Architecture & Placemaking

[The Teshima Art Museum (above) in Naoshima, Japan brought economic prosperity to a small island in decline. Photo from https://benesse-artsite.jp/en/]

Editor for this page: Clara Copiglia

Illustrations of Relationships Between Architecture and Tourism.
This page collects lessons about the impact of architectural projects on place-making, restoration, or recovery. These projects range from small installations to larger strategies that impact the surrounding territory – territory is defined here as the context of the project, its environment, community, culture, and economy.

We invite you to help expand its content.

Larger themes – depopulation, nature appeal, indigenous communities, ruins care, and overtourism – frame the various case studies below. An example illustrates each category. You can find an extensive collection of such examples here.

Depopulation
Architecture can become a tool against depopulation. Renovations or new construction projects can revive rural or urban destinations in decline when they integrate the local community, landscape, and an understanding of local history.

Rural Example – Naoshima Island, Japan

Photo from https://benesse-artsite.jp/en/

Naoshima, a small island in the Seto Inland Sea, experienced drastic population loss in the 1960s. At the same time, a wealthy businessman was looking for a home for his art collection. He hired Tadao Ando, a world-famous architect, to build a museum on Naoshima. Today, Naoshima Island is a major art destination, where visitors cruise on electric bikes and local life has return. The island now has multiple new museums and art installations. Renovated traditional buildings house a bathhouse, restaurants, accommodations, and art. But Naoshima was only the beginning of the Seto sea island’s transformation. Other Islands, such as Teshima and Inujima, followed Naoshima’s path.

Urban Example – MassMoca, United States

Photo from massmoca.org

Once a thriving manufacturing town with an increasing population, the mill town of North Adams, Massachusetts, faced financial trouble in 1984 with the shutdown of local companies. Thomas Krens, the director of Williams College Museum of Art (who later became Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum), was looking for a space to exhibit large contemporary art pieces. North Adam’s mayor proposed an empty factory in the town, and in 1999, the world’s largest contemporary art museum was born. Today, North Adams revolves around art, and MassMoca (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) brought economic prosperity and tourism.

Nature Appeal
Architectural projects can invite visitors to step into nature by creating new attractions. The project can create a new path in nature or sit along an existing path, reviving it.

Example – Festival des Cabanes, France

Photo from www.lefestivaldescabanes.com

The Festival des Cabanes – Small Pavilions Festival– is an annual architecture event near Annecy, France. Every year, architecture students and young architects participate in a competition to construct 12 wooden pavilions spread out in the area south of Lake Annecy. Each pavilion stays from Spring to Autumn and is dismantled at the end of the exhibition. The festival invites visitors to this natural region instead of limiting tourism to the popular lakeshore. Equipped with a map, the visitors walk in nature to reach the pavilions constructed by the competition’s participants. This festival gives a unique opportunity for young architects and brings tourists to rural areas.

Indigenous Communities
Some projects can create a meeting place between indigenous communities and visitors, where tourists can learn about local traditions and history. The indigenous community should set the intentions of the project.

Example – Krakani Lumi, Australia

Photo from www.taylorandhinds.com.au

Krakani Lumi – Place of Rest – is a series of pavilions on a guided walk in Tasmania. The palawa community owns the land and operates the 4-day/3-night journey called the ‘wukalina walk’. The architects collaborated with the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania to create unique campsites where visitors can rest and learn about traditions. The tectonic and materiality of the project pay homage to the First Tasmanians and their land. The exterior of the pavilions is made of charred Tasmanian timber to blend with their surroundings. The architects had the buildings prefabricated off-site to minimize impact on the land.

Ruins Care
Due to financial and political constraints, many ruins are difficult to maintain and renovate. Adaptive reuse projects or participatory tourism provide sustainable strategies to care for ruins.

Example – Canova Association, Italy

Photo from www.canovacanova.com

The Canova Association is a nonprofit founded in 2022. Its goal is to bring awareness to stone architecture in Nava, Italy. In collaboration with the municipality, the association facilitates acquiring and restoring the small medieval village’s stone buildings. The non-profit organizes guided tours for tourists to discover the village, events for its members, and workshops dedicated to architectural restoration.

Overtourism Mitigation
Overtourism is the opposite of sustainable tourism. Various policies help resist this scourge, and architectural or territorial interventions can also be part of the solution by creating alternative paths and attractions.

Example – Alternative Moray, Peru

Photo from nanotourism.aaschool.ac.uk This photo shows one of the small installations on the alternative path. The students traced circles to materialize a place for storytelling about the site, narrated by local inhabitants.

The AA Nanotourism Visiting School is a teaching program developed by the Architectural Association, School of Architecture, London, UK. Each year, they organize workshops with architecture students and young architects about sustainable tourism. In 2019, the workshop took place in Moray, one of Peru’s most popular Inca sites. The students collected the community’s history and proposed an alternative path for visiting Moray. Small installations invite visitors to get away from the touristic route to learn about the local community and participate in activities.

Svalbard Overheating

Destination Stewardship Report – Vol. 2, No. 4 – Spring 2022

With its coal mines now closing, Norway’s polar archipelago of Svalbard faces a unique set of threats: disrupted tourism, rising temperatures, and increased international vying for arctic control. Yet its extreme location also provides a unique set of opportunities for reviving tourism, according to this Communiqué from Arild Molstad.

Its camouflage useless, a polar bear treads snowless terrain in Svalbard. Photo: Marcus Westberg

Breaking News from the Island of the Polar Bears

The inhabitants of Spitsbergen – all two thousand of them – don’t have to pore over the United Nations’ climate change reports to feel that something’s not right.

On the only populated island in the Svalbard archipelago, a mere 90 minutes’ flight from the North Pole, bursts of rain are beginning to appear in February. Tourists who fly from distant continents to the “capital” of Longyearbyen to explore the majestic mountains on snowmobile under the Northern Lights may instead find themselves back in their hotel rooms, waiting for colder weather, watching sled-drivers return their frustrated howling huskies to camp. Midwinter rain is bad news all around in Spitsbergen: For dogs’ paws caught in slippery tracks; for reindeer trying to scratch their way through frozen surfaces to forage for edible moss and lichen; for surprised tour operators caught out by inaccessible slushy terrain.

Rising Temperatures

“This ain’t supposed to be happening,” sighs a tour guide, downing a pint of foamy Mack’s Beer in a popular bar, where some of his old drinking buddies are nowhere to be seen. As coal mining is being shut down permanently, their sooty, grimy, exhausted faces remain only as black and white photo portraits on the wall, mementos from a colorful history now fading away. Some of the gritty facades that once gave Longyearbyen its one-company-town atmosphere have yielded to erosion- and avalanche-proof housing.

The melting of Svalbard is not happening in a hurry. For decades the archipelago will remain a bucket-list destination for travellers looking for adventure, remoteness, and the spectacular, unforgettable beauty of the black granite mountains topped by glittering ice, their glaciers sloping towards fjords and valleys like bridal veils.

