Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Socio-economic Development - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 238

types of development - economic and social - and examines several trends
in the subfield of heritage tourism that have salient consequences for
economic and social development.
Heritage Tourism and Sustainable Development
Although scholars have defined heritage in different ways, in its most basic
form, heritage is what humankind inherits from the past and utilizes in the
present (Ashworth et al. , 2007). Its use includes education, research, conserva-
tion and tourism, and its resources comprise tangible objects (e.g. buildings,
archaeological sites and museum collections) and intangible elements
(e.g. music, dance, beliefs, folklore, cuisine and foodways, handicraft skills,
oral histories, familial relations and social mores). There are at least three
prominent misconceptions about cultural heritage as a resource for tourism in
the sense that the tourism industry has promoted them for tourist consump-
tion (Timothy, 2014). First, heritage must be tangible. This mistaken belief is
evident in the prevalence of built heritage resources over those of an immate-
rial nature in conservation funding, preservation policies, administrative sup-
port, regional plans and marketing efforts. Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (2004)
maintains that tangible heritage alone, without its intangible connections to
the past, is essentially meaningless. Thus, in her thinking, they are completely
inseparable. The second myth is that heritage must be old. This is certainly not
true if the definition of heritage proposed earlier and others are accepted.
Recent arts, crafts and 20th-century buildings are just as much a part of cul-
tural heritage as medieval buildings, prehistoric archaeological sites, or musical
performances of primeval origin. Besides, age is a relative concept. For instance,
what is considered very old in the United States (US), from a colonial perspec-
tive at least, is quite new compared to the heritage of Europe or Africa. Finally,
heritage is spectacular or global in its appeal. The truth is that most of the
world's heritage is mundane, commonplace and very personal to individuals or
local communities, and typically does not attract large numbers of tourists.
Regardless of these myths and truisms, most tourists seek cultural sites
that are world-renowned, tangible and very old. Heritage tourism is one of
the most salient forms of tourism in the world today, with more than half
of all domestic and international trips worldwide involving elements of living
culture or built heritage. Hundreds of millions of visits are made each year to
museums, historic sites and cultural events, resulting in billions of dollars in
spending (Timothy, 2011).
It is now commonplace to speak of sustainable tourism, or tourism in the
context of sustainable development, for these are widely recognized as the
ideals for which developers and destination communities should strive
(Butler, 1999a). Sustainable tourism is guided by certain principles that will
maintain cultural and ecological integrity for generations to come and create