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UNESCO training on visitor management and community participation in tourism and heritage for Latin America and the Caribbean begins in Mexico
Oaxaca, Mexico.― Representatives of World Heritage site management teams from nine countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have begun training activities to improve visitor management and community participation in tourism-related practices. This is part of a UNESCO project for the entire region, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia and with the cooperation of the Educational and Cultural Coordination of the Central American Integration System (CECC/SICA), as well as the Secretariat fo Cultures and Arts of the State of Oaxaca and the Public Works and Urban Development Department of Oaxaca's Municipality.
Tourism activities generate income for heritage sites preservation, boost local cultural and creative industries, and disseminate and promote the cultural values of cultural sites and practices.
For Latin America and the Caribbean, tourism represents about 20% of GDP, which is reasonable given the region's wealth, with 150 properties and sites inscribed on the World Heritage List and 90 elements on the lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. However, a 2% worldwide increase in international visits over pre-pandemic levels is projected.
Due to these estimates, tools are essential to avoid: the disruption of local ecosystems, the aggravation of damage to monuments and sites, the displacement of communities, gentrification, and threats to intangible cultural heritage manifestations, such as plagiarism and over-commercialization.
These are some of the challenges that UNESCO and its allies seek to mitigate, and which were addressed in the "World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism" workshop, held at the Museum of Oaxacan Painters in the capital of Oaxaca, with interventions by specialists from the region, including Mexico, and France and Norway.
During the workshop, Abdulelah Al-Tokhais, Advisor to the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, shared a community participation model for information processing and decision-making in World Heritage site management and sustainable tourism.
Johanna Devine, from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, reiterated that community participation is vital and is an action line supported by international instruments such as the 1972 World Heritage Convention and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and highlighted some recommendations such as:
measuring community sentiment regarding tourism;
establishing public assembly activities to gather opinions of communities, strategies, and proposals;
implementing mechanisms for local remuneration;
working with multiple communities, including the educational one; and
providing incentives and supporting their needs.
Tourism and travel represent about 1 in 11 jobs worldwide, and nearly 16 million new jobs will be created for the Americas region alone by 2032. So it is essential to strengthen capacities for the protection of both cultural and natural heritage, as well as intangible cultural heritage, and especially the communities that give meaning to both.
There are multiple opportunities, and Cecilie Smith-Christensen, specialist and founder of World Heritage Catalysis, a network that promotes the application of tools and new technologies for the management of sites and cultural goods, shared the Visitor Management Assessment and Strategy Tool (VMAST) to facilitate information gathering and processing for decision-making.
At the inauguration, also participated the UNESCO Representative for Cuba and the Dominican Republic, Anne Lamaistre; the UNESCO Representative in Mexico, Andrés Morales; the Secretary of Cultures and Arts of the State of Oaxaca, VÃctor Manuel Vásquez Castillejos; and the Cultural Management Coordinator of the Central American Educational and Cultural Coordination of the Central American Integration System (CEEC/SICA), Abel Aronátegui.
The countries participating in this first workshop are Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. This is part of the project: 'Latin America and the Caribbean: Capacity Building for resilient communities through sustainable tourism and heritage safeguarding'. At the end of the sessions, meetings will be held to support the World Heritage site management teams in implementing management tools and strategies, and their evaluation to identify best practices.