Svalbard tour guide trainee. Photo: Arild Molstad

But the metrics are scary. The archipelago is the fastest-melting place on earth: Since 1971 the temperature has risen by 4 degrees Celsius, five times higher than the world average. In winter the increase is 7 degrees. An astounding +22°C was recorded last summer.

Which means that ecotourism, which in the last decades was seen as Svalbard’s sure-fire alternative to a doomed coal mining industry, is facing an uncertain future. This comes at a time when this distant destination has been struggling with a post-pandemic decline in visitors, who even prior to 2019 didn’t stay long, most of them cruise passengers doing short day excursions.

Tourism Goes Greener

That is why Ronny Brunvoll is burning the midnight oil these days. As the leader of Visit Svalbard, he is in charge of an expert team updating the Svalbard Tourism Master Plan. It is important work, fraught with challenges, many of them political. The 1920 Svalbard Treaty was based on compromises between eight nations, one of them a weakened Russia in the aftermath of WWII.

The treaty conferred sovereignty upon Norway , but declared the archipelago a visa-free zone, meaning anybody willing to work is welcome. Local laws are dictated by the arctic weather, safety, and environmental concerns. Now, against the background of rapid climate change and – until the pandemic struck – growing tourism, Norway’s government in Oslo is prescribing a strict regimen that curbs visitors’ movement anywhere on the islands.

Above all, that regimen will hit cruise tourism hardest, imposing a ceiling on the number of passengers per vessel. No final decision has been made yet, but the limit will likely be set to between 200 and 500 passengers, effectively putting a stop to conventional, polluting large-cruise-ship traffic. What will be allowed: expedition-class motor vessels. But even they will face strict rules as to where and when they can organize shore excursions.

Dog sledders pass beneath a shrinking glacier. Photo: Arild Molstad

“We must find ways to keep them here longer,” says Mr. Brunvoll , who is conscious not only of the per capita CO2 emissions burned during the long journey from the mainland by ship or plane, but of the need to find employment for Norwegian citizens. One way to do so is making it compulsory to hire locally trained guides who are familiar with the terrain – and armed for protection against polar bears looking for food scraps as their traditional habitat is threatened by shrinking ice. No ice means no place from which bears can catch seals. “The bears are easier to spot now,” a wildlife guide told me. “But remember, they’ll spot you long before you see them.”

Global Safety Vaults as Attractions

The tourism challenge is a delicate balancing act. Recently, more visitors have been drawn to Spitsbergen’s Global Seed Vault – a repository of seeds from mostly developing nations, should they face a famine, natural catastrophe or acts of war. Nearby another vault has recently been dug into the permafrost – the Arctic World Archive. Here nations’ institutions are depositing rare, invaluable artifacts, data, documents, and art, digitalized on tape guaranteed to last for 1,000 years.

The Arctic World Archive is built into the permafrost. Photo: Copyright AWA

Now there is talk about building a visitor center to welcome visitors to both vaults. If that happens, it would likely be an attraction that could prolong the average tourist’s stay. The center would function as a drawing card for narrating the colorful, exciting story of Svalbard, from the early 17th century arrival of fearless trappers and fisher folk to the transformation into a tight-knit community, situated in a place once considered remote, but now caught in the middle of a modern version of the colonial powers’ “Great Game.” Today ambitious nations are jockeying for position and access to oil and gas, precious minerals and huge fish stocks, as the Arctic Sea soon will become ice-free.

Cooperation on Jeju Island

Seonheul village on Jeju Island has undergone several transformations throughout its history, but in the last ten years, community-based tourism has become a mainstay — bolstering conservation, the local economy, and the social fabric of the village. Dr. Mihee Kang and Jeryang Ko explain how stakeholders came together to establish a social cooperative that changed the future of the village.

Power of Working Together: A Lesson from a Ramsar Wetland Village in Jeju, South Korea

Many government-supported rural development schemes focus too heavily on infrastructure; many villagers don’t know how to run a business. By contrast, the Korean village of Seonheul on Jeju Island has established a local business that would ensure economic sustainability even without government financial support. The goals were for all stakeholders to participate, with the village as the leader, and for profits to be distributed widely. This ‘social cooperative’ was just one feature of the area’s communal conservation and ecotourism development, which has been underway for years.

Residents of all ages participate in roundtable meetings, where they can share resources, concerns, and ideas. [All photos courtesy of Seonheul Village]

Seonheul lies inland on Jeju Island. This southernmost and largest island of South Korea has a population of around 670,000. It was formed by the eruption of an underwater volcano about 2 million years ago. Today, there are nine inhabited islands and 55 uninhabited islands in its administrative boundary. Jeju Island has been designated as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, a Biosphere Reserve, and a Geopark.

Seonheul is an agricultural village with about 900 residents in 2021. It is one of 29 Korean ecotourism destinations designated by the Korean Ministry of Environment that are designed to protect nature and support community-based ecotourism development.

Hikers pause to admire the local tree species during a guided ecotour in Dongbaekdongsan.

A key site in the village is a gotjawal (rocky lava) volcanic forest called Dongbaekdongsan (or Camelia Hill), which is included in the biosphere reserve and the geopark. It is surrounded by an evergreen forest with a relatively warm climate at an elevation of less than 100m. Dongbaekdongsan was formed by lava as thin as tomato juice, which formed a plate at the base of the forest, eventually creating the wetlands of today.

Around 0.59 km2 of those wetlands, centered on ‘Meunmulkak’, have been designated a Ramsar Wetland. Dongbaekdongsan is rich in biodiversity; 13 of its more than 370 types of plants and 900 animal species are protected. There are more than 100 freshwater springs that are used for sacred prayers, drinking water for residents and animals, as well as for bathing water.

Forming a Committee with Stakeholders

Residents’ participation in the conservation and ecotourism development of Dongbaekdongsan (Camelia Hill) can be divided into three stages: (i) before 1981, (ii) after 1981, and (iii) after 2010. Until the early 1980s, Dongbaekdongsan was used as a village communal ranch and for water. There was a village forestry club that oversaw decision-making and enforced the rules of how the forest was used. This changed in 1981, when it was designated a Jeju Special-Governing Province Monument No.10 by the national government, due to its unique location as a natural forest in the center of the mountainous regions of Jeju. By this time, residents no longer depended on its resources. Water, wood, and charcoal were not the main necessities since sources for fuel changed, and a public water supply was introduced to the village, ultimately changing the village lifestyle.

In 2010, the Ministry of the Environment designated Dongbaekdongsan as a Protected Wetland and implemented capacity-building programs for the residents to protect its resources. From this point on, ecotourism and eco-education became the focus of the residents as a vehicle for conservation and a wise use of the resources through participation.

