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UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Social and managerial perspectives in a comparative context
Conference presentation   Peer reviewed

UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Social and managerial perspectives in a comparative context

Timothy J Lee, Thanh Huong Bui and Masaaki Morishita
Tourism Sciences Society of Korea (TOSOK) International Tourism Conference, 2018 Winter Olympic Games and sports tourism promotion, 76th (Gangneung, South Korea, 02-Jul-2014–04-Jul-2014)
Tourism Sciences Society of Korea
2014
url
http://tosok.org/conference/international.aspView
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Abstract

Tourism
The impact of UNESCO designation on the development of the region where the sites locates are a complex issue that requires an examination in a broader cultural, social, political and economic context. This project will provide a more comprehensive view on the effects of being listed as WHSs by investigating into various stakeholders both in the region and in the central government and by comparative analysis of the cases investigated in North Asia, Southeast Asia and North America. Three broad questions will be addressed in this research project. 1.How can the value of WHSs be maximized for the community in terms of traditions, identity, authenticity, management and planning/development? 2.How do relevant stakeholders collaborate for destination planning and development tourism activities related to WHSs? 3.How can WHSs reshape and enhance national identity, and enlighten tourists about national history and pride? Six countries and twelve sites are picked up with different social economic conditions as well as different political systems. Data will be collected in three steps, with secondary data analysis, interviews with relevant stakeholders and a quantitative survey of tourists visiting the site will follow the interview stage. Prior to this multi-destination project, our team has conducted a pilot study in two countries, Korea and Vietnam. Two issues were identified as shared between them - a political use of WHSs to strengthen the power and status of the politicians concerned and a huge gap in government funding between the popular and unpopular sites. The study also found that the conflict and balance between conservation and development of the site was a pressing issue in popular destinations in Korea while the two sites under investigation in Vietnam were a lack of people's interests in visiting there and the stakeholders' effort to promote the destinations. Overall, the propose study will provide a significant understanding the roles and contribution of stakeholders at World Heritage Sites in the three regions and elucidate optimal planning, managerial and social practices for cultural heritage sites in the countries involved in this study.

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