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Sustainable Cultural Tourism in Historic Towns and Cities

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Sustainable Cultural Tourism in Historic Towns and CitiesThe Council of Europe invited EAHTR to produce Guidelines on sustainablecultural tourism as part of the ‘Dubrovnik Declaration’ setting out theconclusions of the international symposia, Cultural Heritage – Economic Benefitor Loss of Identity?’ held in the city of Dubrovnik in September 2006.

IntroductionCultural tourism is important to conserving and realising the value of our heritage.

It also enables cultural exchange and encourages cultural diversity to flourish. It is a route toindividual personal fulfilment and a major creator of jobs and investment. Tourism, however, is anindustry facing in many different directions and one which has both local and globalenvironmental implications – all of which bring challenges and opportunities. Reconciling thepotential conflicts between promoting both tourism and sustainability is a major policy challengefor the EU, the Council of Europe and for the leadership of historic towns and cities.


Purpose of theGuidelinesThe purpose of these guidelines is to showhow cultural tourism can be developed torealise its economic and social potential butin a more sustainable way.

The guidelines aim to achieve an integratedand consistent approach to promotingcultural tourism by:

• Raising awareness of the need to tackleissues of sustainability

• Establishing a shared framework and acommon language

• Promoting practical action.

The Guidelines are intended for useprincipally by policy makers and practitionerswithin municipalities and those governmentalagencies best placed to influence moresustainable approaches to cultural tourism.They are designed to help decision makersopenly assess their current approach and todevelop a clear plan of action relevant tolocal circumstances.

DefinitionsThe following definitions are used for theGuidelines.

• Cultural Tourism: Tourism, the principalpurpose of which is to share and enjoyphysical and intangible heritage andculture, including landscapes, buildings,collections, the arts, identity, tradition andlanguage.

• Historic towns and cities: Historic placesand areas, including villages, small towns,cities and parts of larger urban areas withsignificant cultural and heritage assets.

• Sustainability: The Guidelines are based onthe Bruntland Commission definition ofsustainable development, as developmentthat “meets the needs of the presentwithout compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs”.

Tourism and HistoricTowns – IssuesTourism is not new to historic places andmuch of their history was built around it andit continues to support them by:

• Generating economic value

• Supporting investment in heritage assets

• Supporting local facilities and services

• Sustaining local traditions, events andproducts.

Yet the impact of tourism can poseproblems for historic places, for exampledamage to both the sense of place andcultural identity. In practice tourism meansdifferent things to different places: forsome it is an aspiration, for others it is achallenge to be managed. It is alsoimportant to consider the potential ofdifferent destinations, which will vary fromplace to place.

Historic places need to consider seven keyissues in developing a more sustainableapproach to cultural tourism.

1. Defining the productThe historic place product includes, culture,heritage, attractions and facilities. Theelements must both work individually andcome together as a coherent whole tomaximise the benefit to the place and providea unique tourist experience.

2. Physical and Social ImpactsMany historic places are comparatively smalland large numbers of visitors can result incongestion, wear and tear, disturbance and asense of displacement for local people.Adapting a historic place to the demands ofthe 21st century can bring the fear ofphysical change; however, regenerationworking with tourism can often find valuablenew uses for historic buildings.


3. Retaining Distinctiveness

Historic towns and cities offer localdistinctiveness and a strong sense of placeand they need to retain these qualities if theyare to be successful in attracting high valuetourism. Properly managed tourism can helplocal people to understand and value what isdistinctive about their place.

4. Resources and Climate Change

Cultural tourism cannot afford to ignore itspotential impacts on resources, the widerenvironment and climate change. However,there is an opportunity for business anddestinations to develop more environmentallyfriendly products and practices.

5. Optimise Benefits

Historic places face the challenge of trying tooptimise the benefits of tourism, for example,by attracting inward investment. What mosthistoric places will seek is discerning, highspending visitors staying longer throughoutthe year.

6. Competition

Europe’s historic places face globalcompetition; they cannot afford to becomplacent and they need to understandhow the markets are changing. Delivering ahigh quality experience to overseas anddomestic visitors is central to remainingcompetitive.