The following year, in 2011, the Village Council (VC) formed Dongbaekdongsan Conservation and Management Council (DCMC) , inviting stakeholders surrounding Dongbaekdongsan to join, such as provincial and municipal governments, environmental NGOs, experts, research institutes, and other related organizations. The Village Council leader is also the president of the DCMC. The DCMC meets every quarter to bring together outside stakeholders to discuss issues related to conservation and ecotourism development of the Dongbaekdongsan. However, the final decision is made at the village general assembly.

Learning Together, Sharing Responsibility, and Making Decision s Collectively

The VC internally holds resident meetings three times a year for residents to share information, prevent alienation, discuss responsibilities, and share benefits together. Once a year, a roundtable meeting is held for all residents to discuss the vision for the village.

The first roundtable meeting was held in February 2014. At least 100 -130 residents from all age groups attended the roundtable meeting. Each year, one table is saved for village children of all ages that allows them to proudly participate in village discussions and in the decision-making process as members of the village.

Members of the Village Council come together to discuss tourism strategies and divide up leadership responsibilities amongst each other.

Resident-led Conservation, Restoration, Monitoring, and Documentation

The VC also organizes capacity building training sessions for its residents regularly so the residents can take leadership in conservation and tourism development. Ecological monitoring by a group of residents is an important part of the ongoing training programs.

The ecological monitoring group consists of about 10 people including 5-6 residents, one expert, and 2-3 people from ecotourism associations and/or advisory groups. Since 2011, the group surveys ecological resources and monitors ecological changes monthly in Dongbaekdongsan. Based on the results of their activities, restoration of endangered species is continued by the village and/or the environmental agencies. The village also has a monitoring program engaging local students led by the village eco-teachers combined with the advice of a local professional organization. Currently, a few books about camellia trees, local grasses, and ferns of Dongbaekdongsan have been published by the VC in collaboration with resident monitoring groups and experts, and a book about mushrooms will be published soon.

Building a Village Enterprise — the ‘Social Cooperative Seonheulgot’

Rather than relying on government subsidies, the village worked to establish a business that would ensure economic sustainability even after government subsidies stop. The business structure was to ensure that all stakeholders would participate, with the village as the primary leader, and that the profit from the business would be distributed widely.

An example of village ecotourism promotional material.

After discussion and deliberation for many years on the type of business required, a collective decision was made during a roundtable discussion with 130 residents in attendance: To create the ‘Social Cooperative Seonheulgot.’ Its objective was ‘conservation of Dongbaekdongsan and residents’ happiness’.

Resident concerns and satisfaction are monitored regularly. Currently, Seonheulgot manages the Dongbaekdongsan Wetland Center and operates ecotours, local product sales, interpretation service, and community eco-education programs. Their two ecotour products are certified as low-carbon tours by the Korean Ministry of Environment.

All Age Groups Participate in Ecotourism Development

Older residents engage in literary and artistic activities, drawing, writing, and producing books that are sold as souvenirs.

A plastic-free event lunch box.

Residents in their 40s and 50s typically take the role of planning and leading ecotourism programs, while there are women’s groups in their 50s to 70s that conduct food-experience programs to provide tourists with local specialties. There are even teenagers who serve as eco-guides, and men in their 70s serving as “uncle” eco-guides. In addition, the annual village festival is a plastic-free event.

Residents Teach Nature and Culture at Schools, Drawing Outside Students

The Seonheul elementary school invites village eco-guides to its regular environmental classes. These trained village eco-teachers deliver classes for the students every week, teaching not only ecology but also traditional knowledge and cultural values of the village. In 2014, this elementary school nearly closed with only 20 students enrolled, but the popularity of this program has led students to transfer in from other provinces. Today, the school has over 110 students, 90% of which are transfer students.

The Power of a Cooperative Network and Intermediate Supporting Organization

Seonheul is regarded as a good case of community-based ecotourism development in Korea because the VC engaged with different stakeholders and it took a democratic process in the decision making. Support from Jeju Ecotourism Association and Jeju Ecotourism Center provided advice from the start of the village ecotourism development.

In Korea, there have been hundreds of rural village tourism development projects supported by the relevant government agencies. Many are government-led projects that focus too heavily on infrastructure development, and/or the villagers lacked the capacity to establish a sustainable tourism business structure. Only handful of cases can be considered successful community-based tourism examples. But when the roles of each stakeholder are clear and when the local community takes primary responsibility, then sustainable community-based tourism is possible.

This is not to say that the Seonheul Village case is perfect. Conflicts between residents and/or stakeholders still exist, there is a risk of overtourism, and the community has experienced difficulties in operating a business that is economically sustainable. However, the future is certainly positive. This village has learned over the past 10 years to communicate and solve its problems together.

Innovation in the Italian Alps

? Destination Stewardship Report – Summer 2020 ?

In the last five years, Dolomiti Paganella DMO in the Trentino region in northern Italy has transitioned from a fairly disorganized structure with no community support into a well-managed, prosperous and widely-supported destination management body focused on stakeholder cooperation and sustainability. The DMO’s innovative Future Lab initiative is now helping to shape a roadmap to post-Covid19 recovery in the first region in Europe hit by the coronavirus. Marta Mills explains how.

In Italy’s Dolomites, a “Future Lab” Inspires DMO Innovation

By Marta Mills

Hiking in the Dolomites. All photos courtesy Dolomiti Paganella.

Dolomiti Paganella Tourism Board is a regional DMO (Destination Management Organization) comprising five municipalities in the Dolomites, a mountain range in the northern Italian Alps. The region became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009 because of its ‘intrinsic, exceptional natural beauty’. According to UNESCO, the Dolomites are ‘widely regarded as being among the most attractive mountain landscapes in the world. Their dramatic vertical and pale-coloured peaks in a variety of distinctive sculptural forms is extraordinary in a global context.’

Before 2015, the Dolomiti Paganella DMO suffered high seasonality, low funding, lack of long-term vision for tourism, and no clarity on the DMO’s role. The DMO used to manage a lot of different, ad-hoc projects, lacking in specialization, coordination, and leadership. This created unrealistic expectations and demands from the local stakeholders, and also meant that, according to its current Director Luca D’Angelo, the DMO was ‘doing everything for everybody and with no prioritization of tasks, and hence doing it badly’.

The DMO began shifting into sustainability in 2015. Its newest initiative is a research-intervention think-tank on the future of tourism in the region. Launched on 29 October 2019, The Future Lab is engaging not only the industry stakeholders but also – and for the first time – the whole community.

The Destination
Dolomiti Paganella is the brand name of the destination, Paganella being one of the peaks. The five picturesque ‘communes’ – Molveno, Andalo, Fai Della Paganella, Cavedago, and Spormaggiore – are surrounded by imposing, vertical rock walls, sheer cliffs and a high density of narrow, deep and long valleys. They provide opportunities for adventure tourism (mountain biking, climbing, hiking, paragliding and skiing) and family-oriented experiences, with several aquaparks, wellness centres, and family festivals.

