| Tourism growth is accelerating worldwide and arrival numbers are
expected to double in the coming decades. World Heritage sites are
iconic tourist attractions in most countries, experiencing similarly
dynamic growth in tourism from international and domestic markets.
Pressures resulting from unplanned and uncontrolled tourism are
major concerns to UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee. These
include infrastructure development in and around World Heritage
sites that are not compatible with the site's Outstanding Universal
Values. Long-term sustainable tourism at World Heritage sites is
only possible through collaboration between ministries dealing with
site conservation and tourism policy issues and the tourism private
sector.
This conference was intiated by UNWTO and UNESCO (through its World
Heritage Centre) and it seeks to reinforce on-going collaboration
between UNWTO and UNESCO, to strengthen and harmonize policy guidelines
and tools, and facilitate their application through a strategic
training programme on sustainable tourism at World Heritage Sites,
which is going to be developed during 2008 and 2009.
It specifically addresses the issues of inter-agency cooperation
and sustainable tourism. It will focus on the policies and practices
needed to improve communication between the different interest groups
and organizations leading to better decision-making on heritage
tourism management.
The event will feature presentations by UNWTO and UNESCO experts
as well as a case study application at the Huangshan World Heritage
site. Tools, such as visitor survey techniques and sustainable tourism
indicators, will be presented and their application explored. The
case study exercise will provide a hands-on experience for participants
that can be replicated at other sites.
This Conference is linked with strategic processes, such as UNESCO's
World Heritage Tourism Programme Policy, and the reflection of the
Periodic Reporting process within the framework of the World Heritage
Convention, as well as UNWTO's programme on sustainable tourism
policies, tools and indicators.
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