Rural Tunisians Join to Initiate Restorative Tourism

Every year, Green Destinations organizes the Top 100 Destination Sustainability Stories competition, which invites submissions from around the world – a vetted collection of stories spotlighting local and regional destinations that are making progress toward sustainable management of tourism and its impacts. This entry, submitted in 2021 from Tunisia, shows how communities joined to stem the tide of rural outmigration with an inspiring approach to culturally authentic tourism development.

Cave dwellings of Dafar, Tunisia, [Photo courtesy of FTADD]

Submitted by Mohamed Hedi Kallali, Executive Director of The Authentic Tourism Federation Destination Dahar (FTADD)

In Dahar, Tunisia, Communities Collaborate to Revitalise a Dying Region

Tourism in Tunisia is usually concentrated on the coasts and Northern regions and is generally characterized as mass tourism. But not in the mountainous Dahar region of southeastern Tunisia— one of the most remote and untouched regions of the country, as well as one of the least developed and populated. 

“Dahar counts 3000 years of human history of the Amazigh Berber Tribes, which is seen in the many ancient Amazigh villages scattered around the region. The proud local Tamazight communities are still practising their traditions, such as the art of weaving the colourful carpets or managing authentic oil mills, and lifestyle that was dictated to their ancestors by the arid climate of the region – to this day locals live in houses dug in caves, known as troglodytes, and use ancient techniques for water preservation.”– Mohamed Hedi Kallali, Executive Director of The Authentic Tourism Federation Destination Dahar (FTADD)

Over the past three decades, Dahar experienced a dramatic decline in its population levels. Matmata lost close to 99% of its population between 1970 and 2021, and villages such as Guermassa and Douiret are now abandoned, despite having the highest number of inhabitants in the 1950s. 

Jazia running a weaving workshop. [Photo courtesy of FTADD]

The Dahar region and stakeholders from local communities decided to focus on sustainable tourism development to revitalize the region, create quality jobs and, at the same time, to preserve and promote local heritage and the natural and cultural landscapes.

One of the key challenges was collaboration in the local community – the region covers 9,312 km2 and is composed of three governorates and eight municipalities, each thinking about their own tourism goals and objectives. 

Form a Federation and Agree on Principles 

Despite these challenges, in 2018, the community created a Destination Management Organization (DMO) called the Fédération Tourisme Authentique Destination Dahar (FTADD). The FTADD is composed of 38 members — including local authorities — but mostly consists of small local enterprises, museums, and other attractions. Organizing this DMO involved more than 15 meetings and discussions with locals across the villages. But this extra effort proved to be essential —the communities put their faith in the DMO to support them, improve their skills or to assist as they set up tourist facilities. 

Local artisan practicing wickerwork. [Photo courtesy of FTADD]

The FTADD established 10 guiding principles for the destination, including promoting authentic tourism, preserving local resources, valuing tangible and intangible heritage, craft, and original products, and respecting the local culture and visitors. In June 2021, the Sustainable Tourism Charter for Destination Dahar was adopted by all key community stakeholders, the municipalities, and the governorates. 

FTADD is the first DMO in Tunisia and has become a beacon for sustainable tourism development in the country. WWF Tunisia presents Destination Dahar as a model of sustainable development. Inspired by the Dahar model and experience, other DMOs in Tunisia, such as one in Djerba, have been created. 

Find the complete Good Practice Story from Dahar here

 

Advice for a Basque Destination

[Above: Gaztelugatxeko Doniene hermitage sits on an islet on Urdaibai’s Bay of Biscay coast. All photos courtesy Urdaibai Magazine.]

How should undiscovered coastal destinations handle tourism?

Earlier this year, Urdaibai Magazine, based in the Basque country of Spain, interviewed Destination Stewardship Center director Jonathan Tourtellot about how to build  responsible tourism activity in this coastal region containing the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve. With permission, we present an English-language version of that interview. The answers could apply to any seaside destination that is seeking a better approach to tourism. You can read the original, in either Basque or Spanish here.

Declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1984, Urdaibai, northeast of Bilbao on the Bay of Biscay (Bizkaia in Basque) combines a maritime and rural environment with deep cultural traditions. The place is striving to be one where “humans and nature coexist in a framework of respect and sustainable development.” The interview follows.

  1. Urdaibai Magazine: What are the global challenges facing tourism today ?

Jonathan Tourtellot: Overtourism, climate change, and a decision-making mindset that assesses tourism value only in terms of industry transactions—money—with little if any regard to the quality and character of the destinations on which tourism depends.

Urdaibai’s marshes and estuary form core of the Biosphere Reserve.

  1. U.M.: What basic measures do you think should be taken by a small and still underdeveloped tourism territory, as is the case of Urdaibai’s Biosphere Reserve, to integrate tourism activity in a sustainable way?

J.T.: Measure tourism success in terms of value, not volume: Value in terms not only of revenue, but how well tourism benefits are shared by the community and how well they help preserve the natural and cultural heritage that visitors are coming to experience. Invite the kinds of tourism that bring other benefits to the community as well, from education and volunteer help to philanthropy and appropriate business development. Do not measure success just by number of tourist arrivals. That’s quantity, not quality.

  1. U.M.: In order for the tourism to be an activity with a positive impact on the population and the territory, what kind of actions should we avoid when planning our tourism promotion and promotion strategy? What could we regret?

J.T.: Well, let’s look at what not to do! Avoid developing look-alike tourism resorts, hotels, and attractions that could be seen anywhere. Generic facilities are a good way to attract generic tourists—people who seek only better weather than they have back home and who will happily go elsewhere if another destination offers the same thing cheaper.

Everything developed for tourism should reflect distinctive aspects of Urdaibai, or Euskadi, or Spain (in descending order of importance). That mix of authenticity can provide tourists with a rich experience that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. What’s more, revenues from visitors who are sincerely interested in the Urdaibai area will benefit local people and encourage them to protect of the natural and cultural heritage upon which their income depends.

  1. U.M.: You are the creator of a concept as attractive as “geotourism”: the geographical tourism, which could be interpreted today as a paradigm of sustainable tourism. How do you define geotourism? In this context, what should be the tourist’s attitude to make their impact positive and to help ensure that tourism does not become a global problem?

J.T.: The definition of geotourism as we put forth via the National Geographic Society is “Tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, geology, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.” Our research shows that people interested in those things—“geotravelers”—stay longer and spend more than the average tourist.

An aside: An alternate, much narrower definition of “geotourism” focusing explicitly on geology has gained traction in connection with the international geoparks movement. While clearly different, the two usages are compatible and complementary. In terms of tourism quality, each adds interest to the other, as set forth in the Arouca Declaration (downloadable in four languages) made in 2011 at the International Geotourism Congress in that Portuguese city.—J.T.

If you’re a traveler with a geotouristic attitude, you want your presence to help enhance a place rather than degrade it. The simplest way to do this is to support the businesses that support the quality of the place—businesses that not only practice basic sustainability but also showcase the nature and culture of the place. Spend your money there, not with an international franchise hotel or eatery just like the ones back home. Each Euro you spend is like a vote. Support variety, not sameness. You’ll have a richer trip and take home more memories.

Santimamiñe cave drawings in Kortezubi, Urdaibai date from more than 12,000 years ago.

And of course, you need to be a responsible visitor and encourage the same behavior in others: Recycle your trash if possible, respect local culture, and treat historic sites with care. And do put away that selfie stick. Sure, take a couple of shots of yourselves, but then turn the camera instead toward the place and what it has to offer. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? If you’re visiting just to prove you have been to one more destination, you’re no geotraveler, just a selfie narcissist taking up space and adding to the overtourism problem. Instead, learn everything you can and tell the people back home about it. Put those things on Instagram and Youtube, rather than your own face.

  1. U.M.: Compatibility: Is tourism interested in the culture, historical heritage, the character of the territory, its natural environment, and the peculiarities of the societies it visits—is such tourism compatible with what is understood as “the tourism industry”?

J.T.: Yes and no. Yes, if “industry” is defined as any business that relies mainly on tourism, then it certainly is part of the industry.