Interestingly, out of the two million overnight stays annually, 65% visit in the summer. That’s unusual for the Alps, where most visitors come in the winter. However, the facilities around the stunning Molveno Lake and a strong Bike Product developed by the DMO allow Dolomiti Paganella to spread the tourism season much wider compared to other alpine destinations.

The Change
In January 2015, Luca D’Angelo, former senior tourism researcher at the nearby Trentino School of Management (TSM) and a director of another DMO in Trentino (Valsugana), took charge of the Dolomiti Paganella DMO. Together with the TSM, he used a St Gallen Strategic Visitor Flow model to work out visitor flows and decided to focus on only four products (biking, hiking, climbing and family experiences). That shifted the promotion of the destination as a whole into developing and promoting specific products, which subsequently changed the whole structure and the strategy of the organization. Such specialization allowed the DMO to prioritize its activities and focus on a long-term vision.

Stakeholder cooperation
Initially, DMO-stakeholder cooperation focused on product development, forming new funding partnerships with local businesses (cable car companies, trail builders, accommodation providers) and the local municipalities who own the land. They jointly create and sell experiences that are then promoted by the DMO through their online channels. The focus on developing selected products (Bike Product for example) and strong cooperation with local business has built trust that allows more participatory, more efficient destination management.

A region of “intrinsic, exceptional natural beauty.” —UNESCO

Every year the DMO organizes two to three workshops with lift companies, bike chalets and bike hotels to jointly visualize the short and long-term goals for the destination in the next two to three years. Involving key industry players has been fundamental both in creating a strategy for the destination and for developing quality product.

Results and Impacts
The change has raised destination visibility, extended the season from April to November and broadened the visitor market. The growth in visitor numbers – 500%, from 2015 through 2019 – has significantly increased the revenue for the DMO and for the businesses. However, this growth came with negative environmental costs, and in the summer months overtourism became an issue for residents increasingly concerned about the region’s capacity for yet more visitors. Their enthusiastic support for the growth that had brought economic benefits started giving way to worry that overtourism was hurting quality of life for the communities. The FutureLab was the DMO’s response.

Next Phase: The Future Lab
As the confidence and trust in the DMO rose, it was the right time for The Future Lab to engage the local population in deciding on the future of tourism ‘as a positive force for the good of our community tomorrow and in future decades’. The Future Lab is involving hundreds of stakeholders in defining the role of tourism in the region, aiming for a more environmentally and socially sustainable model that benefits local residents, the environment, visitors, and tourism businesses.

I learned about it during a week-long tourism training on management of UNESCO natural sites run by the TSM in November 2019. Funded by the DMO and run in partnership with the TSM and Frame & Work, the Future Lab is seen by the DMO as a more innovative and sustainable form of destination management, based on stakeholders’ views on how tourism can benefit them and the natural environment. Over 700 local people attended the launch on 29 October 2019, when consultation on the future started. Discussion focused on four issues:

Destination’s DNA;
Future generations’ involvement in destination development;
Thriving in a future shaped by climate change;
Improving tourism balance.

The plan was to continue with stakeholder meetings and workshops in 2020, run by the DMO in cooperation with TSM and Frame & Work. A special Blog and the DMO’s Facebook group (only in Italian) allows the local people to check the updates and interact with the project. Before February 2020, over 20 workshops had been completed, and meetings with various associations and individuals willing to connect with the Future Lab were in full swing.

And then the coronavirus happened.

The DMO and the Future Lab Respond to COVID-19
The most recent analyses predict that the turnover in the region will be 40% less compared with the previous year. During the pandemic, the DMO has focused on two areas:

Supporting the tourism industry with constant updates; surveys on feelings and emotions; revision of the event calendar; and creation of a toolkit to help with cancellation, vouchers, revenue, social media communication, market insights, and so on.
Creating a strong relationship with the tourism community. For the latter, they have created new content with a different vision of the future, as in this short video. The community was also surveyed about their feelings on travelling again. The DMO encourages the community to use this time constructively by focusing on ‘internal resources that can be exploited’ – in other words, tapping the ideas, know-how, skills, and experience that locals can exchange to help with recovery. ‘We are working on the re-start phase’, says Luca, ‘but at the same time looking for a “new” vision through the Future Lab. This is precisely the idea of the Future Lab: reflecting on today to conceive interesting prospects for the future’.

The next steps will be to reboot project communication and stakeholder engagement, stimulate a new involvement from the community, and build new research tools. ‘It is important to note that we do not aim to turn the Future Lab into a crisis management project for the current challenge’, Luca told me. ‘While there is plenty of work to be done as a DMO to offer continuous support for our local community now, the focus of the Future Lab remains firmly fixed on planning and preparing for a better future.’

Thus, the project is still what it set out to be: a lab focusing on the long-term development and strategic decisions for the destination. The Covid crisis has surely changed the context of the process, and partners TSM and Frame & Work are currently rescaling, refocusing and recharging the project. They intend to incorporate the lessons from the pandemic that can also be replicated in other destinations.

Luca has no plans to leave the DMO as this new phase is just beginning. Even if he were to depart, the Future Lab’s strong foundations, based on cooperation with partners and stakeholder approval, should ensure the continuity of the project.

Doing It Better: Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Ellen Rugh

[Above: The town of Tequila. Photo: German Lopez from Pixabay ]

Editor’s note: With this post we offer the second of our profiles of destination organizations that at least partially meet the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s destination-management criterion A1 (formerly A2), which reads in part:

“The destination has an effective organization, department, group, or committee responsible for a coordinated approach to sustainable tourism, . . . for the management of environmental, economic, social, and cultural issues.”

The requirement seems obvious, yet very few places around the world come even remotely close to meeting it. Below is Ellen Rugh’s profile of another one that does. We hope this information will provide other places with ideas on how better to manage tourism’s hazards and benefits. To join in our search for more examples of holistic destination management, or submit a candidate for profiling, read more here.

The Council of Integral Development of Tequila A.C. (CODIT): Using Advanced Tech for Destination Management

Introduction

The town and municipality of Tequila is in the west-central state of Jalisco, Mexico. Founded in 2013 as a civic association, CODIT presents us with a broad-reaching model of a destination management organization (DMO) that uses 21st-century technological monitoring and data collecting in order to make the most informed decisions on sustainable tourism development and destination stewardship.

With its genesis through Mexico’s Magic Towns program, CODIT has managed to survive, if not thrive, through the country’s changes in government, unlike many of its Magic Towns counterparts. Today, Tequila’s in-progress drive for certification as an “Intelligent Destination” by the Secretary of Tourism of Spain (SEGITTUR) drives many of CODIT’s core concepts. CODIT’s representative, Federico de Arteaga Vidiella, provided much of the following data. He sits on the Council and is responsible for the Intelligent Destination project.

Context

The CODIT model stretches beyond just tourism. In fact, “Sustainable Tourism Development” represents just one core concept for the organization, with additional branches dedicated to “Social Development, Culture, And Values,” “Development of Infrastructure, Environment and Urban Planning,” and “Economic, Institutional, Jurisdictional and Administrative Development.”

