Local and public heritage at a World Heritage site

The World Heritage Rock Art of the Sierra de San Francisco site in Mexico maintains some of the oldest and largest prehistoric murals in North America. The local ranching community is the custodian of a double heritage, the UNESCO-sanctioned rock art and their own ranching heritage. The rock art heritage is both tangible and public, known to and authenticated by professional archaeologists, while the ranching heritage is largely intangible and private, a lived and remembered experience known within families. As economic conditions deteriorate, the ranchers seek to expand their tourism activities to include their ranching heritage. Understanding their double heritage along tangible/intangible and public/private axes clarifies the challenges they face.     

Sustainable tourism and social value at World Heritage Sites: Towards a conservation plan for Altamira,Spain

This study aims to identify the factors that constitute the social value of heritage in relation to sustainable tourism. To do so, this paper provides a theoretical contribution by unifying the fields of heritage management and sustainable tourism through a mixed-method approach. It showcases the social dimension of the World Heritage Site of Altamira, Spain, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques. Research findings provide information about the multiple factors determining the social value of heritage, namely: existential, aesthetic, economic, and legacy values and the risks associated with underestimating the contemporary social value. Ultimately, this research paves the way for improving normative approaches toward sustainable tourism and, offers practical solutions to the challenges faced by the Altamira and other World Heritage Sites.     

Crossing the Cultural Divide: Western Visitors and Interpretation at Ayutthaya World Heritage Site,Thailand

In 1991, Ayutthaya, the former capital city of Thailand and now an archaeological park, was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Currently, it receives some one million international visitors a year, mainly day-trippers from Bangkok. Despite this, the on-site interpretation put in place in 1992 (largely signage in Thai and English) has never been assessed in terms of the content of the signs and the reactions of visitors. This paper pertains to one part of the first extensive study of the interpretation employed at Ayutthaya, a study that included a visitor survey that was both a demographic study and an initial investigation into the cross-cultural dimension of interpretation at Ayutthaya. The international visitation to this World Heritage Site is overwhelmingly Western and, therefore, a critical issue arises: what do non-Asian, non-Thai and non-Buddhist visitors gain from the experience? If the visitor is not of the same culture being experienced, and if cross-cultural translation itself is a highly complex and sometimes contentious and problematic process, then it is likely that the deeper cultural significance of the site cannot be well understood in a one-day visit. If the deeper meanings of Ayutthaha remain elusive, does it follow that appreciating the cultural and heritage values of the site is, in direct proportion, an unattainable goal? The study points towards what may be possible when heritage interpretation, in an age of unprecedented global travel, is regarded as a negotiation of a cultural divide.     

Visitor perceptions of World Heritage value at Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park,Nepal

World Heritage sites must exhibit outstanding universal value, integrity, and authenticity. Based on this context, this study examined whether visitors to Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal (World Heritage Site inscribed under criteria vii in 1979) recognized it for its exceptional beauty and aesthetics. This study explored the basic concept of perceived park authenticity at this site, and associated factors that influenced the perception of World Heritage values. Questionnaire surveys were administered to 522 international visitors at the park. Exploratory factor analysis and ordinal logistic regression were used for analysis. Results indicated that visitors perceived the park to be authentic, preserved integrity, and constituted outstanding universal value. Additional regression results identified that overall trip satisfaction and educational level were statistically significant predictors of perceptions of authenticity, integrity and outstanding universal value of the park. Prior visits, substitutability of the park, age, and income were statistically significant predictors of perceptions of either authenticity, integrity or outstanding universal value of the park. Results suggest that emphasis on visitors‘ needs via interpretation and professional guides may solicit more favorable attitudes towards this site.     

复合型世界遗产及其资源基础和文化内涵--以"峨眉山-乐山大佛"与"青城山-都江堰"为例

本文首次提出“复合型世界遗产”这一概念。在统计目前复合型世界遗产情况的基础上,探讨复合型世界遗产“申报热”这一现象及其意义,并以“峨眉山一乐山大佛”与“青城山一都江堰”为例,对复合型世界遗产的资源基础和文化内涵的“复合”情况进行分析。     

中国的世界遗产管理之路--黄山模式评价及其更新(上)

黄山一直被视为中国文化与自然遗产管理的样板单位。本文基于对黄山诸多侧面的认真调查 ,在肯定黄山模式成就的同时 ,指出黄山模式更新的必要性与迫切性。本文认为 ,黄山模式的意义在于它适应当代社会和经济的发展趋势 ,在遗产管理中引入市场机制 ,较好地解决了遗产管理费用问题以及对当地的经济贡献问题。同时 ,本文还认为 ,作为一个现代社会的世界遗产管理单位 ,黄山正面临着命运攸关的挑战。     

Investigating the Structural Relationships among Authenticity,Loyalty, Involvement,and Attitude toward World Cultural Heritage Sites: An Empirical Study of Nanjing Xiaoling Tomb,China

This study examined the relationships among authenticity, loyalty, involvement, and attitude toward world cultural heritage sites (WCHS), as well as the relevance between two basic authenticity concepts in cultural heritage tourism, that is, constructive authenticity and existential authenticity. A structural model was proposed, in which authenticity is regarded as a key mediating construct between attitude and loyalty. The data were collected by a self-administrated questionnaire survey at one of the WCHS in China – Nanjing Xiaoling Tomb Scenic Area. The structural equation modeling method was employed to test the research model and the hypotheses with the sample data. The results indicate that involvement, attitude, and existential authenticity have significant effects on tourists' loyalty to the world cultural heritage visitation and that constructive authenticity and existential authenticity are significantly related. The theoretical and management implications of authenticity are also discussed in this paper.     

Tourism,Partnership and a Bunch of Old Fossils: Management for Tourism at the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site

The Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, declared in 2001, is Britain's first mainland World Heritage Site (WHS) inscribed for its natural values, and one of only eight in the world designated according to geological criteria. The study of exposed rock strata and dinosaur fossils found here has made – and continues to make – a major contribution to understanding the Earth's history; in addition, the WHS covers fine scenery and several nature reserves. Administratively, management of the site is complex because of its mosaic of owners and occupiers and, as WH status carries no statutory powers in the UK, the partnership approach was the only obvious solution. The Site's coastal towns and their rural hinterl and have been afflicted by economic and social decline in recent decades, and the Jurassic Coast initiative is being used as a tool for regeneration. There has been some success already in efforts by local entrepreneurs and the public sector to exploit the opportunities for a renaissance both of the economy and local morale. This paper examines the planning and early implementation stages of the Jurassic Coast programme, detailing successes and examining the linkages between the theory and practice of collaborative management.