This open-air Erregelak dance is one of numerous traditional Basque dances.

No, if it is mass tourism, high on volume and low on value per tourist footprint. What’s more, destinations catering to mass tourism tend to repel the tourists with the geotourism array of interests. Crammed beaches, amusement parks, and lots of T-shirt shops are not what they are looking for.

  1. U.M.: As certifications for quality, process, origin, etc. gain importance in all areas of society, do you consider it necessary for destinations obtain tourism certifications of sustainability and commitment to the environment?

J.T.: Certifications or ratings (my preference) help, partly to differentiate yourselves from those destinations that care nothing about sustainability, partly to encourage any less-motivated stakeholders within your own destination, and partly to monitor your own progress.

  1. U.M.: The National Geographic Society has been a pioneer and a world reference in the dissemination of natural wealth, culture, heritage and science and of the combination of these disciplines with travel and adventure, coming to create a style, a way of seeing the world. From your perspective as a representative for sustainable destinations, what do you think is the role of the specialized press in the development of respectful, integrated, and non-invasive tourism?

J.T.: Travel media have a variety of ways they can improve the conduct of tourism. It’s better to honestly inform than promote. If you do a good job as a travel journalist, the story you tell and show your public will do the promotion job for you. Increasingly, media need to encourage alternative destinations and sites—some media have already started doing this—to avoid overcrowding the famous places. Media need to encourage responsible travel and do the same with their advertisers. Even more than other specialties, travel media are notoriously close to their advertisers, a reality forced by the expensive economics of travel. Now, media may need to help educate their advertisers in how to promote destinations, tours, and accommodations more responsibly. Better to take focus off of generic resorts and golf courses and encourage advertisers instead to focus on the unique characteristics of the destination they are marketing.

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Cuban Tourism at a Crossroads

[Above: Rolling Americana Survives in Today’s Cuba. Photo: Lucy Matthews.]

Relations between the United States and Cuba are changing, and have been since late 2014 when President Obama began normalizing ties.

While tourism itself is still banned, United States citizens can legally visit Cuba under twelve travel categories. My May 2016 group trip fell under the “educational activities” umbrella, and was organized by the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) and Cuba Educational Travel (CET).

Warming relations between the US and Cuba, including expanded ways for Americans to visit, have led to a huge increase in travel to the country. It is not uncommon to hear Americans saying they want to visit Cuba “before it changes” and citizens of other countries scrambling to visit “before the Americans ruin it.”

Tourism has been a part of the Cuban economy for some time, however with large increases in US visitation, it is likely to change. With improved relations with the island nation, American tourism companies are looking for ways to put down roots in Cuba. Our visit coincided with the first journey of an American cruise ship (Carnival Fathom) coming to the island nation in more than 50 years.

At one point, we had a fascinating tourism lecture from economist Rafael Betancourt. Among many thought-provoking components of the discussion, he mentioned that due to a current lack of sufficient levels of tourism infrastructure in port cities, increases in cruise ships to the island are considered beneficial (with a floating hotel, increased visitor numbers don’t have to mean an accommodation overflow).

As visitation to Cuba increases, there are some who are concerned about what form this tourism might take.

Hotel Moka Las Terrazas complements the landscape. Photo: Lucy Matthews.

Hotel Moka Las Terrazas complements the landscape. Photo: Lucy Matthews.

A positive example of ecotourism was Hotel Moka Las Terrazas, where we stayed in the mountains our first night in the country. It is an ecolodge created to exist in harmony with nature and to bring visitors to the small community of Las Terrazas, where inhabitants aim to live in balance with the environment. To achieve this aim, many residents help with reforestation projects. The community benefits from Hotel Moka because tourists visit the local shops, restaurants, and cafés.

Another form of tourism held up as a positive example was that of “casas particulares.” Similar to Airbnb, casas particulares are often structured as visitor housing in a separate section of the owner’s permanent residence. We spent a few days in casas particulares in the town of Viñales. This was a great way to spend more time with local Cubans, to eat home-cooked meals and to experience an approximation of day-to-day Cuban life.