Working towards its certification as a SEGITTUR Intelligent Destination, CODIT gathers data from sensors, apps, smart phones, etc. to increase the effectiveness of local tourism products and services. To promote distinctive experiences, CODIT has installed Wifi access within the entire historic area and created an interactive app with push notification. Tourists can log in to learn the best photo spots, services offerings, and transportation routes around town. Using big data to measure tourist distribution throughout the city, CODIT’s app strives to incorporate population groups that have not benefited so far from tourism. If you’re a tourist waiting for your chosen restaurant, it can suggest different places to eat or other things to do while waiting, such as a distillery tour or a walk in a different part of town.

CODIT thus opens up new opportunities for businesses, as tourists don’t end up concentrated in the historic center and eating at the few nearby restaurants. This model not only redistributes economic benefit, but also avoids visitor dissatisfaction by lowering restaurant wait times.

Activities

Tequila’s tourist system communicates experiences through different channels, such as through tourist apps, social networks, the state and federal secretaries of tourism, and private companies at the national and international level.

CODIT additionally works with the Directorate of Tourism of the City Council and with the Magic Towns Committee to schedule cultural, sporting, environmental and entertainment events. Residents get involved in a natural way, since Tequila’s society participates in many of these events, processions, and parties, either through organization, communication, direct participation, or assistance. To help develop adventure tourism in the region, CODIT has also sponsored local guides and tour operators to complete excursionist certification courses.

Sustainability and Stewardship

CODIT’s main strategy being sustainability, and the main vocation of Tequila being tourism, sustainable tourism has become CODIT’s keystone. The council considers sustainability multidisciplinary – economic, social, environmental, and institutional – and integrates explicit responsibilities for sustainability into their projects, working groups, international certifications, and more. Working groups for sustainability, innovation, technology, accessibility, and governance operate within the framework of the Magical Towns and Smart Tourist Destination Committee. Each group works to accomplish projects both within and across these themes.

As a Magic Town within the World Heritage agave landscape inscribed under UNESCO and a candidate for certification as a SEGITTUR Intelligent Destination, Tequila must therefore protect the sustainable, natural, cultural, and aesthetic character of the place. To assist in environmental protection, for instance, CODIT has implemented a recycling program and has constructed a nursery to restore endangered native plant species.

Even with tourism development being its main focus, CODIT extends its reach into other areas related to destination stewardship. For example, CODIT assisted in supporting one young local resident’s project relating to street dogs, sharing their technology and data to help him map the area, identify the location of the dogs, and decide the safest place to move them.

Managing Tourism Sustainably

CODIT states that Tequila has not yet had problems with overtourism in the destination. Tequila’s desire to achieve a sustainable tourism plan right from the beginning intrinsically incorporates the management of mass tourism. Using their Intelligent Destination technology, CODIT compares year-over-year peak season visitor statistics and identifies the major hotspot locations. With this data, they can identify the amount of traffic around the more heavily touristed historic area, for example, and install the necessary infrastructure to meet demand. They also measure transportation types and levels to ensure that people are dispersed better throughout the city, thus improving economic development.

Grilled corn vendor in Tequila. Photo by Gzzz.

Community Engagement

CODIT claims federal, state, and municipal participation, as well as inclusion of private business associations, NGOs, and local universities. These stakeholders came together to collectively set CODIT’s initial goals and long-term strategic plan. During this start-up phase, CODIT says that the stakeholders agreed upon about 70 to 80% of issues. Any issues with unsettled differences or concerns were removed, so that the long-term vision statement could be set with everyone in agreement.

CODIT cites the most effective element in their governance process has been the election of decisive leaders who represent the collective interest of local stakeholders and truly want to make changes. The council’s representative, Federico de Arteaga Vidiella, bluntly states that in certain situations extended deliberation among all community stakeholders may not be the best method to achieve results. Instead, CODIT encourages the voice of local residents through their representation by the board’s Citizen Co-President, and through consultation on specific projects. CODIT additionally urges participation from local universities, because many students and faculty are local themselves. CODIT also recognizes that local engagement depends on the character of the place. Here, where tourism and tequila production are the main vocations, they must make sure the voices of tequila farmers, distillers, and more are heard as well as hotels, restaurants, and tour operators.

For specific projects, the council understands that active communication with local stakeholders is crucial to success and local acceptance, because the residents will believe more in projects with which they can participate. On a neighborhood renewal project, for example, CODIT wanted to bring vibrancy to some less-trafficked areas with bright, new paint colors. For this simple project, CODIT conducted surveys, spoke directly with locals and civil society groups, and consulted architectural institutions in local universities to decide on the best colors to represent Tequila.

Organization Structure and Governance

CODIT was strategically founded as a civic association in order to make the organization less susceptible to changes in government and thus able to create long-term plans that would not rely on any particular political party for survival. This legal arrangement was also intended to increase business investment through tax incentives and to allow leverage of resources from international organizations, such as the Inter-American Development Bank.

CODIT does not hold scheduled internal elections and tends instead to act on consensus. Every year, for example, the council has to agree that the current citizen co-chair should continue in that role. The council does have the ability to vote out a person if needed, but so far it has never done so.

CODIT comprises of a multifaceted governance arrangement, currently composed of 44 members who fall within four main groups: founding members, active members, honorary members, and operative members. Each provides a certain level of support within the organization.

Operations and technical structure: CODIT incorporates active members, operative members, and a technical council into their organization structure. Four technical advisors and three operative personnel support the team. CODIT says that a key to their success is having a full-time, paid coordinator, as well as having both operative and strategic management on constant basis. External alliances provide crucial technical and operative resources.

Administrative and representative structure: The Board of Directors includes a citizen co-chair, a government co-chair, a secretary, a treasurer, and a spokesperson, who hold the final decision-making authority. A group of additional advisors play a role in strategic planning, including a representative from the Tequila Route and one from Grupo JB, a private company best known for their Jose Cuervo tequila. Thus a broad range of organizations can have some voice in CODIT affairs.

A jimador, an agave farmer, tends the plants that yield tequila and characterize the region’s inscription as a World Heritage site. Photo: Giacomo Bruno.

Even without formal internal elections, CODIT reports that about 20% of the council changes regularly due to external group elections. Representatives from private organizations, such as hoteliers’ associations, restaurant associations, etc, may shift representation based on their own elections. The government co-chair has rotated as the municipal government changes, with elections occurring every three years. Thus a good, naturally-occurring rotation of voices represents member interests.

Funding

CODIT works on an annual budget of around $150,000, largely financed by the federal and state secretaries of tourism and by Grupo JB. The Inter-American Development Bank has also provided project-specific funding in the past and helps support the CODIT website. Members must additionally contribute to the council through expertise, money, in-kind support, or time. One business member, for instance, seconded one of its own people to work in CODIT for a full year, documenting all tourist products offered in Tequila.

