Steffen Fagernes Johannessen, Juliana Strogan, Vicky Katarina Mikalsen, Inger Birkeland and Audhild Kennedy
This paper presents participants' experiences of the collaborative process. The paper introduces the World Heritage Site and presents the central learning outcomes of a process…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper presents participants' experiences of the collaborative process. The paper introduces the World Heritage Site and presents the central learning outcomes of a process through which researchers and practitioners sought to develop an empirically-grounded, site-specific and practice-led research agenda relevant to World Heritage management. The purpose of this paper is to discuss an approach to improving collaboration between researchers and practitioners in the World Heritage field.
Design/methodology/approach
From September 2021 to April 2022, a research-practice team comprised of social scientists and managers of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site in Norway participated in a capacity-building pilot initiative under the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership programme. Bringing researchers and practitioners together in a joint collaborative process, the Heritage Place Lab (HPL) pilot programme aimed to function as an incubator for developing research agendas for World Heritage Sites.
Findings
The paper demonstrates that close collaboration between heritage researchers and practitioners can benefit World Heritage Sites, offering managers valuable inputs for informed and inclusive decision-making. In the case of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, an improved understanding of the diversities in local values would benefit management, as existing management issues underpin the site's complexity. Furthermore, fruitful collaborations between heritage researchers and World Heritage managers depend on an overlapping and reflexive understanding of central concepts. This can be achieved through collaborative research-practice processes but is likely to require careful time management.
Originality/value
Focussing on the collaborative process between World Heritage researchers and practitioners, and using additional information for comparable World Heritage examples obtained online, this paper shows how research interests and management challenges can be developed and aligned more successfully through cooperation and improved communication over time. Beyond the specific results for the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, the broader discussion presented on the challenges and importance of addressing the complexities of managing heritage sites will be valuable for other World Heritage Sites and managers.
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There is evidence of emerging silos separating research and practices in heritage. Creating spaces where researchers and practitioners collaborate and learn from their exchanges…
Abstract
Purpose
There is evidence of emerging silos separating research and practices in heritage. Creating spaces where researchers and practitioners collaborate and learn from their exchanges is therefore needed. This premise was the foundation of the pilot phase for the World Heritage Leadership Heritage Place Lab that allowed eight teams from different geocultural contexts to come together to develop research agendas. This paper provides observations about how these agendas relate to key strands in critical heritage research globally. It complements the other papers in this Special Issue that describe the case studies in detail.
Design/methodology/approach
A keywords approach has been used to identify areas where shared research agendas can advance both heritage practices and academic interest in the field of heritage studies. This was based on the observations made by the author during the pilot phase of the Heritage Place Lab and the research agendas produced by the research-practice teams. The approach is exploratory and experimental, inviting other contributions.
Findings
Twenty keywords are identified and explored via both academic literature and the research priorities identified by the research-practice teams that participated in the pilot.
Originality/value
A keywords approach is relatively untested in the field of heritage studies. Recognizing that commonly-used terms (or words) have fluid meanings across disciplines and practices potentially opens new dimensions to the dialogue between heritage practitioners and researchers.
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Judith Herrmann and Christina Cameron
This paper is based on a presentation given at the international World Heritage expert meeting on criterion (vi) held in Warsaw, Poland, in March 2012. Results were updated and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is based on a presentation given at the international World Heritage expert meeting on criterion (vi) held in Warsaw, Poland, in March 2012. Results were updated and adapted to scientific standards. The purpose of this paper is to understand the associative dimension in World Heritage by looking at the evolution and application of criterion (vi).
Design/methodology/approach
For this paper, historical and qualitative approaches were combined. An understanding of the evolution of the criterion (vi) wording was gained through historical analysis and the consultation of relevant World Heritage statutory documents. A selected number of criterion (vi) statements were analyzed in qualitative terms. Results were then discussed in relation to the evolution of criterion (vi) wording and the understanding of pertinent World Heritage concepts.
Findings
Criterion (vi) holds a special position. It addresses an associative dimension of cultural World Heritage sites. Due to its special character, its wording was subject to several changes. While its wording became ever more flexible, this development has not fostered the inscription of exceptional cases or the equal use of cultural associations. An inconsistent interpretation has also weakened the concept of Outstanding Universal Value.
Research limitations/implications
Only inscriptions were taken into consideration. They usually have a World Heritage Committee approved criterion (vi) statement. Limitations to this research result from this restriction.
Originality/value
The paper represents a comprehensive study of the application and interpretation of criterion (vi) that combines the understanding of the evolution of the criterion’s wording with the analysis of a large number of World Heritage inscriptions. It is of interest to the World Heritage community and contributes to the World Heritage discourse.