A “casa particular” in Viñales. Photo: Lucy Mathhews.

A “casa particular” in Viñales, Cuba. Photo: Lucy Matthews.

The task ahead for Cuba is to figure out how tourism can benefit rather than overwhelm or commercialize the island nation. From what we heard on the trip, there does seem to be interest in managing Cuban tourism in order to maintain what makes Cuba “Cuban,” however there didn’t seem to be a high level of coordination around this aim.

What Cuba I will see if I return in 10 years? Today’s visitors who say they want to see the island before it changes—likely picturing those elements of island life that are remnants of the 1950’s—are probably right: The island will change. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing. If change is managed properly, tourism can do what it does best: highlight a distinctly Cuban sense of place and be an economic driver and catalyst for cross-cultural exchange. If left to a mass-touristic model, the Cuba I visit in 10 years may more closely resemble Miami than Havana.

America’s Unheralded Gift to Tourism Will Soon Turn 50

[Above: Historic balconies of the New Orleans French Quarter survive modern development pressures. Photo: Jonathan Tourtellot]

So It’s Time to Herald It: The Preservation Act

Picture what the French Quarter of New Orleans would be like with an expressway slashing along the banks of the Mississippi right next to it. Imagine the impact on this popular tourist destination. Yet that’s what some Louisiana state and city planners proposed in the 1940s. The idea of a Riverview Expressway next to the Quarter remained a contentious topic for many years, a direct threat to some of the city’s iconic buildings and its most famous neighborhood.

It didn’t happen, in large part thanks to the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which marks its 50th anniversary next year. Drafted with the help of the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and signed by President Lyndon Johnson on October 15, 1966, the Act created the National Register for Historic Places, established State Historic Preservation Offices, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), Section 106 reviews, and more.

President Johnson signed the NHPA into law on October 15, 1966

President Johnson signed the NHPA into law on October 15, 1966

The Act’s Section 106 process, which requires that Federal funding of a project initiate consultation with “interested parties,” gave Riverfront Expressway opponents a platform to stop plans for constructing the highway. The ACHP investigated and recommended against it. In the late 1960’s, the Federal Department of Transportation subsequently reversed funding approval for the road, and the proposal died.

Over the past 49 years, the Act has enabled revitalization and transformation of communities from coast to coast by establishing the legal framework and incentives to preserve historic buildings, landscapes, and archaeological sites, most often generating benefits for and from tourism. Focused on 2016, the Preservation50 program is the United States’ collaborative four-year effort to celebrate and leverage the NHPA’s first five decades and to assure a vibrant future for historic preservation in America.

Take the Mount Vernon Historic District of Baltimore, Maryland for example. Comprising 40 blocks in the center of the city, the district was originally a trendy, desirable, architecturally diverse neighborhood. By the 1960s, though, it was at risk of urban decay or demolition.

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P50-2Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and with many of its historic buildings now repurposed, Mount Vernon has found new life as a Baltimore cultural center. Visitors can easily reach the neighborhood by public transportation and tour the Walter’s Art Museum, one of the city’s best-known attractions, as well as various galleries and one of the earliest monuments to George Washington.

U.S. overseas territories as well have reaped benefits from the Act. In Puerto Rico, home to a number of Spanish forts dating from the 16th century, many of the buildings making up the San Juan National Historic Site—inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1983—had been compromised by natural disasters and poor reconstruction efforts. Based on a National Park Service plan, the sites went through a Section 106 review, and now the preservation techniques being used on the walls are held up as a worldwide model for using modern technologies to preserve historic resources. Restoration of the historic forts ensures that the sites will continue to bring tourists to Puerto Rico well into the future.

As 2016 approaches, history lovers are gearing up for a slate of programs and initiatives  including contests, roundtable discussions, commemorative events, and more, all aimed at revealing the value that historic preservation delivers to the American people.

Join the Preservation50 Celebration!