Measures of Success

CODIT attributes their success to the clear indicators and pre-established goals outlined in their long-term strategic plan. Every month CODIT evaluates progress using the indicators established by SEGITTUR within the tourism pillars of governance, sustainability, innovation, technology and accessibility. (Unfortunately, we have so far been unable to obtain any examples of progress reported.)

My Commentary

CODIT’s technical innovations and big data solutions show a new side to destination management, perhaps eliminating some of the problems that destinations face before they occur. Accessibility and connectivity drive visitors into the city by creating easy-access to information. CODIT has a firm vision and organization structure, with careful consideration taken during its inception process to ensure long-term governance that can withstand political changes affecting funding.

While CODIT has said that their funding has varied based on political changes over the years, the council’s survival attests to its careful management, especially in comparison to many other destinations originally designated under Mexico’s Magic Towns initiative.

Alternatively, CODIT can do more in terms of stewardship. I would love to see CODIT take a stronger role in partnering with local stakeholders to further develop distinctive tourism experiences. Additionally, the data collected shows little evidence of any vetting process for their promotional materials that places greater emphasize tourism businesses who have championed sustainability or supported their communities through impact tourism.

Local stakeholder engagement is key to holistic destination management. Compared to our other case studies, this council does not stress community deliberative processes, although they do gather project-specific community feedback and include a wide array of public, private, and civil society interests within their governance structure.

In this case, further research would be required to collect more evidence of outreach to ensure local resident satisfaction, or evidence of adaptive strategy. Additionally, while CODIT champions sustainability and transparency, we found difficulties in accessing the documents relating to the performance of CODIT in terms of SEGITTUR’s specific indicators. This is crucial to understanding their exact performance in project implementation and sustainability, and establishing credibility beyond self-reported claims.

We welcome comments from those with knowledge of Tequila and its stewardship.

Western Balkans—Tourism on the Cusp

Posted on August 21, 2019 by Cristina Angeles

[Above: Trebinje, Bosnia. All photos by Cristina Angeles; videos by Juan Carlos Rodarte.]

Our video project on the Adriatic’s Balkan coast shows what tourism should do—and not do.

Here at the Destination Stewardship Center we want to encourage sustainable tourism practices that preserve today’s impressive places for enjoyment tomorrow.

The Adriatic coast of the western Balkan peninsula is one of those places—a destination of great promise and also at great risk. Imposing mountains rise only a short distance inland from the coast, a combination that supports a diversity of ecosystems. The region enjoys a warm to hot Mediterranean climate, which makes it an appealing destination for vacations—and hasty development. Similarly attractive parts of the Mediterranean have already been touristically exploited. Just look over at some of Greece’s heavily built-up islands to see what is coming.

So we on the video team went there to see how the area is doing, and why it’s special. Listen to the people who live there talk about their home, in their own voices:

The hope of course is for tourism in the region to generate jobs and raise local people’s quality of life. But is it being done in the best way? We found the answer was “yes” in some places, definitely “no” in others.

Thanks to the collaboration with Western Balkans Geotourism Network (WBGN), we spent 21 days documenting the Adriatic regions of Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina and meeting the people associated with the WBGN. They are the heroes of this story, working against tough odds to turn tourism in a better direction.

Our expedition revealed three red flags signalling touristic overkill: the coastal city of Sarandë and the archaeological zone of Butrint in Albania, and the coastal development at Kotor Bay, Montenegro.

Auron Tare, Albanian National Coastline Agency Director, shared with us his professional experience as a pioneer in the preservation of Albanian culture. Listen to his observations on overcommercialized Sarandë, once a quaint fishing town:

“The town went completely crazy with its tourism concept.”

In the red flag areas, rocketing growth of globalized products was overwhelming more sustainable local commerce and sacrificing the cultural diversity of lifestyle, so basic to destination appeal. Tourist complexes deface the scenery with buildings that do not respect the landscape. Reinforcing all this are thousands of people hopping on and off all-inclusive cruise ships.

Now overtourism has come to the Greco-Roman ruins at Butrint National Park, the World Heritage site preserved and managed by Auron Tare. He explains what’s happening:

“Butrint is at an overtourism crossroads.”

As for Kotor Bay, we asked our guide Jack Delf, chairman of the Western Balkans Geotourism Network, why tourism was out of control on the coast of Montenegro. Is a change in direction possible? The only way, he says, is to emphasize value instead of volume:

“We can’t preserve this through mass tourism.”

Is everything lost? Not at all. Various NGO’s and companies are seeking to develop and promote tourism products under management plans that protect the land, empower the locals, and provide them with market opportunity.

Nancy Tare, Albania Regional Director for the WBGN (and Auron’s wife), told us that a key factor for sustainability is the important role that locals can play in taking care of what is theirs. They have in their hands the power to sell their land, or not. They are the only ones that can preserve their natural, cultural, and social resources. Here’s Nancy on the true meaning of sustainability:

“Keep it real is by keeping locals involved. That’s a success.”

As an example, we present the destination Nivicë, the first village in southern Albania’s Project Nivicë route. What is it about this initiative that has impressed us? Its authenticity. Auron Tare is project coordinator, working with an emphasis on restoring vernacular architecture:

“What we’re trying to do here is set an example.”

Auron has a personal connection to Nivicë. “He is building a house in Nivicë on his grandparent’s land and enjoys spending time there with his family,” notes our producer, Erika Gilsdorf, who sums up his difficult task this way: “The town was abandoned during war, and now people are coming back. He wants it to grow and thrive but keep its charm and authenticity. He struggles with maintaining balance. If you promote it, it is at risk of exploitation. If you don’t, it is at risk of poverty and abandonment. So, he’s trying to see if they can manage it sustainably, grow organically, and do so slowly to handle challenges as they arise.”

For projects like this and in general for the Eastern Balkans, is there an economic argument for their sustainability? Yes! Jack Delf explains why:

“Adventure tourism is now a 680 billion dollar business, growing at 23 percent per year.”

During our expedition we had the opportunity meet the various personalities who are charting the routes to sustainability. One of them was Kirsi Hyvaerinen, a board member of the Global Ecotourism Network, who calls for redefining tourism for her adopted home of Montenegro, confirming that the ultimate goal is to capture value and not volume, and that local people are the key:

“It’s not too late.”

Environmental millionaires?
In a globalized world, poverty is commonly equated with lack of money. We often heard that a main reason for growing tourism in the region is to generate jobs and so improve the people’s quality of life. Whereas the purpose may be noble and the solution correct in economic terms, it is precisely the migration of this concept into this region that we see as a major challenge. What we admired in the people we met was the means of production they already have, the freedom they have to enjoy their day, the air they breathe away from polluting factories, and their community lifestyles.

In this sense, they are environmental millionaires. They can feed themselves with pesticide-free produce harvested in their backyards, far from the problems that come with the processed products of the industrialized world. Many people in the Balkans that have no job can still live off their land.

