprimarily on their physical resources, and uniqueor unusual sites may be able to continue to do so.However, less unique sites will require greaterattention to the presentation, while unique sitesthat follow this path will be able to benefit finan-

cially from their enhanced market position. Thedynamics of supply and demand will lead to theparadoxical situation of some sites being chal-lenged to attract tourists and other sites beingchallenged to manage an overabundance of tour-ists.

Reinforcing the increase in the number of sites isthe increasing sophistication of tourists. As de-scribed in the next section, many tourists haveexperienced sun, sand, and surf holidays and wantmore from their vacations. This leads to a greater

demand for niche activities like CHT, but also tohigher expectations for quality. The increasingnumber of competing destinations provides theopportunity for these sophisticated consumers tobe more discriminating.

Another form of competition arises in source mar-kets themselves in the form of theme parks, notonly in North America but now throughout muchof the world. An even more recent phenomenon isvirtual reality, in which potential visitors may notneed to leave their home, or at least their home-

town, to have CHT-like experiences. Thus, somesee virtual reality as a significant threat to tour-ism.15 However, others note that virtual realityexperiences (and perhaps visits to theme parks)may lead to more, rather than less, demand fororiginal sites insofar as they may stimulate con-sumer desire to experience the real thing.

Nonetheless, the trend towards the use of sophisti-cated electronic media may reinforce the trendtoward greater visitor sophistication and higherexpectations for stimulating and informative pres-

entations at CHT sites. Of course, the develop-ment of electronic media also provides significantopportunities for sites to be interpreted in a muchmore interactive and interesting manner.

2.2. Culture and Its Preservation

This section briefly identifies some of the majorviews of culture and its physical manifestations

related to tourism, as well as the means that havebeen used to protect heritage environments.16

The UNESCO World Commission on Culture andDevelopment report Our Creative Diversity looksat culture as ways of living together. With thisas a point of departure, the World Bank defines

culture as

the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, ma-terial, intellectual and emotional features thatcharacterize a society or social group. It in-cludes not only arts and letters, but also modesof life, the fundamental rights of the humanbeing, value systems, traditions, and beliefs.17

The above reflects the separation of culture andcultural heritage into both movable and immov-able forms. This report focuses primarily on cul-

tures immovable forms, recognizing that thecultural landscape includes expressions of tra-ditions and lifestyles that must be taken into con-sideration when looking at effective ways of safe-guarding a communitys cultural heritage.

Culture and cultural heritage are prominent re-sources in any society. Tangible heritage may beconsidered a material manifestation or symbol ofcultural expression, either traditions of living so-ciety or those of past societies occupying the samearea. Therefore, material heritage is pivotal for

anyone wanting to gain a deeper understanding ofthe society. This applies to the local inhabitantsas well as the visitor to a new or foreign society orenvironment.

A great deal of the activity within cultural heritagepreservation has been concerned with maintainingsingle buildings of architectural significance andconnected with important events and people.Various actors have been involved in this process,including non-governmental organizations, alllevels of government, and developers. Concerns

with the limitations of identifying and protectingsingle buildings have led to laws and regulationsthat protect entire environments. This allowed theprocess to involve more people in heritage con-servation, and it defined a past that included theordinary as well as the most significant. Manycountries maintain heritage sites for interpretationand education; these are often characterized byhigh levels of research and documentation, as wellas government management.


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Steadily increasing demand for culture-orientedactivities affects cultural heritage of interest at alllevels, from world heritage belonging to interna-tional society or mankind in general to heritage ofnational, regional and local significance. Preser-vation issues and challenges vary accordingly. Inmany developing countries, the legal framework

for protecting heritage is better than the manage-ment capacity. Surveying and monitoring systemsfor controlling the state of conservation of culturalheritage and taking the necessary precautions pre-sent great challenges.

Throughout the world, festivals and events of-ten linked to or performed in areas with culturalrelics or at sites of cultural and natural signifi-cance are now seen as important dimension ofcultural tourism. They play important roles inhelping to maintain cultural traditions and values

while providing communities with the ability tocreate jobs and income. Handicrafts often forman important dimension of a region's culturaltourism experience. Tourism can be important inhelping to maintain and develop traditional craftskills, though there is also the risk that increaseddemand leads to a loss of authenticity in terms ofprocess and product.

The discussion of different forms also reflects thatheritage, and conservation, can occur at differentspatial scales, including that of a single artifact, a

single building, a streetscape, an area, an entirehistoric town/city, a region/landscape, and evenup to national and international scales.

There are several reasons for public and privatesector involvement in cultural heritage man-agement (CHM), including:

The recognition that heritage resources canplay an important role in community continu-ity, renewal, and development.

The increased quality of life associated withheritage resources.

The role of heritage resources in creating andmaintaining individual and community iden-tity.

The value of heritage resources in the educa-tion of children.

The role that heritage resources can play inproviding for pleasure/recreation opportuni-ties.

The role that heritage resources can play ineconomic revitalization and tourism develop-ment.

The latter reason is the focus of the present report,but the non-tourism benefits are noted here to il-lustrate how the value of culture and cultural

heritage goes beyond serving as tourism attrac-tions.

Our Creative Diversity goes on to note the contra-dictory forces of 1) globalization, which leads tocultural uniformity, and 2) fragmentation, whichreflects a driving apart. Both concepts are impor-tant when discussing the role of tourism and theways in which it contributes to the concept of aglobal culture, while also having in it the potentialto protect and promote local identity.