Since 1966, the NHPA has generated widespread social and economic impacts. It stabilizes neighborhoods and downtowns, contributes to public education, attracts investment, creates jobs, generates tax revenues, supports small business and affordable housing, and powers America’s lucrative heritage tourism industry. Under the Act, publicly owned historic properties from community landmarks to national parks support community pride and identity, foster a variety of public uses, and contribute to local and regional economies through their operation and maintenance.

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Now Preservation50 is gearing up to engage the public with a vibrant agenda of programs in 2016 to celebrate the Act’s 50th anniversary, from public events to children’s coloring books to a Leadership Development Platform. The goal is to grow a community that will lead preservation in the next 50 years.

Please join us! Become a Working Group volunteer, donate, plan a local anniversary celebration, and engage with us on social media. Visit www.preservation50.org and connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Cultural Heritage Tourism

Topic Editor: Lucy Matthews

Heritage, Architecture, Cultures, Gastronomy These links provide resources for enhancing the interaction between tourism and the human story of the locale. Scroll down to see Pertinent Findings: The Case for Heritage Tourism.

Cultural tourism is: “A type of tourism activity in which the visitor’s essential motivation is to learn, discover, experience and consume the tangible and intangible cultural attractions/products in a tourism destination. These attractions/products relate to a set of distinctive material, intellectual, spiritual and emotional features of a society that encompasses arts and architecture, historical and cultural heritage, culinary heritage, literature, music, creative industries and the living cultures with their lifestyles, value systems, beliefs and traditions.” UNWTO

Pertinent Blog Posts

Organizational Resources

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (US) Independent federal agency that recommends preservation policy for the President and Congress and provides information on how to work with Section 106 and on Training and Education.

African World Heritage Fund (Africa) The inter-governmental AWHF provides grants to support UNESCO World Heritage sites and candidate sites in Africa to protect cultural and natural heritage. 

AIA-ATTA Guide to Best Practices for Archaeological Tourism (US-Global) These useful guides from the Archaeological Institute of America and Adventure Travel Trade Association come in versions for site managers and for tourists.

Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (US-Global) Learn about opportunities for culturally related funding for developing countries through the US Department of State. 

American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (US) – AIANTA offers resources for indigenous tourism including a Cultural Heritage Tourism planner, trainings, a website for Indian Country travel and more.

Europa Nostra (Europe) “The European Voice of Civil Society committed to Cultural Heritage” engages in knowledge-sharing, site advocacy, and procedures for the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards.

European Capitals of Culture (Europe) This EU program helps promote tourism to destinations throughout Europe.

European Heritage Alliance 3.3 (Europe) Follow links to EU and Alliance member  documents related to heritage policies and promotion.

Global Sustainable Tourism Council (Global) Their Destination Criteria includes a section on cultural sustainability.

International Council on Monuments and Sites (Global) This nongovernmental organization for conservation of heritage collects and disseminates expert information on conservation principles, techniques, and policies. The ICOMOS International Scientific Committees page lists a host of specialty committees that each provide additional information.

National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (US) Find your US State HPO who can help protect your site.

National Park Service (US) Find out how to take local preservation action and how your community can achieve National Heritage Area designation.

National Trust for Historic Preservation (US) This D.C.-based nonprofit offers various services. Hotels occupying buildings more than 50 years old can apply for membership in the marketing program Historic Hotels of America, which publishes a directory and provides a central reservation service. The forum includes networking events, conference and hotel discounts, and announcements about grants, awards, and other opportunities.

National Trust for Historic Preservation Library, University of Maryland (US) This extensive collection of American preservation resources includes books, maps, journals, postcards, architectural records, and more.

Preservation Directory (US & Canada) Preservation Directory provides listings of conferences, grants, articles, organizations, historic real estate and more, along with heritage tourism-specific resources such as museums & historic structures, historic lodging, and historic tours.

The World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage (Global) WTACH is an NGO membership organization working across stakeholders to balance the needs of tourism and cultural heritage.

UNESCO World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme (Global) Facilitates collaboration between tourism and heritage stakeholders for responsible tourism at heritage sites. The page has links to useful toolkits and guides.

UNESCO World Heritage List (Global/Regional) Check out the comprehensive list of World Heritage Sites. Find your regional WH Centre: Africa, Asia & Pacific, Europe & North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.