Food of the land, Albania. — **Bounty of the land, Albania.**

To learn more about why we found so much of the western Balkans to be an unspoiled, immaculate, and authentic place, please see our account (originally posted on National Geographic Open Explorer) and soon to appear as an Esri StoryMap. It was sad that Open Explorer closed, since the WBGN came into being in conjunction with the National Geographic’s geotourism initiatives of the 2000s, which defined geotourism as “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, geology, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.”

What have we learned from this raw, unexpected travel experience? Erika offers an answer. She writes: “Hidden in stone, food, and ancient trails, far from the coasts, lies the hope and heart of old Europe. And in its past lies its future; not just for the western Balkans, but for destinations around the world who struggle to maintain the balance of growth and preservation.”

Please let us know your comments, doubts, or questions about this beautiful region. We are Erika Gilsdorf, producer of the expedition, Juan Carlos Rodarte, in charge of videography and editing, and Cristina Angeles, your storyteller.

19 Lessons from 41 World Heritage Sites

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Swen Lorenz

[Above: The Roman aquaduct at Segovia, Spain. All photos by Swen Lorenz.]

Insights from a 2016 World Heritage Whirlwind

This past year I have visited 41 World Heritage sites, reaching the 38-site goal I set on my Facebook page in January 2016, plus three that I had visited before. Here are the things this mad dash to some of the world’s most incredible places taught me:

As of 2016, there were 1,052 World Heritage sites. I have now seen a total of 100 of them. The World Heritage Committee adds 10 to 30 new ones to the list each year. Seeing 41 in a year makes you realise just how many amazing places there are on this planet, and that you really don’t stand a chance ever to see them all.

They generally are darn cool! Before I visit a country, I now habitually google “World Heritage” plus the country name and look through the local list. I am two-legged evidence for the World Heritage designation being a driver of tourism.

Inside the Escurial Monastery, north of Madrid, Spain.

Architectural and cultural sites tend to be in good condition, and will probably remain in good shape because buildings are in some ways easier to protect than many natural sites.

For natural sites, I generally fear the worst, with a few exceptions. Not necessarily because I visited many this year (only two that were new to me), but because of what I hear from other sources and from having worked in such a place myself. (For 3 years I was CEO of the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galápagos Islands, the very first World Heritage site to be listed.)
Exploitation of resources, mass tourism, overpopulation—the threats to these natural sites often seem as overwhelming as the organisations working to protect them seem under-equipped and insufficiently effective.
How is it possible that in the year 2016, several large iconic species in Africa face extinction? Industrial-scale poaching of elephants, for instance. The continent has seen the worst reduction in elephant populations in 25 years. Less than 500,000 elephants still survive there, compared to 26 million in 1800. Extinction is now a real risk. If we can’t even protect elephants, what can we protect?

Before It’s Too Late . . .

Thus my number one take-away of the year: I want to see natural World Heritage sites before they get destroyed or irreversibly changed. There are 203 of them worldwide, so there’s plenty to see. I will prioritise the ones in developing countries because that’s where problems tend to be the most severe.

The other sites I want to visit sooner rather than later are the hyper-popular places that suffer from ever-increasing crowding. The Taj Mahal now gets over 100,000 visitors on some days; Venice is drowning in mass tourism to a degree that the local population has started to protest; visitor numbers at Angkor went from a few thousand in the 1990s to a staggering 2.1 million last year, etc. With these floods of visitors come McDonald’s branches, T-shirt shops, street vendors, and other annoyances that alter the character of a place. Few sites have the good governance of the Alhambra in Spain, where a strict and limited ticketing system is applied.

If there was a way to visit World Heritage Sites through virtual reality, then I would do that for some, but not for others. I hope VR will eventually be on offer. I’d pay for it. For a good number of sites already overloaded with tourists, a virtual visit may be the only way to accommodate future visitor interest.

Time to Spruce Up the World Heritage Brand

The World Heritage website of UNESCO is outdated from a user-experience perspective. I use it to check the names of sites, then research everything else elsewhere, usually starting with Wikipedia. Another useful resource is www.worldheritagesite.org, a website run by Els Slots, a volunteer enthusiast.

A neglected World Heritage sign—too common a sight.

It’s sad to see that sometimes there seems little effort put into local representation of the World Heritage brand, its message, and its mission. Sometimes you see a sign. Mostly you don’t, and if you do, it may be rusty or hard to find. Among my friends— a well-travelled, well-educated lot—my year-long anecdotal survey found that hardly anyone really knew what World Heritage does, how it functions, how it’s funded. Doesn’t bode well for this institution. There is some pretty scathing criticism out there about the entire World Heritage system, e.g. in the Guardian and the Economist.

At every single site, I would have been happy to toss $30, $50, or $100 into a hat to donate to protection efforts and support for the local community—funding with no strings attached and no questions asked. It would have just required a hat and a sign. The problem is, they rarely asked. World Heritage may be the world’s worst case of missed on-site fundraising opportunities. Based on my own research, there are many hundreds of millions of foreign visitors to World Heritage sites each year. To my knowledge no official, consolidated statistics exist. But in any case, it’s a staggering number, and that’s not even counting still greater volumes of local domestic visitors.

A burbling stream on Yakushima Island, Japan.

Folks always ask me which 38 were my favourites. In 2016, the winners were Wadi al-Hitan (“Whale Valley”) in Egypt, Lebanon’s Temples of Baalbek (at least on par with the pyramids), and Yakushima Island in Japan (beautiful natural heritage and well protected). The Alhambra and the Taj Mahal were close runner-ups. Below is my entire 2016 list of 41 sites, which came together through a mixture of personal interests, availability of cheap flights, and opportunities to combine business trips with personal pleasure.

If someone asked which sites were the worst, I’d say that actually all of them were great in some way. The nomination process administered by UNESCO is pretty solid! But I put a question mark next to the fabulous Soclet House in Brussels. It’s a private house, which kind of defeats the purpose (although it may still be opened to the public one day). Others were less spectacular than I anticipated, but had a fabulous history to discover, such as the Selimiye Mosque and its architect, Mimar Sinan.

WH Sites Need Citizen Reviews—By Visitors Who Take Time

I would have loved to feed my observations and photos into a giant database hosted by UNESCO to help them police the sites. Imagine a global army of millions of citizen observers armed with smartphones, an app, and a mission to report their observations to World Heritage HQ using short surveys and other simple mechanisms. Such citizen reviews could go into the sites’ regular evaluations and be used to improve matters (including which UNESCO signs are covered in rust and dirt and need to be polished).
By now, I understand that this idea is naïve, as the people in charge of a site probably wouldn’t want visitors to participate in such a way. It’d shine a light on all sorts of problems and force the authorities to respond publicly—or even act! If such a mobile, networked alarm system were desired, it would already be in place, given that technology and software doesn’t cost much these days and there is a growing number of philanthropic funders who’d be interested in this kind of automatisation and data collection. Sad to see a good system being so behind the curve.

