Identifying a Heritage Site

‘World Heritage’ is a relatively modern, 20^th century notion derived from concepts such as ‘cultural property’ and ‘historic monument’. The term itself reaches beyond the realms of art and architecture into humanities different cultures. There was a time when the worlds of art, architecture and culture were as mutually exclusive as were different religions. However, they are now being discovered and enjoyed as those of the whole humanity.

Heritage sites exhibit an interchange of human values within a cultural area of the world and are thus perceived as masterpieces of human creative genius. They serve as both a basis for understanding the past and as a foundation for the future. Identification of the inherent historical, artistic and scientific values of a site is an open ended process and deepens as the scientific and cultural awareness of the society develops.

Interpretations vary according to personal identification and attachment to the existing physical fabric of the site. These relics of the past belong to the current as well as previous occupants, local history, and world history and to the user and visitor alike. It is a complex system where the internal spaces are as important as the external and its interpretation is both deep and superficial.

A claim for ownership arises from the identification of heritage assets which then leads to a desire for protection. Protection in the form of conservation and management should aim to preserve the cultural values of these sites so that they maybe bestowed to future generations. Heritage sites are now being valued for their commercial fortunes, as mere tourism products. They are now in danger of being turned into theatrical sets, where historic reality plays a rather meagre role and heritage tourism plays the main lead.

Tourism and Heritage

'Never before have so many been engaged with so many different pasts'

In the 1950's, when the phenomenon of mass tourism took root, the population of the world was only 2.5 billion. In the year 2026, the figure is set to rise to 8.5 billion. it is impractical to think of the future of tourism and the historic sites being visited without an understanding of these statistics. As world population grows exponentially, tourism too will expand and tourist sites must anticipate this rapid growth.

Recently, the environmental movement has begun talk about the effectiveness of new kinds of tourism in all realms of the industry. Eco Tourism, Sustainable Tourism, Volunteer tourism, Responsible Tourism, Cultural Tourism and Endemic Tourism are some of the popular terms being used to describe environmentally friendly tourism strategies. Probably, the loosely coined term 'Cultural Tourism', has become the most popular. However, what is "Cultural Tourism"? It is so broad in context that it can no longer be defined as a single entity and only few people realize that it refers to visitation at historic monuments and sites i.e. cultural heritage destinations.

Almost everyone is affected by 'Cultural Heritage Tourism' and is entitled to an opinion about it. Maybe that is the reason why it is a very hesitant kind of tourism. On one facet, it is seen as having an important educational and social purpose, enhancing tourists' knowledge about different communities, and contributing to their social and economic development. On the other hand, heritage tourism is seen as a major threat to historic sites, especially if their physical fabric is fragile. The hesitance is profound when a site is too fragile to withstand the pressures of mass tourism.Excessive exploitation of the resources of the site may rob the host community off their traditional cultural property and destroy the authentic character and significance of the site. By opening up a cultural heritage site to tourism, along with built heritage, the ingenious local communitis are also at risk of rapid dilution and change. Can such threats be solved by cultural measures alone?

Cultural measures may not be enough to solve this dilemma. Increasing economic significance on cultural heritage, as a result of tourism demand must be taken into consideration as well. Partcularly in developing countries, tourism has been a driving strength in taking heritage sites into the economic mainstream. Such a situation of economic investment has bought changes to the perception of the local communities and to the way heritage is preserved and managed.

The window of opportunity available to heritage sites is immense, but there are many challenges to face an hurdles to overcome. If the heritage site and tourism are to mutually benefit from eachother then they must develop a cohesive partnership. The partnership, in the form of a sustainable management plan, shouls aim to ensure that the best levels of protection are provided to the site while providing visitors with a meaningful and authentic experience.