UNWTO Tourism and Culture (Global) Find links to relevant UNWTO declarations, conferences and research.

World Monuments Fund (Global) Search for case studies similar to your project. The biennial World Monuments Watch highlights heritage sites in danger.

Educational Opportunities

Professional Certificate in Cultural Heritage Tourism (US) This program from The George Washington University’s School of Business in partnership with AIANTA focuses on indigenous cultural tourism.

Undergraduate Certificate, Cultural Heritage Tourism (US) This online certificate program from Indiana University readies students for careers in heritage tourism and related fields, and includes an internship experience.

MSc Tourism Development & Culture (UK-Europe) This joint Master’s program from the University of Glasgow provides opportunities to study part of the time at universities in Malta, Sweden, and Portugal.

MA Cultural Heritage Management (US) This online Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins explores both tangible and intangible forms of cultural heritage.


Pertinent Findings: The Case for Heritage Tourism

Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe The collaborative CHCFE report led by Europa Nostra shows the benefits of heritage for a variety of key European sectors.

Historic Preservation: An Overlooked Economic Driver This 2018 study finds impressive economic impacts of heritage tourism for Rhode Island.

The Case for Responsible Travel: Trends & Statistics 2017 Section 4 of this CREST report discusses Cultural Values, Diversity, and Heritage, including the business case.

The Economic & Fiscal Impacts of Heritage Tourism in New Jersey This 2013 report finds that heritage tourism is beneficial to the economy of the state of New Jersey.

The Economic Impact of National Heritage Areas These US National Park Service  reports from 2013-2017 illustrate the positive economic impacts of Heritage Areas.

The Importance of Cultural Heritage Tourism AIANTA pulled together this infographic with sourced statistics.


Do you have research or links to add to this list? Let us know! Comment or contact us.

Editor for this page: Lucy Matthews.

D-Day Tourism in Normandy: It Works

[German gun battery at Longues-sur-Mer. Photos by Tamara Olton.]

This year marked the 70th anniversary of the D-Day events in Normandy, France.  By the end of 2014 an estimated five million people will have descended on the area’s beaches, monuments, and memorial sites spread across over seventy-five miles of the Atlantic coast.  While tourism in Normandy is certainly not new, the skyrocketing number of tourists is.  Estimates for this year include an additional million visitors above the average to this relatively small area; approximately two hundred thousand visitors arrived during the official D-Day ceremonies of June 5, 6, and 7 alone.  Roughly 3.5 million people live in Normandy, meaning this year’s tourists outnumber residents by one and a half million.  This is quite a ratio in an area that has no large towns and whose population lives in quiet rural villages and farm lands.

There have been many locations world wide in which tourism has re-shaped the cultural and geographic landscape for the worse. This has been especially true in relatively small areas that do not have the capacity to support quickly growing numbers of tourists.

Would this be true in Normandy, as well? I traveled to Normandy in September of 2014 to learn more about this beautiful region and experience the historical events. I also wondered how increased tourism affects Normandy. Do the swelling numbers of visitors have a negative effect on the very monuments they have come to see, and are tourists respectful of these monuments?

And perhaps, most importantly, how do locals cope with the influx of visitors, especially during this momentous year? How is a balance struck between preserving the lands and monuments and allowing locals to live life as they see fit?

Many of the answers were surprising.

World War II tourism—are visitors respectful of the history?  

One might assume that in historically significant locations visitors would know to behave themselves. Recent history has proven, however, this is not always the case.  In 2013, a 15-year tourist scratched his name into a 3,500 year old temple in Luxor, Egypt; the same year, a father-son duo scratched their names into the Colosseum.  Monuments around the world are defaced by tourists hoping to immortalize their visits with their names or initials.  Would Normandy be the same?

In fact, manicured gardens and beach grass–surrounded monuments seem to be well cared for and remarkably lacking in graffiti or other defacement.  Of the many locations and memorials I toured, none gave any impression that anything but reverence was expressed by those in passing.  This is, a local explained, because the people that visit here are “easy going. Because the people come not to go on holiday—just to get a good hotel and swimming pool and drink a lot. They are here for [D-Day] beaches, historical tourism. They have a different attitude.”