2.3. Culture as a Tourism Attraction

For tourists, the desire to travel is the desire, tovarying degrees, to experience something unfa-miliar; foreign cultures and their manifestationsthus serve as important attractions. Cultural tour-ism in particular is a search for and a celebrationof that which is unique and beautiful, representingour most valued inheritance.

Culture and cultural heritage are crucial to peo-

ple's identity, self-respect, and dignity. This ap-plies to both affluent and poor societies. Tangibleheritage may be an avenue through which the con-scious tourist starts to grasp a basic understandingof the past and/or living culture, which hasadapted to and influenced the environment thevisitor is trying to make intelligible. Providedthese basic facts are understood and serve asguidelines for presentation and communicationbetween tourists and the local population, culturaltourism has great potential to improve under-standing and respect among different cultures, and

in a long term perspective may be regarded as atool for creating and preserving peace.

Cultural tourism has long existed, but recentdemographic, social, and cultural changes in themain source countries have led to an increasingnumber of new niche markets in destinationcountries, including culture-oriented holidays.Though sun, sand, and surf holidays are not ex-pected to disappear, they have declined in relativeimportance as more and more visitors seek chal-


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lenging, educational, and/or relatively unique ex-periences. These changes have led to increasedpopularity for tourism involving culture and na-ture as attractions. Some lament that recent inter-est in CHT does not stem from genuine interestin learning about the sites themselves as part of aclassical education, but rather to nostalgia. None-

theless, one can also view this increased demandas an opportunity to generate interest and aware-ness in a broader swathe of the society than waspreviously possible. Moreover, cultural attractionstend to attract market segments with relativelyhigh levels of education and income, which canlead to relatively high net benefits to destinations.

Estimates of growth should be treated with cau-tion, but one study by Stanford University pre-dicted that nature tourism would grow at an an-nual rate of 25 to 30 percent during the 1990s.

Cultural tourism was expected to grow at 10 to15 percent per year. It should be stressed thatsome visitors will take entire vacations focused onculture or nature, but many others will seek cul-ture/nature experiences as part of a larger vacationfocused on beach or other attractions and activi-ties. Various sites and countries are responding tothe opportunity provided by this growth in de-mand. For example, South Africa has historicallyrelied on its climate, beaches, and nature to attracttourists, but it recently (1997 to 1999) imple-mented a marketing campaign titled Explore

South Africa - Culture to attract culture-orientedtourists.

Though most of the attention in this area has beenon tourism involving western/northern visitors tosouthern destinations, there has also been a gen-eral increase in intra-regional (South-South) tour-ism, as noted above. Multiple sources of visitorspresents both opportunities in the form of in-creased benefits for destinations (due to increasednumbers), but also challenges in the form not onlyof limiting negative impacts, but also in effec-

tively serving two markets. There is, of course,diversity in visitor expectations and preferenceswithin the northern market as well as within thesouthern market, but often the most striking dif-ference is between the two. This diversity is illus-trated in the context of visitation to a biospherereserve in China, and the challenge it presents tomanagers who may wish to satisfy both domesticand foreign visitors as well as natural/culturalheritage management objectives.18 In the culturalcontext, this tension is illustrated by an anecdote

of how what is seen as a joyous country-fair at-mosphere outside and inside Chinese temples inthe eyes of domestic visitors (and the businessesthey patronize) is desecration and vulgarization inthe eyes of Westerners.

2.4. The Impacts of Tourism

Tourisms impacts are often grouped into eco-nomic, environmental, social, and cultural; thesecategories are somewhat arbitrary and overlap-ping, and the latter two often are combined intoone. Listing of these impacts is provided in nu-merous tourism reports, books, and articles.19 Thefocus in this section is to briefly note commonsocio-cultural impacts and to stress some generalconcepts.Potential positive impacts include:20

building community pride; enhancing the sense of identity of a commu-

nity or region; promoting intercultural/international under-

standing;21

encouraging revival or maintenance of tradi-tional crafts;22

enhancing external support for minoritygroups and preservation of their culture;

broadening community horizons; providing funding for site preservation and

management; and enhancing local and external appreciation and

support for cultural heritage.

Potential negative impacts include:

commodification and cheapening of cultureand traditions;

alienation and loss of cultural identity; undermining of local traditions and ways of

life; displacement of traditional residents; increased division between those who do and

do not benefit from tourism; conflict over (and at times loss of) land rights

and access to resources (including the attrac-tions themselves);

damage to attractions and facilities; loss of authenticity and historical accuracy in

interpretation; and selectivity in which heritage attractions are

developed.23


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Given the fundamental role that culture plays insociety and individual lives, these positive andnegative impacts can be profoundly important.

As noted, the grouping of impacts into categoriesis somewhat arbitrary and is used to convey basicissues. For example, positive economic impacts

can ultimately lead to positive cultural heritageimpacts.

In 1995 the Inter-American DevelopmentBank (IDB) provided a $1.7 million grant tohelp preserve prehistoric cave paintings at260 sites within the Capivara Park, a WorldHeritage Site in northeastern Brazil. Thegrant included funding to improve roads inorder to stimulate tourism as a source of in-come for local residents, thereby improvingeconomic conditions and helping to reduce

activities that were destroying the sites.

This parallels the principle, if not always the real-ity, in ecotourism that creation of tourism jobsreduces pressure on natural resources. This princi-ple can also be an important motivator for donorassistance in tourism development, as exemplifiedby USAIDs funding of integrated conservationand development projects in Thailand, Nepal, andMadagascar.

