Developing tourism as a way to sustain heritage

Francesco Bandarin

As government resources used to manage cultural heritage are set to decline in the near future, the former director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, Francesco Bandarin, has suggested that tourism be used as a way to effectively sustain heritage.
Speaking at a panel session on “Creative Tourism: New Engine of Economy,” held yesterday at the BOAO Asia Development Forum, which took place between Sunday and today, Mr Bandarin recalled that, “resources that have been made available for heritage are decreasing, and there’s no way that in the future we can count on the same amount of resources that governments have made available in the past for heritage management.”
Mr Bandarin, who teaches Urban Planning at the School of Architecture of Venice, Italy, added that, “there’s a financial crisis ahead and tourism is the only possibility – if we can manage it and effectively turn it into something positive – to sustain heritage in the future.”
He believes that this is a pressing matter that should be addressed in order to improve the relationship between tourism and heritage.
According to Mr Bandarin, tourism is one of the fastest growing industries across the world, generating a huge turnover due to global mobility and the desire among people worldwide to explore new places. However, he stressed that the impact of tourism also poses challenges to different nations, particularly when it comes to the management of cultural heritage.
“Tourism is a fantastic human experience, but I also see it as a potential threat. There are two sides to it. One side is that it brings economic development and this region of the world in particular has seen enormous development,” he recalled.
At the same time, he added that countries have to deal with environmental, historical and social changes prompted by tourism. According to Mr Bandarin, “we have not yet invented good resources which could make heritage and tourism two compatible entities.”
The professor said that many discussions and policies have been held to balance the demand for tourism and cultural heritage management. However, not all of these discussions have been successful, and therefore governments should look for solutions elsewhere. In his opinion, the cultural industries sector could help rebalance the cost and benefits of tourism.
The director of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, described a set of challenges Macau is currently facing as it strives to become a World Center for Tourism and Leisure.
Carrying capacity, for instance, is one of them. Macau receives millions of tourists, all of whom tend to visit the same areas, namely its historic and World Heritage sites. She also recalled that the image of Macau is still very much influenced by casinos.
“We are trying to present a more balanced view as a place where tourism products are diversified and we have different things to attract people to come and engage in different activities,” she said.
Another challenge is the single source market, as Macau attracts mainly mainland Chinese visitors. “We are also trying to attract more international visitors to make Macau a real World Center for Tourism and Leisure,” she recalled.
Ms Fernandes stressed that the city has been addressing these challenges by promoting new tourism routes that take visitors to other parts of town while also developing community tourism. Furthermore, she said that the department is now exploring evening entertainment in different areas of town so as to encourage visitors to stay longer.
The BOAO Asia Development Forum is jointly organized by the BOAO Forum for Asia, Macau Youth Federation and the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).

Tourism master plan to be completed in one and a half years

The director of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), Helena de Senna Fernandes, revealed yesterday that Macau’s tourism development master plan will be completed in about a year and a half. Speaking at the BAOA Asia Development Forum, she stated that, “the tender just closed and we are now on the edge of awarding it. It will take around one and a half years to finish the entire master plan.” The plan is intended to outline strategies which will allow Macau to become “accessible to the world,” and to diversify its tourism products.