A guide’s point of view

Alain, a stoic man, voice accented with British pronunciation and French joie de vivre, lives half of the year in his hometown two hours south of Normandy and comes here to work the other half during tourist season.  When asked why he makes such a journey and lives half his life away from his friends and family of his hometown, he tells us how important it is to keep the memories of Normandy alive.  One way to do this is to lead educational tours, such as the one we take that day.  Alain takes us from location to location for ten hours, never losing energy, spilling out historical stories and facts as though he had a never-ending supply.

Alain, giving context before guiding us to Pointe du Hoc

Alain, giving context before guiding us to Pointe du Hoc.

Alain often calls the soldiers “boys”, emphasizing that many of them were just that.  Many lied about their ages to enlist; this is true on both sides.  “Some of the German soldiers were just 15, 16 years old,” he tells us.  “Just like the Americans.”

I ask him if the tourists he leads each day are respectful of what they see.  The answer is a definitive yes.  I ask him how the locals feel about so many people coming to visit this area.

“Many here live on tourism,” he tells me.  “Not just those working as guides or those tending the monuments. Many live on farms that supply food to tourists as well.” Alain reiterates that he has heard no complaints from locals about the millions who tour these narrow streets and quiet villages each year.  While more and more tourists come each year, he tells me, the numbers are still bearable.

When asked if he sees any negatives to tourism within the region, Alain says, emphatically, no. “We are here.  We are here to honor the veterans.  It is a way to make money, of course, but it’s a way to keep the memory of the boys alive.  Not to be forgotten.  We must never forget this.”

Bayeux: Simply a stopping point on the way to the beaches?

While many small towns and villages dot the Normandy landscape, the most popular for tourists visiting D-Day beaches and museums is Bayeux.  A town with a two thousand year history, it is most famous for the imposing Cathedral of Notre-Dame rising high above the town’s buildings, and the Bayeux Tapestry, a 230-foot long embroidery which details in pictures William the Conqueror’s 1066 conquest of England. Approximately a million people visit the tapestry each year; this is, however, barely a fraction of tourists within Bayeux. The majority are here for what lies north.

Myriam, the owner of La Gitane bar in old Bayeux, pours me a traditional French drink of beer with Picon, an orange-flavored liqueur. I ask how she and other locals in Bayeux feel about tourists coming not to enjoy the town itself, but to use it as a stepping point for World War II history.  Does it bother them that tourists often do not see the historical and beautiful town as being independently worthy of a visit?

She shrugs, as if the question were irrelevant. Tourism gives many people their jobs, she explains; tourism in some way touches almost all industries of the area. “How can you complain about people giving us business?  You cannot do business and complain at the same time.”

Does she find the tourists to be respectful? “There are no problems with tourists in Normandy because they want to be here, for personal and historical reasons.  The war isn’t something ‘fun’, but the people have a good time.”

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Myriam at work.

Myriam pauses to speak happily to a French group that enters the bar.  Around us are other Americans, as well as several other nationalities.  People from all over the world visit here.

“In other areas of France it might be different,” she continues, “but people in Bayeux come for a purpose, not just vacation.” They are here to sight-see, she explains, but a different kind of sight-seeing.

Myriam refers to the flags of several nations that fly alongside the French flags throughout the region. She smiles.

“There is a special link between us now, because of the landing.”

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British and American flags fly next to French flags all around the town of Bayeux.

Balancing history with everyday life

Locals live on with their lives much as the soldiers who fought here would want them to.

In a field stretched out behind the Lounges-sur-Mer gun battery, a farmer quietly plows his fields, steering his tractor expertly around camouflaged ammunition storage bunkers left behind.

Rows of colorful sailboats line Omaha Beach. This area was a private seaside resort before the war; it was rebuilt as one afterward, as well.

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Sailboats on Omaha Beach.

Harness racing on Utah Beach has become popular. As the tide recedes, stretching back towards England, a distinctive “clip clop” of racing hooves echoes across the beaches.