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Anda F. Pforr and Christof Pforr
Heritage is widely regarded as an integral constituent of modern tourism and, accordingly, many destinations aspire to gain United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural…
Abstract
Heritage is widely regarded as an integral constituent of modern tourism and, accordingly, many destinations aspire to gain United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage (WH) status. However, uncontrolled influxes of tourists, ongoing management challenges, competing interests amongst stakeholders and decision-makers, as well as the politicisation of regulatory processes, all threaten to undermine the implied protection of WH inscription. Adopting a ‘wicked problems’ lens effectively elucidates the complex, diverse, and interconnected nature of the WH Convention’s governance structure and how this impact and influences the management of WH Sites.
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This paper aims to examine a conflict between local élites and local forest workers in relation to the designation of Kumano Kodo in Japan as a World Heritage site. Aesthetics of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine a conflict between local élites and local forest workers in relation to the designation of Kumano Kodo in Japan as a World Heritage site. Aesthetics of landscapes are highly politicized, which creates conflicts for forest workers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study examines two concepts of “heritage” and “authenticity,” that World Heritage emphasizes. Types of authenticity are compared, and a post‐structuralist's model of authenticity is developed. The study uses empirical research data to show a process of authentication of tourist sites.
Findings
The value associated with World Heritage, while proclaimed as “universal value”, represents a Eurocentric hegemonic power that local élites use symbolically. The construction of Kumano Kodo as a World Heritage site entails masking local histories and memories.
Originality/value
Many scholars discuss heritage sites from the viewpoint of a conflict between nationalism and globalism. This paper, however, views heritage tourism from multiple perspectives, such as globalism, cosmopolitanism and localism.
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Ana Pereira Roders and Ron van Oers
This article aims to introduce the special issue of the journal Facilities on “World Heritage cities management”, together with the respective articles.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to introduce the special issue of the journal Facilities on “World Heritage cities management”, together with the respective articles.
Design/methodology/approach
This introduction addresses the topic of world Heritage cities management and its relevance to science and society. In so doing, it indirectly points to the emerging field of cultural heritage management within facilities management.
Findings
Even though the management of cultural heritage assets is nothing new for facilities managers, cultural heritage management as a field of research can be considered at a younger stage of development than other related studies, such as the discipline of architectural conservation, which originated in the nineteenth century with the advent of modernity. The application of management practices to immovable cultural heritage assets emerged as recently as the 1990s. At a time in which the role of culture and heritage in processes of sustainable development is gaining more ground, this special issue can be seen as the first of more contributions to come, which aim to enhance the conservation and management of cultural heritage assets for the benefit of present and future generations.
Originality/value
This paper aims to make a contribution to the growing field of cultural heritage management and is of use to facilities managers, scholars and consultants who have responsibilities but limited knowledge in this field.
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The purpose of this paper is to attempt to provide a critical assessment of the trajectory and nature of the production of knowledge on cultural heritage on the Arab world. This…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to attempt to provide a critical assessment of the trajectory and nature of the production of knowledge on cultural heritage on the Arab world. This evaluation of the discipline or field of cultural heritage will focus on both a historic evolution and on current practices in order to understand the nature and politics of that evolution.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach and research methodology adopted for this paper depends primarily on a long-term critical literature review and content analysis that took place over the past 25 years concerning key reports, journal articles, books and other publications on cultural heritage on the Arab world.
Findings
The paper's main findings centers on presenting current practices/production on cultural heritage which are divided into two categories in terms of production of knowledge: an abundant engagement with a technical sphere dominated with concern for documentation and conservation technology of cultural heritage; and a scarce engagement with epistemological and theoretical spheres that delves into processes of cultural heritage definition, consumption and continuity in the Arab world.
Originality/value
The paper attempts to engage in and commence a much-needed wider discussion on the historical transformation concerning knowledge production on cultural heritage in the Arab world and its related practices and processes. The paper emphasizes the significance of this engagement with theoretical spheres of conservation and calls for an expansion of such engagement in order to elevate the discourse and debate on cultural heritage in the Arab world.
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The World Heritage Convention has reached a milestone, and this year, in 2022, it is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The aim of this article is to review whether and how the…
Abstract
Purpose
The World Heritage Convention has reached a milestone, and this year, in 2022, it is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The aim of this article is to review whether and how the goals of the strategic action plan (SAP) for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (2012–2022) have been reached.
Design/methodology/approach
This article starts by considering the outcomes for three of the SAP goals, dealing with protection and management; the credibility of the World Heritage List and sustainable development, using additional information from the final implementation report of the SAP (UNESCO, 2021a), which provides key performance indicators and the implementation status for each goal and associated outcomes. This article then compares and contrasts available data, trends and examples to provide more in-depth analyses of the implementation of the three goals. Data have been gathered from my own research and from the work of other academics and practitioners.
