Heritage and Tourism in the Global Village

Tourism is now a global phenomenon set to become the world’s largest industry and already crucial to many national and local economies. To a great extent it feeds off heritage - from monuments and treasures to indigenous cultures, ideas and images. How can heritage sites be protected from, yet still enjoyed by, ever-increasing numbers of tourists? Various heritages are now presented to a wide range of culturally-differentiated tourists and armchair travellers. How does and should the interpreter give meaning to structures, artefacts and ideas for global villagers with different backgrounds, motivations and expectations? Drawing on a wide range of examples from round the world, including Paris, Hawaii, national parks and world heritage sites, Nazi artefacts and “1492’, the book specifies both good and bad practice. It pleads for greater understanding of the nature of heritage and tourism, in order to generate better understanding of the global condition.