The grouping of impacts into positive and nega-

tive is also arbitrary, or at least subjective, aswhether a given impact is good or bad will dependon ones perspective. For example, some commu-nity residents may desire cultural change, whileothers may oppose it. The demonstration effect,resulting from exposure to Western habits andlifestyles because of tourism, is blamed for erod-ing local culture. However, it can also stimulateentrepreneurial activity and economic develop-ment.

Likewise, some may desire continuity in local

economic (and political) relationships, while oth-ers may desire reductions in income inequalities.Persons wishing to sell land would welcome in-creased land prices, while those who wish to buyland or to retain land they own (and on which theymay pay property taxes) would oppose increasedprices.

Even if there were consensus regarding the desir-ability of certain changes, it would not always beclear that the change is occurring because of tour-

ism. Many negative effects from tourism devel-opment, both culturally and otherwise, can be at-tributed to globalization processes rather than totourism in particular. Nonetheless, tourism cancontribute to profound changes in destination re-gions and, rightly or wrongly, it has been per-ceived by some as a new form of colonialism and

Northern domination of developing countries.24

Despite these complications and qualifications, itis clear that tourism generates a variety of im-pacts, and a key goal of sustainable tourism is togenerate a more favorable balance in these im-pacts. The balance will be site-specific and willdepend on various factors, including (importantlyin this context) how tourism is planned, devel-oped, and managed. The extent of cultural impactsin particular might depend on various aspects ofthe local population, including 1) the degree of

isolation from other, particularly Western, cul-tures, 2) local inhabitants reactions to previouscontext with outsiders, and remaining perceptions,3) resistance to external influences, which in turndepends on pride and self-esteem, and 4) rights ofownership and usage with respect to the land onwhich they live.

2.5. Sustainable Tourism: Concepts and Objec-tives

The concept of sustainable tourism has grown outof the concept ofsustainable development (SD),whose most popular definition has arisen from theWorld Commission on Environment and Devel-opment (the Brundtland Commission). Their 1986report (Our Common Future) defined SD as:

development which meets the needs of the pre-sent without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs.

This definition is simple enough to be a popular

catch phrase, and it has done much to publicizethe risk of economic development actions andpolicies that, through overharvest of or damage tonatural resources, jeopardize long-term humansurvival. However, its simplicity also hides thedifficulties of operationalizing the concept, ofputting it to work in practice. Much about SD andsustainability is contested, including Who de-fines what sustainability is? or, in specific andpractical terms, what, exactly is to be sustained?


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Despite this limitation, the concept of SD, andrelated principles such as intra- and inter-generational equity, has been widely accepted inconcept and, increasingly, in practice. Predictably,SD has been applied to individual sectors, suchthat one talks of sustainable agriculture, sustain-able forestry, and sustainable tourism (ST).

As with SD, definitions of ST are plagued by thechallenge ofoperationalizationof applying theconcepts to specific situations. In practice, ST isoften operationalized by listing several criteria,such as tourism involving minimal environmentalimpact, enhanced local benefits and participation,and education of visitors. The selection of criteriais inherently subjective and varies across peopleand organizations. In general, there has been abroadening from the environmental dimension toinclude economic and sociocultural dimensions.25

In the tourism context, one can also talk of experi-ential sustainability (maintaining quality in thevisitor experience), though this can be viewed as apre-condition for economic sustainability.

In short, it is essentially impossible to say whethera specific tourism destination or activity is sus-tainable. Nonetheless, the concept of sustainabilityis useful in describing general concerns and ob-

jectives. A more practical concept, though stillgeneral, is to think of moving towardsustainability. It is this concept that is used in this

report, and the strategies described below aredesigned to facilitate a move towardsustainability in the sense of increasing thebenefits and decreasing the costs of tourismdevelopment.

2.6. Ecotourism and Parallels to CHT

In one sense, nature or eco tourism should be in-corporated within CHT insofar as nature also is acultural construct and often is a complementary

attraction.26

However, the present focus is on cul-ture and cultural heritage more narrowly defined.Nonetheless, nature and ecotourism issues andexamples are discussed in various places in thisreport because experience from a decade of pub-lic, industry, and research scrutiny of ecotourismcan be useful in the context of CHT.

One of these issues involves consumer demandsfor authentic nature and culture. In ecotourism,many assume that visitors seek authentic nature,

nature that has not been degraded by human ac-tivities. In principle, then, the interests of touristsand the tourism industry will coincide with thoseof the natural heritage managersto maintain na-ture in a non-degraded state. However, this princi-ple may not always hold in practice, not only be-cause the industry often seeks short-term gains at

the expense of long-term revenues, but also be-cause 1) not all tourists seek authentic nature and2) not all tourists recognize departures from integ-rity.

A similar issue arises in cultural tourism. It is of-ten said that cultural tourists are seeking a high-quality, informed, and authentic cultural experi-ence. However, many tourists may not recognizedepartures from authenticity. This is not to saythat authenticity should be discouraged, but thatthose in charge of cultural heritage should not be

surprised if the tourism industry, and consumers,have somewhat lower expectations of authenticity.If authenticity is to be preserved, the original mo-tivation for this preservation (values that go wellbeyond heritage as an attraction for tourism)should not be forsaken in favor of a motivationentirely oriented around tourism.A dependence on consumer-driven CHM not onlymay be limited by the above considerations, butmay also be risky insofar as consumer desires maychange. Desires may be reasonably stable acrosstime within one market, but may differ signifi-

cantly across markets; the preferences of somevisitors may differ from those of others. They mayalso differ from those of mainstream (often West-ern) concepts of CHM. This situation raises im-portant issues of who defines CHM goals, whichis beyond the scope of this report. Nonetheless, areliance on market-driven CHM may not alwaysbe consistent with traditional Western CHM goals.

