Tourism and heritage are closely linked since the latter is the source of motivation for many trips around the world. The major international tourist destinations have a rich heritage that actively contributes to their attractiveness, and they must therefore cherish it. As the guardian of the past and the identity of destinations, its preservation is of the utmost importance. Putting heritage sites on the tourist map is therefore an ideal solution to ensure that these places do not fall into oblivion while boosting the number of visitors to a territory.
Heritage tourism is a form of tourism that allows "the discovery of places and activities that originally represent the stories and people of the past". While it has many similarities with cultural tourism, heritage tourism focuses more on the remains of the past, while cultural tourism focuses on contemporary forms of culture, such as museums.
The tourist appeal of many countries has been built on the richness of their heritage, such as France, which has no fewer than 45,991 buildings listed or registered as Historic Monuments. Aware of the profusion of heritage sites and their appeal to tourists, France created the Centre des Monuments Nationaux nearly 100 years ago to conserve, manage and open up a hundred or so monuments to visitors.
On a global scale, UNESCO is responsible for listing and preserving many sites that tell the story of our civilisation. The Organisation is thus at the origin of the creation of the World Heritage List, which currently counts 1,125 cultural, natural and mixed sites, including 36 transborder sites, spread over 167 countries throughout the world.
A major asset for tourist destinations
In order to enhance the image of European heritage on the international tourism scene, the European Union has developed the European Heritage Hub. This 2-year pilot project will take the form of a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, training and capacity building, as well as advocacy for cultural heritage stakeholders at European, national and regional levels. The aim is to foster synergies and cooperation between existing heritage initiatives and actors, and to create new ones where appropriate.
The platform will also promote policy analysis, development and advocacy, establish links with existing initiatives at EU level and launch communication and awareness-raising campaigns on the safeguarding of cultural heritage. The project will pay particular attention to attracting the younger...
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