My practice of rushing through these places really didn’t do them justice. Establishing a goal based on a number of sites to be visited was really quite stupid—bucket list tourism. For the most part these sites deserve spending quality time to see them. I also regret not having had more time to read a few books (old and new) about each site beforehand. Reading up on my iPhone in the taxi to a site simply isn’t good enough.

The historic center of Porto, Portugal.

On a positive note, visiting the sites quickly allowed me to identify which ones I want to read a lot more about and then re-visit. First among them is Baalbek, then anything in Egypt, followed by the Alhambra (also because Granada is a lovely gateway town that has kept its character so far. A nice place to visit in itself).

In terms of the conservation of these places, one of the coolest organisations I came across was CyArk, who are using new technologies to create a public, 3D online library of the world’s cultural heritage sites in case they get lost through natural disaster, war, etc.

If I ever need an idea on where to host the ultimate birthday party, a product launch, or a celebrity event, then the list of World Heritage sites will serve me as inspiration. Some of them are for hire.

There are probably more World Heritage sites in your own country than you’d think. At least that was the case for me in the UK: 30!

I am glad that I read up on the World Heritage Convention; it’s a fascinating system. The best book about it is from Mechtild Roessler, called Many Voices, One Vision. Expensive, but to my knowledge simply the best thing written about the subject, and goes to show what incredible intellect went into the entire system when it was created.

Here is the list of my trips this year. I posted a set of photos and some brief travel notes from each site on Facebook:

Tower of London (UK)
Maritime Greenwich (UK)
Westminster Palace (UK)
Newgrange Stone Age Passage Tomb (Ireland)
Soclet House (Belgium)
Brussels Palais (Belgium)
Pyramids of Giza (Egypt)
Wadi al Hitan / Whale Valley (Egypt)
Old Centre of Cairo (Egypt)
Agra Fort (India)
Temple of Fatephur Sikri (India)
Red Fort (India)
Taj Mahal (India)
Humayun’s Tomb (India)
Qutb Minar (India)
Ancient capital of Nara (Japan)
Yakushima Island (Japan)
Hiroshima (Japan)
Horju-yi Temple (Japan)
Itsukushima Shinto Shrine (Japan)
Gunkanjima / Battleship Island (Japan)
Temples of Baalbek (Lebanon)
Ruins of Anjar (Lebanon)
Selimiye Mosque (Turkey)
Old Town of Istanbul (Turkey)
Akropolis (Greece)
Old Town of Porto (Portugal)
Venice (Italy); not for the 1st time
Galapagos Islands (Ecuador); not for 1st time
Old Town of Quito (Ecuador); not for 1st time
Alhambra Palace (Spain)
Palau de la Musica and Hospital de Sant Pau (Spain)
Gaudi’s works of architecture (Spain)
Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct (Spain)
Old Town of Avila (Spain)
Historic City of Toledo (Spain)
Aranjuez Cultural Landscape (Spain)
Monastery and Site of the Escurial Madrid (Spain)
University of Alcale de Henares (Spain)
Historic Walled Town of Cuenca (Spain)
Old City of Salamanca (Spain)

Cuban Tourism at a Crossroads

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Lucy Matthews

[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.

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.

Two Billion Footprints: Good News Or Not?

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Jonathan Tourtellot

[Above—A two-hour wait: Tourists queue in drizzle for the cable car up Mt. Huangshan, China, a World Heritage site. Annual visitation c.4 million. Photo: Jonathan Tourtellot]

Celebrated on Sept. 27, World Tourism Day is an observance championed by the U.N. World Tourism Organization and intended to point out the value of tourism. Initiated 35 years ago, much of the impetus for World Tourism Day sprang from the desire to convince governments and industry that tourism was bigger and more important than they realized. This is understandable, because tourism is bigger and more important than almost anyone realizes. When tourism works well, it’s fun and beneficial. It boosts the economy, helps preserve cultural and natural sites, and educates the public. When it doesn’t…well, that’s the dark cloud inside the silver lining.

This year’s theme was “One billion tourists—one billion opportunities!” Nice and upbeat, but it smacks of the more-is-better boosterism led for years by an officialdom that calls for ever-increasing numbers of arrivals.

This attitude is naïvely out of date. Better to think more realistically of “One billion tourists—two billion footprints.” Tourism, counted among the very largest industries on Earth, is changing the face of the planet and posing challenges with its relentless growth.

Of all the famous malaprops attributed to the late, beloved Yogi Berra, none rings truer in the tourist world than: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

Over the past half century, international travel has increased almost 20-fold in terms of arrivals. Domestic tourism worldwide has kept pace, at four or five times the volume. Growth continues unabated, but the places all these people visit are still the same size. Resorts and vacation homes gobble up coastlines. You can see the press of numbers most clearly in the world’s great cultural sites, from Venice to Angkor to Chichén Itzá.

Early this year, I was privileged to visit Argentina’s Perito Moreno glacier, famed for steadily calving into an Andean lake. It’s in Los Glaciares National Park, a World Heritage site. It lies far, far south in Patagonia, down toward the end of the inhabited world, 1700 miles (2700 km) south of Buenos Aires. In short, not a place you’re likely to visit on the way to some other region. Yet annual visitation ranks in the hundreds of thousands, with over 600,000 people moving through the airport at the booming gateway town of El Calafate.

If we now see that much tourist traffic about as far as you can get from the human population’s center of gravity, it’s no wonder more accessible, better-known destinations are drowning in it. Florence, for example, must cope with 16 million tourists a year, many of them day-trippers who clog the streets while contributing little to the quality of the city.

World Tourism Day should now carry an additional mission. Not just: “It’s big! It’s great!” But also: “We will learn how to manage it better!” We need deeper, more meaningful and memorable travel experiences and fewer busloads armed with selfie sticks.

Another one of Yogi’s sayings was “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” That impossible ambiguity fits tourism leaders who maintain: Quantity, quality, can’t we have both?

In most cases—no, you can’t.

Americans, Get to Know World Heritage

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Jonathan Tourtellot

“UNESCO World Heritage site” is one of the best-known labels in the world—a tourist magnet—except in the United States. Many Americans know nothing of the worldwide program they helped found 40 years ago, nor that the U.S. has 21 World Heritage sites itself. (Update: See post on the Dec. 3, 2012 Congressional briefing about World Heritage at NatGeo NewsWatch.)

Montana’s Glacier National Park, a World Heritage site. (Photo: Jonathan Tourtellot)

Working with the U.S. Park Service, which administers the domestic program, the UNESCO World Heritage Center now touts a new “passport” booklet intended to help Americans get to know their own internationally recognized gems, ranging from Yosemite and Yellowstone to Taos Publo and Independence Hall. Continue reading →

Destination Stewardship Center

Extending the work of the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations.

Category Archives: World Heritage