Bamyan: Whose Heritage Was It and What Should We Do About It?

The destruction for ostensibly ideological reasons of the Buddhist statues at Bamyan in Afghanistan by the Taliban (whether or not inspired by Al-Qaeda) raises a number of wider issues. Apart from the problems of minority, dissonant and enclave heritage, there is the question, 'how can relics of the past that are valued in different ways by local, national and international claimants be managed in a way that satisfies all parties?' The idea of world heritage, and its manifestation in international tourism, may conflict with heritage used for local or national purposes. One, if not the most important, actor in this arena, UNESCO, is evaluated on the basis of its goals and efficiency in saving the heritage of mankind in the recent past. The dilemmas inherent in the concept of world heritage and possible solutions for its management are outlined.     

Hungry for Growth? Small and Medium‐sized Tourism Enterprise (SMTE) Business Ambitions,Knowledge Acquisition and Industry Engagement

Differences are identified between the preferred information and learning channels of small and medium‐sized tourism enterprise (SMTE) proprietors, who have an interest in business operations (growers) or who have relatively less interest (lifestylers). Lifestylers sign up frequently to tourism industry associations, whereas growers have a tendency to join generic business groupings. The most common information for both groups is marketing related, and intensive use is made of online information to support day‐to‐day business operations. In aggregate, SMTE proprietors are avid information seekers, attaching importance to the advice provided from experienced and trusted sources. Growers proactively gather information about general management as well as tourism‐specific knowledge. Adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach to providing information for the SMTE sector is unlikely to be effective. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Road traffic noise in Montreal and environmental equity: What is the situation for the most vulnerable population groups?

Road traffic noise is one of the most detrimental environmental nuisances for the population. Prolonged exposure to high road noise levels can lead to various problems in people's health and well-being. The objective of this article is to determine whether the groups most vulnerable to road noise, that is, children under 15 years old, people 65 years old and over, and the groups most likely to experience high nuisance levels, visible minorities and low-income individuals, are affected by an environmental inequity related to this nuisance. The method of estimating this nuisance employed in the study is based on a combination of several elements: that is, average traffic flows, road geometries, normal atmospheric conditions, and the characteristics of the urban environment. All of these parameters were considered for the 14 boroughs that make up the central portion of the Island of Montreal. Modelling was used to calculate the maximum daily road noise, based in part on the LimA software predictive model and according to the XPS 31-133 computation method. The results obtained from three different statistical tests and spatial regression analyses show that, on the one hand, the groups chosen on the basis of age are not affected by any environmental inequity related to the phenomenon of road traffic noise. On the other hand, low-income individuals and visible minorities live in city blocks marked by road traffic noise levels that are slightly higher than those experienced by the rest of the population.