by Randy Durband on February 25, 2010
UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre is embarking on a new approach to destination management. Rather than managing each heritage site in isolation, they are now coordinating the planning for multiple sites within a given region to gain a holistic tourism management plan. The goal is to ensure more balanced visitation patterns, better protection of sites, and the opening of new and authentic, heritage-based activities.
I’ve just returned from the Quang Nam Province of Vietnam, where I was invited by the World Heritage Centre to join a workshop arranged to launch a [click to continue…]
by Randy Durband on January 4, 2010
Does it seem that the number of unique and authentic places to visit in the world is shrinking? The standardization of destinations caused by globalization certainly contributes to that, as does your own increasing number of checkmarks on your life travel list. But, consider this: proper conservation efforts continue to open up new sites to tourists and expand offerings within existing sites.
In Tikal, the great Mayan city in present-day Guatemala, only a few of the finest sites have been excavated. In Mesa Verde National Park scrub-clearing wildfires earlier this decade unearthed scores of previously unknown archeological ruins. In the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang on the Silk Road in China, where I recently visited, visitors take in only a few of 100 sites that are open to the public, and hundreds remain unopened. When visiting the Valleys of Kings, Queens, and Nobles in Egypt, the most avid visitor only has the energy and time to see a half dozen of the scores of thrilling tombs per day’s visit, so return visits are needed, and more sites are discovered every few years.
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by Robin Tauck on December 29, 2009
What an honor…to be at the Copenhagen Climate Summit on behalf of the tour and travel industry! Tour & Travel is the largest industry in the world and was a late approval for a “special side event” with presentations and press at the Bella Center on December 18th.
About 50 leaders from travel arrived for presentations via WTTC and WTO -World Tourism Organization and included some major airlines, global hotel chains, ministers of major tourism destinations and more. There was a serious and evident show of strategic, professional climate crisis plans, investments, cooperation and urgency. [click to continue…]
by Randy Durband on December 7, 2009
One never forgets their first visit to Petra. The Nabatean Archaeological Wonder is located in Southern Jordan amidst vast deserts and is considered one of the iconic World Heritage Sites. It is a must-see on every travelers list to the Middle East.
I have been fortunate to see Petra over ten times – and each visit is awesome and unique-for the season and the environment are in constant change, with new discoveries still unfolding.
My first visits were in the 1990’s while setting up Tauck’s tours – taking in the sights on foot and by camel, and returning often in horse-drawn carriages. Not much change in that regard. What has changed, today, is the enormous barrage of foot and animal traffic now in Petra. Where once only a few hundred visitors walked in awe, today there are often over 3,000 visitors a day. The issue is getting worse.
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by Randy Durband on December 6, 2009
Robin and I were on our way to Syria to visit World Heritage sites and meet professionals in cultural heritage, but Robin was turned away at the border when the border patrol discovered a luggage sticker from Israel. So I headed on without her. Other than the anger and frustration of the rigid political stance that bans arrivals from those who have visited Israel (even though a visa was issued!), my visit was a transformative experience.
At every turn perceptions and myths were rapidly erased as a lone American traveler winded his way through days of exploration and conversation; amidst travelers from many nations, but not the United States.
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by Randy Durband on November 29, 2009
You’re going where? Isn’t that a terrorist country? Be careful. I was warned by many friends before heading out on my tenth trip to Jordan since 1998 and a first-time visit to Syria. The mission was to assess eye-to-eye what is happening in World Heritage Sites in the Middle East from one key country to another, where UNESCO is placing some priority, and reporting where tourism can help.
Being on the World Heritage List provides a country deserved recognition and is a beacon to tourism growth. It comes with a regulated stewardship responsibility. On behalf of UNESCO, we visited “active sites, sites on the “tentative” list and sites on the “endangered and denied” list. We talked with site managers; top seats of governments, trusts and foundations; tourist boards; tour guides; tourist police chiefs; hotel managers; European and Jordanian conservationists; Muslim citizens and Bedouins; many in communities of the Buffer Zones.
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by Randy Durband on October 6, 2009
I recently returned from Advancing Sustainable Tourism at Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites held at the request of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in the remote area of Dun Huang, China, which I attended by special invitation. It was an honor to be asked to attend such an event with the leaders of global conservation organizations — UNESCO, national governments and others — at a critical time in world tourism history.
These leaders participated in constructive dialogues about key topics as managing the tourist experience and maximizing community benefits for 890 sites around the world. Hosted by UNESCO, its Sustainable Tourism Initiative provides the principles and frameworks that are being endorsed by dozens of governments, many of which were in attendance: government officials engaged in the environment & economic development from China, Australia, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, and others.
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by Robin Tauck on July 3, 2009
In June 2009 in Sevilla Spain, I witnessed several days of testimony amongst delegations of 100 nations regarding the all-time high UNESCO World Heritage Endangered List. These are irreplaceable places of outstanding cultural and natural value. This poses a key question for the travel industry, can we help “reverse the irreversible?”
There are now 33 Endangered Places – extraordinary sites of “Outstanding Universal Value” – authentic, unique and special world treasures that are in real final jeopardy.
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