Findings
The article finds several key positive changes, including the recent revisions of the Operational Guidelines to include provisions from the 2015 UNESCO Policy on World Heritage and Sustainable Development. However, a number of concerning or worsening trends relating to the protection and management of the World Heritage List, its increasing lack of credibility and sustainable development make it difficult to conclude that the implementation of the goals has been positive. The article concludes with suggestions for addressing these issues.
Originality/value
This paper fills a gap, as not much has yet been published on the state of implementation of the Convention at 50 years old.
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Elizabeth Halpenny, Shintaro Kono and Farhad Moghimehfar
World Heritage sites (WHS) can play an important role in promoting visitation to emerging and remote destinations. Guided by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
World Heritage sites (WHS) can play an important role in promoting visitation to emerging and remote destinations. Guided by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study aims to investigate factors that predict intentions to visit WHS.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey questionnaires were used to collect data from visitors (n = 519) to four Western North American WHS. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to identify three reflective models (attitude toward visiting World Heritage, perceived behavioural control and intention to visit WHS in the future), three formative models (attitude toward World Heritage designation, social influence (subjective norms) to visit World Heritage and World Heritage tourism brand equity) and a structural model.
Findings
World Heritage tourism brand equity and social influence were strong positive predictors of intentions to visit WHS in the future. Attitudes towards World Heritage designation, followed by World Heritage travel attitudes and perceived behavioural control, were progressively weaker, yet positive predictors. However, the latter two concepts’ impact was negligible.
Originality/value
This study addresses four deficiencies in tourism studies: TPB studies have failed to find consistent predictors of intentions to visit destinations; very few studies have attempted to verify the factors that predict visitation to WHS, despite the opportunities and costs that can arise from WHS-related tourism; few studies of tourists’ perceptions of World Heritage and related WHS travel intentions have been conducted in North America; and PLS-SEM was used to perform statistical methods not commonly used in tourism studies including formative models, importance-performance mapping and confirmatory tetrad analysis.
研究目的
世界遗址(WHS)对于提高新兴和偏远地区的游览率起到重要作用。本论文以计划行为理论(TPB)为理论基础,研究游览WHS的动机因素。
研究设计/方法/途径
本论文采用问卷采样形式,519名游览四个美国西北部WHS公园的游客为问卷样本。本论文采用偏最小二乘回归(PLS-SEM)分析数据,(a) 确立三个反应性测量模型(WHS游览态度、感知行为控制、未来WHS游览意向),(b) 确立三个形成性测量模型(WHS游览态度、WHS游览的社会影响力(主观规范)、以及WHS旅游品牌资产),以及(c) 验证一个结构模型。
研究结果
世界遗产旅游品牌资产和社会影响力是未来游览WHS意向的有效动力。世界遗产目的地的态度,由世界遗产旅游态度和感知行为控制所主导,也有着对未来游览WHS意向的积极促进作用,但是作用相对较弱。然而,世界遗产旅游态度和感知行为控制并未发现对未来游览WHS意向有直接决定作用。
研究原创性/价值
本论文弥补了旅游研究中的四大不足:(a) TPB研究未能找出旅游目的地游览意向的一致的决定因素; (b) 几乎没有文献试图验证WHS游览意向决定因素,尽管这将对WHS相关旅游业的机遇和成本控制有着重大意义; (c) 有关世界遗产和相关WHS旅游意向的研究还尚未在北美地区开枝散叶; (d) 本论文借用PLS-SEM方法来分析数据,包括验证形成性测量模型、重要性-绩效画图分析法、以及四分子分析法等,这在旅游文献中不常见。
关键词
品牌态度,世界遗产,旅游意向,TPB,品牌资产,品牌忠诚度
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José Luis Alfaro-Navarro and María Encarnación Andrés-Martínez
Being awarded world heritage status is a distinguishing factor when it comes to promoting tourism in a city. Tourism in these cities should be developed in a way that does not…
Abstract
Purpose
Being awarded world heritage status is a distinguishing factor when it comes to promoting tourism in a city. Tourism in these cities should be developed in a way that does not compromise either the city’s heritage or the inhabitants' quality of life. Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of a European city achieving world heritage status on the subjective quality of life of its citizens.
Design/methodology/approach
First of all, we classify European cities according to whether or not they have been declared world heritage sites. Then, we analyze the effect of this classification on the main aspects used to measure the residents' perception of quality of life that are available in the Flash Eurobarometer 419.
Findings
The results show that achieving world heritage status has a negative effect on residents' perceptions of the noise level, air quality and feeling of safety. However, it does not affect their perceptions of public transport or cleanliness. In addition, world heritage status positively affects residents’ perceptions of the cultural activities in the city and their ease of finding a job. Residents report high levels of happiness in both world heritage and non-heritage cities, although levels are somewhat higher in non-heritage cities.
Originality/value
Residents' perceptions of the influence of tourism on their quality of life are undoubtedly of major importance; however, due to a lack of available data, few studies have examined this subjective quality of life at the city level.