World Heritage and Tourism Destination Management

3rd Seminar of the UNESCO Chair in "Culture, Tourism and Development" and UNITWIN-UNESCO Network "Culture, Tourism and Development"  

University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne / IREST - EIREST / The French World Heritage Properties Association/ ICOMOS France / World Heritage Centre - France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement/ Cités Unies France.

The notion of Governance and Integrated management is still not extensively applied in the field of Heritage and Cultural Tourism. This seminar organized within the framework of the UNESCO Chair in "Culture, Tourism and Development", is to explore and discuss the involvement of the various stakeholders involved in the management mechanisms at all levels, in the context of the Inscription of a property on the World Heritage List and beyond its management, conservation and development.

This one-day meeting is organized around two round-table discussions that will bring together a panel of both French and International World Heritage site managers and experts.

The first round table discussion highlights the initiatives that were taken at World Heritage sites, focusing on the development of comprehensive, yet sometimes contradicting interests and approaches of different tourism and heritage actors; the development and mechanisms of holistic approaches; identifying, developing and sharing common interests and perspectives between the different stakeholders; and the key tools that exist and are needed for ensuring good management and governance.

The second round-table discussion will explore the development of policies and strategies and the identification of marketing techniques and actors concerned, as well as the establishment of conditions for "Tourism Destinations" around the World Heritage sites. Moreover, there will be discussion of issues ranging from the identification of the cultural and natural sites, development of infrastructure (transport, accommodation or activities) to the integration of the tourism management principles and marketing strategies. Also to be discussed is the identification of mechanisms to create the most relevant and coherent tourism strategy that is well adapted to a geographical scale, thereby giving preference to the participatory approaches between all stakeholders and ensuring the sustainability of heritage properties.

This seminar following the adoption of the "World Heritage Sustainable Tourism Programme" by the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee (June 24 - July 6, 2012, St. Petersburg, Russia) addresses various target audience: World Heritage site managers and conservation professionals (including from UNESCO, the Regional Office of Cultural Affairs, conservation architects, environmental practitioners); tourism experts and managers (tourist information centres, Tourism Departmental Committees and Regional Committees of Tourism), elected decision makers of World Heritage sites or cities, researchers and academics, PhD students and scholars, journalists, etc.

Working language: French
Free access subject to availability
Registration by email:  maria.gravari-barbas@wanadoo.fr