A final commonality occurs on the big picturelevel. To some degree, broad developments in thearea of CHM have followed those in the area of

environmental management. For example, the UNreports Our Creative Diversity followed OurCommon Future, and the World Bank and othersare adapting techniques developed to value envi-ronmental resources to the measurement of cul-tural resources. Given that environmental aware-ness has led to funding sources such as the GlobalEnvironmental Facility and tourism-related assis-tance focused on nature/ecotourism (e.g., DFIDand USAID), it is conceivable that increased cul-


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tural awareness, if it can be achieved, would leadto similar developments in the cultural arena.

2.7. Industry Responses to SustainableTourism

Many individuals, companies, and organizationsin the tourism industry have responded to the callfor sustainable tourism with a variety of initia-tives.27 Consistent with the public focus on envi-ronmental sustainability, much of the industrysresponse has been in this area, though there hasalso been some activity in other areas, includingCHM and local participation and control.

Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action that,together with the Rio Declaration on Environmentand Development, was adopted by more than 178

Governments at the United Nations Conference onEnvironment and Development (UNCED) held inRio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. In 1996, theWTTC, WTO, and the Earth Council launchedAgenda 21 for the Travel and Tourism Industrybased on the Rio action plan. Recently, the WTTCand the International Council for Local Environ-mental Initiatives (ICLEI) agreed to integrate thisindustry Agenda 21 with the "Local Agenda 21"planning program (see also the discussion of theCSD process in Appendix 1).

WTTC has been involved in various other activi-ties. For example, in 1994 it launched the GreenGlobe program, which provides a certificationprocess linked to ISO standards and Agenda 21principles.28 It also developed the ECoNETT web-site which contains advice and data on good prac-tice, a bookstore, and other information.

Other industry organizations, particularly spe-cialty-oriented groups such as the InternationalHotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) and theInternational Hotels Environment Initiative (IHEI)

have helped raise environmental awareness in theindustry and have provided practical advice, suchas theEnvironmental Action Pack for Hotels andtheEnvironmental Good Practice in Hotels. Vari-ous other industry associations, such as theAmerican Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) andthe Pacific Asia Tourism Association (PATA),have produced codes and guidelines for responsi-ble tourism.

Turning to individual companies, American Ex-press (AMEX) has been very active, particularlyas a donor in the field of culture tourism. As notedin Appendix 1, AMEX made a $5 million com-mitment to the World Monuments Watch for theirannual list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites andfor emergency grants.

As part of UNESCOs Memories of the Futureproject the ACCOR Group, Radisson SAS, andJet Tours will support specific World Heritageprojects in Petra, Angkor, and Machu Picchu. Inthis project, UNESCO recommends the followingactions for operators. First, a financial contribu-tion of $5 per visitor will be made (by the visitorsthemselves or by the tour operator). Second, theoperator may adopt a project. Third, visitors willreceive a badge from UNESCO Friends of Heri-tage in recognition of their contribution, and the

operator will be allowed to publicize its officialrelationship with UNESCO. Actions for hotelsinclude adopting specific projects, renovation ofold buildings for use as hotel centers, and promo-tion of movable and immovable heritage. Fundsreceived by UNESCO are deposited into a specialaccount and are used solely for site protection andenhancement, rather than UNESCO administra-tion or other internal expenses.

Another example is Star Tour/Temaresor, whichcontributes to World Heritage Sites, including

Bhaktapur, Nepal. As noted in its brochure,

Temaresor is Scandinavias leading operatorof nature and culture trips. Therefore, it is ob-

vious that we should support this importantwork (World Heritage).... We believe that the

people choosing Temaresor trips agree that itis important to preserve heritage for the future.

Therefore we hope you are not opposed to theadded cost for your trip for natures, cul-tures, and the futures sake.29

With respect to environmental sensitivity andworking with the local community, an example isEcco Travel Groups DreamCamp in the MasaiMara. This operator stresses close contact with theenvironment, using a broad definition to includeboth the natural and cultural environment. Withrespect to environmental considerations, Dream-Camp uses local building materials, solar cells,recycling of water, composting and sorting ofrubbish, and various means of reducing transport.With respect to cooperation with local communi-


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ties, the camp hires local employees, stimulateslocal production of souvenirs, contributes to thedevelopment of the local village, provides an edu-cational stipend, and organizes Masai-led culturevisits in the local village.

Many operators have formal or informal programs

that channel money from clients to environmentalor cultural projects in destination areas. For ex-ample, Wildland Adventures, a US operator, es-tablished the Travelers Conservation Trust (TCT)in 1986 as a nonprofit affiliate of the business. Asdescribed in the trust overview:

TCT identifies and supports community levelprojects and conservation organizations whichpromote environmental or cultural preserva-tion. Many projects are carried out with vol-unteer assistance of Wildland Adventures staff,

travelers and local officials and residents....

Participants on many Wildland Adventures areinvited to become international members of alocal conservation organization identified inadvance by the Travelers Conservation Trust.Wildland Adventures simply adds an optional$25-$50 line item on each travelers invoice asa voluntary contribution which the companythen donates in its entirety in the name of eachclient as an individual membership in the localconservation organization. Many Wildland

Adventures trips include visits to sites whereactive preservation or community developmentecotourism projects are underway.

Several operators have alliances with local or in-ternational conservation and/or developmentNGOs, such as World Wildlife Fund, and tripsoften include visits to project sites, with a strongeducational orientation. Many of these operatorsare small and driven by personal environmental orsocial philosophies, hoping not only to make aliving while making a contribution, but also hop-

ing to serve as examples for larger operators.There are also larger, and more up-market, op-erators active in such ways. For example, theConservation Corporation in Africa has developeda series of upmarket game parks and lodging fa-cilities, with local communities being a specificbeneficiary, in part through invigoration of localcrafts.

2.8. The Realities of Industry Structure: A Rolefor Development Cooperation Programs

The previous section illustrates what individualoperators, and the industry as a whole, have doneto contribute to sustainability. Businesses arecoming under increased pressure to focus on the

triple bottom line, to attend to economic, envi-ronmental, and social factors rather than just thefirst, and many tourism businesses have respondedwith environmentally and/or socially responsibleactions.

Motives for these actions vary across businesses,and may include the following:

Personal or corporate philanthropy and pro-sustainability philosophy;

A desire to appeal to consumers who selecttourism products (tour packages, flights,etc.) based on concerns for sustainability;

A desire to achieve cost savings through, forexample, using less water or energy;

Enlightened self-interest in helping to pre-serve the products they sell; and/or

A desire to be pro-active in order to avoidregulation.

The strategies described in the next section arebased in part on reinforcing these considerations.For example, information campaigns to raise

awareness within the industry may increase thefirst, third, and/or fourth motives. Likewise, in-formation campaigns to raise awareness amongstconsumers may increase the second motive.

However, the limitations of such campaignsshould be recognized. There certainly are con-sumers who choose trips based on concerns forsustainability, and companies try to portray favor-able images in recognition of this (interestingly,for the Memories of the Future project describedabove, industry donations have come from com-munications and publicity budgets within thecompanies). Nonetheless, there are limits to theextent to which consumers consider sustainabilityfactors when making purchases. This may be par-ticularly true in tourism, where the consumers of-ten are thinking of escapism and hedonism ratherthan environmental or social responsibility.Moreover, consumers often do not purchase di-rectly from various tourism actors, such as in-bound operators that sell via outbound operators.The pressure for these actors to be responsible is


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mitigated by the presence of intermediaries whomay not share the same concerns as consumers.

Surveys conducted in the UK indicate that con-sumers are reasonably interested in receiving en-vironmental information.30 However, interest haddecreased since 1994. More importantly, when

asked to characterize their purchase behavior,41% selected It is a good idea for airline and touroperators to consider environmental issues, but itdoes not influence my purchasing decision, while53% selected All things being equal, I wouldchoose the airline or tour operator that took intoaccount environmental issues. Only 4% selectedI would only consider an airline or tour operatorthat took into account environmental issues.Moreover, as noted above, it is not certain thatconsumers will recognize the quality of an opera-tors or destinations environmental performance,

even if they care about this in theory. Alterna-tively, they may notice, but may focus on aes-thetic issues, while society as a whole may careabout more fundamental issues, such as survivalof species that do not contribute to aesthetic val-ues.

Consumer decisions can be much more complexand nuanced than represented by these survey re-sponse categories, and consumers in some coun-tries (e.g., Norway) appear to place greater im-portance on environmental considerations. None-

theless, research indicates that consumers prefercompanies to be environmentally responsible, butthat companies must still offer equivalent levels ofprice/value relationships as those offered by com-petitors who may not be environmentally respon-sible.31 Though similar research in the culturalarena apparently is not available, it is likely thatconsumers are even less responsive in that contextgiven the lack of publicity for cultural heritageissues as a part of an environmental approach.

Given these results, and strong competition in

many (though not all) sectoral and geographicareas within tourism, individual businesses arefaced with a dilemmaignore sustainability ex-cept when it provides direct financial gains or riskbeing forced out of business by competitors usinglow-price strategies to achieve market share. Ofcourse, the dilemma typically is not so simple, andmany businesses have been able to pursuesustainability goals and remain competitive byserving niche markets and through other strate-

gies. However, this is a general dilemma withinthe tourism industry.

What is to be done in such a situation? Econo-mists might note that the industry is characterizedby strong competition, ease of entry for new busi-nesses, and high mobility amongst certain types of

businesses (e.g., outbound operators can shift des-tinations if a current one loses its appeal throughpollution or other causes). This suggests that afree market would lead to efficient outcomesthat,for example, destinations would be sure to pursuesustainability because it is in their own financialself-interest.

Unfortunately, tourism is also characterized byexternalities, common property resources, and freeriders. Tourism generates a variety of external-ities, many of which are negative. For example, it

generates (often negative) environmental changefor which it does not have to pay, and thus doesnot always consider in its business decisions. Withrespect to common property, there often areweak or nonexistent price or numerical limitswithin tourism, such that the resource is one ofopen access. This often leads to overharvest(overuse) of the common property resources thatserve as tourism attractions.

Cooperation amongst users in such situations canlead to an efficient result, but such cooperation

is often difficult to achieve when there are multi-ple businesses competing with each other (and inwhich many of the actors do not live in the areaand may have limited motivation to cooperate).The tendency is for businesses to act as free rid-ers by using the resource without paying (directlyor indirectly) for this use. In such cases, a singleowner of the resource could implement policies(e.g., numerical limits) to avoid overuse. How-ever, these owners tend to be governments in thecase of cultural or natural heritage, and govern-ments generally permit open access as a service to

the public.

