About World Heritage

UNESCO World Heritage inscription adds a layer of protection to cultural and natural heritage sites that are deemed to have “outstanding universal value.”

All of these important sites need our attention and support, because whether they are managed by the US National Park Service – such as Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks – or more commonly by local authorities throughout the world, they all face preservation challenges. UNESCO does not manage any of these sites; World Heritage designation means that local authorities requested this international recognition, which requires their pledging to preserve and conserve the site according to international guidelines.

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• For the 2012 Tourism Project in Peru, click here
• For the 2011-12 Vietnam Project on World Heritage, click here
• For the 2009 Article on world Heritage, click here

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UNESCO World Heritage inscription adds a layer of protection to cultural and natural heritage sites that are deemed to have “outstanding universal value.” 

All of these important sites need our attention and support, because whether they are managed by the US National Park Service – such as Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks – or more commonly by local authorities throughout the world, they all face preservation challenges. UNESCO does not manage any of these sites; World Heritage designation means that local authorities requested this international recognition, which requires their pledging to preserve and conserve the site according to international guidelines.

The World Heritage Convention was signed in 1972, the 100th anniversary of “America’s Best Idea” – the creation of the world’s first national park, Yellowstone.  Many of the principles that entered the international document came from the lessons learned and the ground-breaking work of the US National Park experience. The convention currently has 187 signatory nations, out of 192 members of the UN, making it one of the most successful international treaties in history.

There are currently 911 World Heritage sites – 704 cultural, 180 natural and 27 mixed (both cultural and natural), located in 151 nations.  Visit http://whc.unesco.org/en/list to see the list, and navigate from there to view two other lists: the “tentative list” contains sites nominated by the National Commission of each nation for review by the formal advisory bodies to consider their full inscription; and the “List in Danger” includes those sites facing the most critical challenges, whether caused by natural or human activity.

To read our article in Travel Weekly on endangered sites – click here

Advisory Bodies

When the World Heritage Convention was ratified in 1972, it was agreed that existing expert international bodies would support the required work, rather than creating new committees within UNESCO.  Those international bodies are:

• ICOMOS – the International Council on Monuments & Sites, based in Paris, with national chapters such as US/ICOMOS
• ICCROM – Int’l Centre for Preservation of Cultural Property
• IUCN – The World Conservation Union provides expertise on natural heritage

THE TRAVEL & TOUR INDUSTRY SUPPORTS HERITAGE PRESERVATION

The travel industry is increasingly taking action to support the preservation of heritage sites. That support is organized in a variety of ways:

• Individual companies making cash contributions directly to a site, sending employees to the site for volunteer work-days, and/or providing opportunities for clients to make contributions of cash and/or time. 
• Trade groups are increasingly organizing similar activities, which is especially helpful for smaller travel companies to participate in meaningful projects.
• Non-profits and NGOs organizing travel and tourism industry members to support their activities.  We at Robin Tauck & Partners play an important role in making these linkages.
• “Voluntourism” is a growing phenomenon, where package operators create travel programs whereby visitors divide their time between traditional sightseeing and leisure time with donating their labor to a local cause

COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

Awareness is growing rapidly in many quarters of the need and value to involve local communities in supporting local heritage, and for local economic development to be tied into tourism planning and development. 

Frequently, international visitation can leave as little as 5% of the revenue a traveler spends within the local communities visited.  That leaves little opportunity for the local community to better themselves economically and therefore for the community to have a stake in either preserving their heritage “assets” or maintaining authentic and enjoyable experiences for their visitors.

The “Sustainable Tourism” movement is concerned not only with travel and tourism that negatively impacts the physical environment, but that either damages or does not enhance the heritage sites and the communities surrounding them.  Much of our efforts at Robin Tauck & Partners focus in this realm. 

The economic benefits to the “bottom billion” of the seven billion inhabitants on our Earth are meaningful.  Jobs that may not have the same appeal to workers and politicians in the more developed economies are embraced by those in less economically advanced regions.  And seeking “emerging destinations” that are not already famous and crowded deliver tremendously rewarding, authentic experiences to travelers.

An important component of this is “Community-Based Tourism” (CBT).  This is defined variously as tourism that supports the community visited, or with greater focus on economic development in poor regions, or as entities that are organized and/or owned cooperatively by members of the community. 

Read the Global Heritage Fund’s Save Our Vanishing Heritage report: