Forum Overview
2015 "UNESCO World Heritage Series Forum - Sustainable Tourism in World Heritage Sites" Forum
May 20-22, 2015, Mount Sanqing, Jiangxi Province
Since the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage came into force in 1972, more than 1000 world heritage sites have been included in the The World Heritage List.
Ensuring the outstanding universal value of World Heritage sites remains a highly challenging task. Especially those World Heritage sites that are in a constantly changing environment are more susceptible to factors such as rapid urban development, industrialization, mass tourism, environmental pollution, natural disasters, political and social conflicts.
Among all the challenges faced by heritage sites, how to develop a strategic path to achieve a sustainable and mutually beneficial relationship between world heritage protection, tourism development, and community prosperity remains an important but unresolved challenge.
Tourism and sightseeing have become one of the largest industries in the world, with a 5% increase in the number of inbound tourists (overnight visitors) in 2013, setting a record of 1.087 billion people. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the number is expected to climb to an astonishing 1.6 billion by 2020.
World Heritage sites are popular tourist destinations with a large number of visitors. The prospects of the tourism industry are very important, especially in developing countries. Sustainable tourism can provide employment for these countries, help protect traditional customs, and reduce poverty. However, many World Heritage sites lack the resources, experience, and well-trained staff to effectively manage the tourism industry in order to contribute to the long-term preservation of World Heritage values.
In this situation, it is timely for UNESCO to hold a forum on the theme of "Sustainable Tourism in World Heritage Sites".
The purpose of this forum is to:
Promote the formation of a shared vision among world heritage managers and tourism stakeholders by advocating for sustainable tourism management practices, that is, to jointly shoulder the responsibility of protecting the outstanding universal values of human shared cultural and natural heritage
The forum will discuss the following topics:
How to enhance the carrying capacity and resilience of the environment of World Heritage sites by proposing and developing policies, strategies, management frameworks, and tools that support the adoption of sensitive and responsible sustainable tourism practices to protect the outstanding universal value of cultural and natural heritage sites;
How to promote more effective participation of stakeholders in the planning, development, and management of sustainable tourism, so that local communities can recognize the challenges and benefits of "tourism destination orientation" for the protection of world heritage sites;
This forum will convene:
Outstanding professionals in the fields of global world heritage and tourism;
Representatives from UNESCO World Heritage Center, International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN);
Policy makers, experts and practitioners in the fields of tourism and world heritage.
The above attending members will:
Discuss and confirm the key challenges and opportunities for achieving stronger cooperation to address the three key issues mentioned above.
Explore new behaviors and collaborative methods needed to ensure mutual support between tourism and world heritage interests.
Explore typical cases and have experts provide suggestions to set an advanced example or provide reference for other regions.
As UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said:
Culture shapes our characteristics, and it is a means of cultivating mutual respect and tolerance between people. Culture can also create millions of job opportunities and is a way to improve people's lives and enhance mutual understanding. Sustainable tourism must be used to promote the protection of cultural heritage, which is also the core message that this conference will convey. This vision will guide us to work towards using culture as a driving force for sustainable development, which is particularly important for addressing the changes we are facing today, as many countries are developing a new global sustainable development agenda to be implemented in 2015
On the basis of UNESCO's "World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism" global project framework, and based on the UNWTO/UNESCO World Tourism and Culture Conference: establishing a new partnership (Siem Reap, Cambodia, February 4-6, 2015), as well as the UNESCO World Heritage Forum Series that formed the "Stone Forest Proposal" - the Stone Forest Forum with the theme of "Heritage Protection, Tourism Development and Community Prosperity" in 2014 (China Stone Forest, June 4-5, 2014), this Mount Sanqing Forum aims to:
Reflect international standards and best practices, and combine them with China's national conditions to form the "Self evaluation Form for Sustainable Tourism Management of Chinese World Heritage Sites".
For more details about this forum, please refer to the official website of the UNESCO Representative Office in China
http://www.unescobej.org/cn/node/447。
Concept Note
UNESCO World Heritage Forum Serials
2015 Sanqingshan Forum on Sustainable Tourism
at World Heritage site
20-22 May 2015, Sanqingshan, Jiangxi Province
Since the ratification of UNESCO’s Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1972, over 1,000 World Heritage sites have been inscribed spread across the globe.
Ensuring that World Heritage sites retain their Outstanding Universal values however remains a challenging mission especially in ever changing environments where sites are vulnerable to the effects of rapid urban development and industrialization, mass tourism, increasing pollution, natural calamities, and political and social conflicts.
Among all these challenges, the quest to develop strategic approaches which build and deliver relationships and create mutual and sustainable benefits for World Heritage conservation objectives, tourism development and local prosperity, remain vital yet problematic.
Travel and tourism have become one of the biggest industries in the world. Inbound tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) to International destinations grew by 5% worldwide in 2013, reaching the record number of 1.087 billion, that year. It is estimated by UNWTO that this number will reach a staggering 1.6 billion by 2020.
World Heritage sites are popular tourism destination for this vast number of visitors. The prospects of tourism can however be very important, particularly in the developing world where sustainable tourism can provide jobs, help preserve traditions and customs, and reduce poverty. However, many World Heritage sites lack the resources, experience and trained personnel to be enable them to manage tourism in ways which ensure the long-term preservation of their World Heritage values.
Given these circumstances, UNESCO believes it is not only timely but highly appropriate to organize this Forum and focus it on the theme of Sustainable Tourism at World Heritage sites.
The Aim of this Forum is therefore to
l Promote the collective vision that World Heritage managers along with tourism stakeholders should accept and share responsibility for the conservation of our common cultural and natural heritage of Outstanding Universal Value by promoting appropriate forms of tourism management which foster the principles of sustainable development
The Scope of the Forum will be
To share and discuss experiences and agree approaches which demonstrate:
l How to strengthen the capacity and resilience of the environment of World Heritage sites by developing and advocating policies, strategies, frameworks and tools that support sensitive and responsible sustainable tourism as a realistic means of safeguarding cultural and natural heritage of Outstanding Universal Value.
l How to promote effective stakeholder engagement in the planning, development and management of sustainable tourism so that local communities are empowered to recognise the challenges and benefits of a “destination approach” to heritage conservation.
The Forum will bring together
l the world’s leading practitioners in the field of World Heritage tourism;
l representatives from UNESCO World Heritage Center (WHC), ICOMOS, IUCN;
l policymakers, prominent experts and practitioners in tourism and World Heritage.
Together they will
l identify the key challenges and opportunities for stronger cooperation which are needed to respond to these three key issues.
l explore those new behavioural and partnership approaches needed to ensure the interests of tourism and World Heritage are mutually supportive.
l discuss about the selected World Heritage sites as case studies and make suggestions, in order to provide reference or set good examples for other sites to follow.
In the words of Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General:
“Culture shapes our identity and is a means to foster respect and tolerance among people. It is also a way to create millions of jobs and improve people’s lives, a path to strengthen mutual understanding. Safeguarding cultural heritage must move forward with sustainable tourism, which is the core message of this Conference. This vision guides our efforts to promote culture as a driver and as an enabler of sustainable development, and is especially important at this time of change, when countries are shaping a new global sustainable development agenda to follow 2015.”
In recognition of UNESCO’s World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme and in consideration of the UNWTO / UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture: “Building a New Partnership” (Siem Reap, Cambodia / 4-6 February 2015), and by building upon the Shilin Recommendations of UNESCO’s World Heritage Forum Series—2014 Shilin Forum on Tourism Development and Local Prosperity at World Heritage site (Shilin, China/4-5 June 2014), this Sanquingshan Forum aims to
l Devise a Checklist for the Management of World Heritage sites in Chinato help managers reflect on the practice and guide the promotion of Sustainable approaches to tourism at World Heritage sites in China.