Aside from being owners of cultural and naturalattractions, governments are also best equipped touse planning controls and other measures to en-sure that development in general is consistent withsocietal goals, especially in cases of market fail-ure such as this. As noted by Joseph Stiglitz,Senior Vice-President for Development Econom-ics and Chief Economist at the World Bank:


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we need to recognize both the limits andstrengths of markets, as well as the strengths,and limits, of government interventions aimedat correcting market failures.

Similarly, the International Council for Local En-vironmental Initiatives (ICLEI) stresses that:

the primary barrier to sustainable developmentthrough tourism is an over reliance on marketmechanisms to guide tourism development andconsumption decisions.... Sustainable tourismdevelopment requires a partnership among thestakeholders of the local tourist destination.This partnership must use both market andnon-market instruments to implement a sharedsustainable development vision.

The challenge is that the private sector, whose

short-term financial interests encourage overuse,is often more powerful than those people andagencies in government who may wish to controlthe development of tourism. In addition, there aremany in government who, for various reasons,have priorities similar to that of the private sectorpriorities stressing growth over long-term plan-ning and management. Moreover, there may bemany in destination communities who benefitfrom tourism and desire unlimited growth, andtheir voices may be stronger than others in thecommunity who bear the costs. For these reasons,

many developing countries have espoused theprinciple of sustainable tourism, but, as the EUobserves, few of them have been able to convertthis into concrete action owing to the short-termeconomic interests to which, all too often, priorityis given to the detriment of protecting social andenvironmental assets.

In short, the interests in favor of continued growthand the challenges of achieving sustainable usethrough effective management by single or coop-erative ownership lead to the problem of overuse

that is encapsulated in the destination life cycleconcept in tourism.32 This concept suggests thatdestinations have a tendency to overshoot andoverdevelop, with stagnation and decline re-sulting unless action is taken to avoid overdevel-opment or to rejuvenate the destination if it occurs(often at great cost).

Planning processes and management actions aredesigned to help destinations avoid overdevelop-ment. In concrete terms, planning and manage-

ment are designed to identify potential problemsbefore they become so significant that the re-source is unacceptably degraded or access to theresource needs to be limited or discontinued, asoccurred when King Tuts tomb (Egypt) wasclosed in 1992 due to the bas-reliefs being erodedby human exhalations and perspiration. The in-

dustry tends to prefer self-regulation over man-agement, but it is doubtful that this will lead tosustainability for the reasons discussed above.Indeed, many within the industry recognize therole of government, in part due to the free riderproblem.33

Working together, governments, the tourismindustry, and development cooperation canplay vital roles in this activity. Governmentand development cooperation can facilitateself-regulation within the industry through

provision of information to businesses and con-sumers, as well as by supporting programs likeGreen Globe. However, in many cases it will becritical to provide uniform encouragement orrequirements across all businesses in an area toavoid the free rider problem.

Encouragement can take the form of incentivesand/or disincentives. Incentives can be direct,such as access to low-interest loans, training pro-grams, or particular attractions (e.g., only allow-ing qualified operators to use a site). They can

also be indirect, such as development of certifica-tion programs that can lead to market advantagerelative to non-certified businesses. Disincentivescan include levies on negative impacts, such asgeneration of waste. Governmental regulation canalso take various forms, ranging from requiringenvironmental impact assessments to limiting ac-cess to attractions and/or destinations as a whole.

Development cooperation agencies can play vari-ous roles in this process. Direct roles, for instance,might include funding for information, training, or

certification programs. However, in keeping withthe findings of the World Bank described below,development cooperation agencies may play theirmost important role in a broader manner, by iden-tifying and supporting individual reformers andreform processes within government and civil so-ciety. Though immediate visible outcomes may bemodest, the transfer of knowledge and fundingcan raise the status and power of reformers andreform-oriented actors (e.g., businesses or gov-ernment agencies), with the ultimate objective


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being to provide a counterbalance to the forcespushing for unsustainable practices.

It should be stressed that market failure, theneed for effective government intervention, andthe challenges of achieving this are not uniqueto tourism. Moreover, there exist other justifi-

cations for development cooperation in thetourism sector, as in agriculture and other sec-tors. This discussion of market failure is pre-

sented to explain why education, responsibleconsumerism, and market forces alone are notadequate and to note that development coop-eration, through provision of knowledge, en-couragement, and funding, can facilitateachievement of sustainability.


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3. Achieving Sustainability: Selected Strategies

What, then, are the points of involvement for de-velopment cooperation? This section outlines se-lected strategies for promoting sustainability, each

of which has been, or can be, a focus of develop-ment cooperation. Though the intention is to gobeyond conventional wisdom, especially withrespect to issues like carrying capacity, we recog-nize that in general the strategies outlined here arefairly well known. They have appeared in variousdiscussions and reports within the culture, nature,and general tourism contexts. The challenge is toimplement them, and to be patient in the knowl-edge that change occurs slowly. Even more chal-lenging will be to implement them at early stagesof development, when they will be most effective,

rather than at later stages, when the need will bemore obvious, but implementation likely moredifficult and more costly.

This presentation is inevitably limited by thescope of this report and the desire to provide aconcise overview. The goal is to identify potentialpoints of development cooperation action and tonote relevant issues and principles, rather than toprovide detailed description of the strategies. Thisis not a how to guide, but rather a what to con-sider guide.34 It is likely that any given contextwill involve issues and strategies (such as dealingwith land rights) that are not discussed here. Theclassification of strategies is inevitably somewhatarbitrary, and categories overlap with each other.

It should be noted that though these strategieshave been developed and applied in various coun-tries, there is inevitably a bias toward the experi-ence of OECD countries, in which much of theevaluation and writing about tourism occurs.Therefore, the strategies may need to be adapteddue to variations in decision-making processes,regulatory structures, economic conditions, andvalues and traditions.

3.1. Feasibility Studies, Project Formulation,and EIAs

This strategy is essentially a precursor that couldbe used to incorporate several of the followingstrategies. It particularly overlaps with site-levelplanning, which is used in the present context to

refer to planning and management after a decisionhas been made to implement a project, or whenthe site already exists, for instance on the World

Heritage List.Historically, many, if not most, feasibility studieshave been exactly thatevaluations of whether andhow a site or region could be developed to attractvisitors. Such evaluations remain critical, as theecotourism experience suggests that failure to un-derstand and evaluate the market (and what thedestination can offer) can lead to wasted fundingon infrastructure and unmet community expecta-tions regarding tourism benefits. Nonetheless,studies have been changing over time, and there is

increasing attention to the complementary aspectof desirability. That is, is it desirable to developthe site or region for tourism and, if so, underwhat conditions? This change in the objectives oftourism development, and of assistance in the pro-cess, is a fundamental step toward improving out-comes.

A complementary activity that typically occurs inthe early stages of the project cycle is environ-mental impact analysis (EIA). EIAs are often re-quired by national legislation in recipient coun-tries, but may also be required by donor legisla-tion. For example, NORAD requires that all on-going and planned development cooperation proj-ects must be assessed with regard to environ-mental impacts.

EIAs can be used to identify a projects likely im-pacts on the environment, as well as to influenceproject design and choice of project alternatives.A primary objective is to identify possible impactsat an early stage so that they can be mitigated oravoided. Though the name implies a focus on thenatural environment, in some cases the environ-ment is interpreted broadly to include economic,social, and cultural impacts as well as impacts onthe natural environment.

Though EIAs can be an important tool in pro-moting sustainability, they can also suffer fromseveral limitations. EIA regulations are oftenexcellent in principle, but more difficult inpractice. At times there is pressure to shortcut theprocess on the part of interested parties (notably


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the industry), and EIA processes often do not dealwell with impacts that are difficult to identify(such as those that are indirect), difficult to quan-tify (such as those on culture), those that are cu-mulative in nature (due to many small develop-ments rather than a single large development), andthose that require lengthy periods before being

detected.

There is a frequent argument by property devel-opment interests that small-scale change in aheritage environment, such as the loss or altera-tion of a single building, is insignificant. How-ever, experience has shown that the cumulativeeffect of what can be seen as small-scale changescan have a significant impact on the heritage valueand character of an area or landscape. Most heri-tage resource management activity attempts toinfluence the level and pace of change in order to

maintain the value of the artifact itself or thelarger environment in which it is situated.

A joint project by the (Canadian) Training andTechnology Transfer Program (TTTP) andthe Minister of the Environment in Cambodiaillustrates application of an EIA process atSiem Reap, the community closest to AngkorWat, with a specific focus on cumulative ef-fects. Cambodian environment and tourismofficials identified a range of environmentalissues that face Siem Reap as it further de-

velops its tourism potential, including sanita-tion, sewage, availability of clean water, andriver quality. There is recognition of the im-portance of effectively dealing with these is-sues not only to protect the welfare andhealth of local inhabitants but also to avoiddamaging the tourism industry.

The assessment is cumulative in nature inthat it evaluates both present and plannedhotels. Based on the assessment, mitigativemeasures will be identified and specific initia-

tives undertaken. There will be a focus onidentifying feasible and appropriate mitigativemeasures for the community. The assess-ment and identified measures are expected toassist the community in their efforts to secureinternational funding for the implementation ofspecific actions (e.g., design and constructionof an appropriate sewage system).35

Though a distinct process, environmental man-agement systems (EMSs) can be viewed as exten-

sions of EIAs. They are developed by tourismbusinesses and provide a means for identifyingadverse social and environmental impacts, as wellas reducing those impacts. EMS registration pro-grams such as ISO 14001 and European EMS re-gimes offer extensive guidance to tourism busi-nesses, and can be adapted to conditions in other

parts of the world.

3.2. Getting the Framework Right: Policy andPlanning

This strategy is very broad, but also extremelyimportant. Without effective policy and planning,it will be difficult to achieve sustainable tourismand protection of cultural heritage. As noted bythe EU, private enterprise is the mainspring oftourism, but the sustainable development of this

sector requires public sector involvement in es-tablishing the necessary legislative framework andregional planning, in coordinating the various ad-ministrative levels of competence, and ensuringcoordinated action amongst the variousstakeholders. For example, South African policyis that tourism should be government led, private-sector driven, and community based.