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Harness racing on Omaha Beach.

The concept of these beaches and historical landmarks as being a collective “commons” going beyond ownership and control of only the French is pervasive. The people here are keenly aware that while the land is technically theirs, the decisions and changes made here affect others spread across the globe. When the French government considered building a wind farm a few miles off the coast—away from the beaches but still able to be seen from the shore—not only did the French protest, but Americans, British, and other nations joined together to protect the visual integrity of the area. As quoted from The Independent, “These beaches are not just French beaches. They are also British beaches and American beaches and Canadian beaches…. They are a place of great, symbolic importance. We in France have a duty to be aware of that.”

People have moved on to reclaim this land, paying their respects while still believing that the living have just as much a right to it as the dead.  A balance has been struck as those honoring the history that occurred here simultaneously live out their everyday lives.  While parts of these beaches will be immortalized—paused as if time stopped that day in June seventy years ago—most of the area has been rebuilt.  New houses line the yellow sandy beaches; restaurants and hotels dot the landscape. Even the preserved areas look different now; in 1944, the Germans stripped the land of all trees and vegetation, even flattening tall sand dunes and hills, needing full visibility to the sea. Nature has since reshaped the landscape more to her liking, recreating dunes and sandy hills, growing beach grasses and trees. It is hard to imagine this place has ever looked different than it does now.

The best way to honor the dead is for locals to continue their lives—to use once-bloody battlefields as agricultural fields; to swim in the waves that once served as watery graves for thousands of soldiers.

These beaches today are filled with those standing solemnly, remembering, imagining; but also with children laughing as they build sand castles; young couples strolling hand in hand, walking barefoot in the gentle surf; windsurfers shielding their eyes from the bright sun as they determine the best place to set sail. Silently, the events of 1944 play about like ghosts, their significance unseen by modern eyes but replayed in the imagination and memory, while life continues in these same spaces 70 years later.

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Challenging Hit-and-Run Tourism in Cultural Heritage Sites

Cultural Heritage sites facing Hit-and-Run Tourism need to elaborate targeted strategies in order to balance tourism and heritage conservation, to define limits or find solutions in order to protect natural and cultural heritage and to mitigate negative impacts. In a paper by Engelbert Ruoss and Loredana Alfarè of the Global Regions Initiative, nine heritage sites in South East Europe are studied, including typical Hit-and-Run destinations such as Venice (I), Dubrovnik (HR), Hallstatt (A) and Aquileia (I), allowing four different types of Hit-and-Run sites to be distinguished. Continue reading

9 Tough Lessons from SE Europe

Managing tourists at popular World Heritage sites has long been a focus for Englebert Ruoss, who formerly headed up the UNESCO office in Venice and has now launched a sustainable-destinations initiative called Global Regions. Its new 164-pp publication is SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AS DRIVING FORCE FOR CULTURAL
HERITAGE SITES DEVELOPMENT
– Planning, Managing, Monitoring Cultural Heritage Sites in South East Europe,
which he describes as “a compendium focused on the broad field of interactions between heritage conservation and sustainable tourism.”

The nine examples of what to do—and not do—include Aquileia, Berat, Bitola, Cetinje, Dubrovnik, Hallstatt, Idrjia, Nafpaktos and, most notoriously, Venice. A major focus Continue reading

Philanthropic Investing

Nurturing Boutique in a Chain World

My dream for several decades had been to buy a small boutique hotel or ecolodge in a culturally unique region of the world and partner with an experienced local. When I sold my company and became aware of the Center for Sustainable Destinations (then the custodian of the geotourism movement put forth by the National Geographic Society), my family became one of the first donors of both funding and pro bono research.

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Restoration with the help of philanthropic investors will turn this timeworn mansion in Quito, Ecuador into an atmospheric boutique hotel. Photo courtesy László Károlyi

We traveled to Croatia, Costa Rica, St. Croix, Ecuador, and the Bahamas in a quest to find the best opportunity to demonstrate a model/prototype project to NGS. This project would have to include the necessary geotourism requirements.  Continue reading