Many countries have been involved in tourismplanning for several years, but the resulting plansand actions have not always addressed important

issues. In addition, the planning process often hasnot involved important actors (discussed below)and/or has not been well-coordinated with theplanning and actions of relevant agencies, includ-ing agencies responsible for preservation andmanagement of cultural and natural heritage. Of-ten, the problem is even more acute for planningin the heritage arena.36

Development cooperation can play an importantrole in supporting planning efforts. For example,USAID supported the development of the Red Sea

Tourism Action Plan in Egypt. Likewise, in 1991UNESCO became active in the efforts to conserveand develop Angkor and has been involved indrafting relevant legislation (policy), as well aspreparing a Zoning and Environmental Manage-ment Plan (planning) for the site. Developmentcooperation can also be dependent on effectiveplanning efforts. As NORAD notes with respect todevelopment planning, well-designed five yeardevelopment plans have been crucial in develop-ing Botswana according to the intentions and de-


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cisions of the Parliament, and have been a valu-able guideline in planning and implementing de-velopment activities.

Policies are a natural outgrowth of the planningprocess, as they are a means of achieving the ob-

jectives set out in the plans. As with planning,

policy development in tourism is fairly well ad-vanced, though often oriented more towardgrowth than sustainability. With respect to culturalheritage, many countries have yet to develop acoherent set of policies for the identification andprotection of heritage resources.

One important concern within the policy contextis that, to varying degrees across countries, manylaws and regulations remain on the books with-out being implemented effectively in practice.Another concern is that individual policies are

often uncoordinated and work against each other.For example, government regulations in the formof laws and building codes can have a positiveimpact on heritage resource management by sup-porting quality development, but can also be con-tradictory and difficult to implement.

One means for focusing attention on a specificniche such as CHT, and promoting coordinationacross relevant agencies, is to conduct niche tour-ism strategies, such as the ecotourism and ruraltourism strategies developed in Australia. Such

processes facilitate discussion and coordinationacross stakeholders, and help identify opportuni-ties for streamlining regulations.37

The following are selected policy areas relevant toCHT:

environmental and cultural standards; high quality registration/documentation; land ownership and use policies; investment conditions (such as joint venture

requirements);

human resource development; tourist safety; pricing policies; and business regulation (the challenge of lifting

obstacles to an efficient private sector, whileensuring that environmental and social ob-

jectives are being achieved).

Some of these are discussed in the following sec-tions. Development cooperation can assist in thedevelopment of policy in each of these areas. For

example, USAID has emphasized pricing policiesin its assistance program.

3.3. Organizing for Sustainability: InstitutionalIssues

As noted by the EU, many different bodies shareresponsibility for the development of tourism, andinadequate coordination is often the cause of un-balanced growth, as well as the failure to fullyreap the benefits of tourism. Lack of coordinationis not, of course, unique to tourism. However,tourism cuts across several sectors, includingtransport, finance, immigration/foreign affairs,and culture/nature/envi-ronment. Moreover, thetourism ministry, if it exists, often is less powerfulthan many of the other ministries; the same oftenis true for the culture/nature management minis-

tries.38

The challenge, then, is to take a leadership role incoordinating across ministries despite unfavorablepower balances. Though there is no easy solutionto this challenge, development cooperation agen-cies can help by supporting the tourism and cul-ture/nature ministries, both in terms of fundingand in terms of policy and rhetoric. Coordinationacross ministries and departments within minis-tries can be promoted through establishment ofworking groups, boards, and other fora. Specific

projects requiring (and funding) coordination foreffective implementation (and receipt of donorassistance) can help stimulate this process.

Jordans Petra Regional Planning Council(PRPC) is an example of coordination acrossministries. Chaired by the minister of tourism,the council includes representatives of thedepartment of antiquities, the ministries ofplanning, finance, labor, health, local gov-ernment, and irrigation, the environmentalprotection department and local communities.

There often is value in extending cooperationto the international level, as illustrated by theMundo Maya project in Central America, aswell as the Silk Route and Slave Route proj-ects.

Many countries, especially in Africa, house theirenvironmental and tourism departments within thesame ministry. In principle, if not always in prac-tice, this should facilitate coordination betweenthese two sectors.


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The importance of policy, planning, and institu-tional issues is reflected in NORADs priority,within the environmental field, on:

Development of effective administrative in-stitutions, including the strengthening of de-centralised environmental administrationwhen this is appropriate.

Measures which create increased cooperationbetween administrative agencies locally.

Support for drawing up national guidelinesand plans for environmental efforts, includ-ing sustainable management of all natural re-sources.

Though these focus on the natural environment,they are equally relevant in the cultural heritagecontext. The focus of this section has been on in-

stitutional coordination, but NORADs prioritylist includes the vital and complementary goal ofinstitutional strengthening. NORAD continueswith a discussion of the importance of researchand development, as well as the active participa-tion of local communities, issues that are dis-cussed below.

3.4. Partnerships: A Key Component

There are a multitude of actors in CHT, as well asa multitude of scales (e.g., local, national, interna-tional) at which they interact. Achieving coordi-nation and partnerships across these groups ischallenging, but can be a key to sustainability.The EU stresses that:

the industry, the public authorities and civilsociety must work in concert, taking account ofthe needs of the market, the needs of the localpopulation and the special features of the des-tination.

Such partnerships not only promote the setting ofbalanced objectives, but also promote achieve-ment of these objectives through utilization of thevaried skills and contributions each actor canmake. For example, government clearly has animportant role in CHT, but the private sector andNGOs offer skills, contacts, flexibility, and politi-cal independence that government agencies andlocal communities may lack. Existing tourismbusinesses, and related associations or consultan-cies, can play particularly important roles in terms

of product evaluation, product development, andmarketing.

Private sector involvement in tourism is signifi-cant and likely to expand given current forces ofincreased globalization, privatization, and com-mercialization. However, the public sector nee

Sustainable Tourism and cultural heritage

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