7. Support and Funding

Despite the importance of tourism it oftenhas a low political priority. The consequenceis that many historic places receiveinsufficient resources to ensure productquality and distinctiveness and establishproactive destination management.

Principles forSustainableCultural TourismThe content of the high levelframeworks in the Charters listed inAppendix 1 has been assessed. Theprinciples set out below reflectcommon themes that emerge fromthis assessment and should guide anintegrated approach to sustainablecultural tourism. The principles ofsustainable cultural tourism are that:

1. Climate change is a critical globalissue and priority should be givento forms of cultural tourism thatreduce carbon emissions, conserverare and precious resources, inparticular water and energy, andavoid waste production.

2. Municipalities should attach anintrinsic value to the culture andheritage of historic towns andcities over and above theirimportance as tourism assets.

3. Authenticity, distinctiveness andthe rights and beliefs of localcultures should be respected andunderpin approaches to culturaltourism.

4. Tourism is an economicallyimportant activity and culturaltourism should contribute to anoverall programme of sustainabledevelopment.


5. Cultural and heritage assets shouldbe conserved and cultural tourismshould contribute to achieving this.

6. The needs of the local communityare critical and cultural tourismshould be agreed and owned by thehost community and the aspirationsfor it communicated to visitors.

7. Equity is important to long termsustainability and cultural tourismshould aim to provide benefitsequitably to the local community.

8. Effective management anddevelopment requires coordinatedaction and all local stakeholders,including municipal governments,local communities and businesses,must be involved in thedevelopment of cultural tourism.

9. Cultural tourism must respond to theneeds of visitors and aim to deliver ahigh quality visitor experience.

10. The impact of tourism should bereflected in prices to consumers andproducers, prices reflecting the realcost to society and the environment.

11. Cultural tourism will be built aroundmore sustainable transport to, withinand from the destination.

12. The management and developmentof cultural tourism should beresponsive to change.

The complexity of cultural tourism andplaces means that it will rarely be possibleto comply with all of the principles. It is amatter of balance and each place mustseek the position that is right for it.

Taking the issues underlying theseprinciples, a structured approach tosustainable cultural tourism can bedefined by considering:

• Visitors – their needs, aspirations andwellbeing

• Industry – the need for tourismbusinesses to be profitable

• Community – respecting the valuesand quality of life of the local people

• Environment – conserving culturaland physical environments,

A critical challenge for historic places isto decide on the relative priority to begiven to each of the components. Thepriority will vary from place to place andover time – the interaction betweenplace and cultural tourism is alwaysdynamic, see Figure 1.

Visitors

Community

IndustryEnvironment

Figure 1 The interests of visitors,industry the community and theenvironment overlap


A framework for actionGuidelines for action need to flow from theprinciples set out on pages 4-5. An effectiveframework requires an integrated approachto: developing a position statement; objectivesand policies; processes; delivery and action;and well as a basis for appraisal.

Municipalities are encouraged to use thecheck list of questions below as aframework for the creation of an ActionPlan that meets the needs of their locality.Answers to the questions posed need to bebased on a self critical open assessment of thecircumstances prevailing and will benefit fromindependent evaluation and support.

Position StatementSustainable cultural tourism requires carefulplanning and management. Achieving thisdemands a clear starting point provided by arigorous position statement to establish:

a. The key cultural assets of the placeb. The current profile of tourism to theplace

c. The social, economic and political factorsshaping attitudes towards tourism

d. Regional, national and internationaltourism trends.

Objectives and Policiesa. Is there a consistent local vision,objectives, strategy and policyframework for cultural tourismagreed at the heart of corporatemunicipal government?

b. Is the strategy joined up with regionaland national policy?

c. Does the framework include a culturaltourism strategy, destinationmanagement plan and inclusion oftourism issues in land use andtransport planning policies?

d. Does the policy framework :

i. Take a long-term view?

ii. Ensure a holistic and integrated approachacross the full range of multidisciplinaryactivities?

iii. Have a foundation on robust, objectiveevidence and an understanding ofculture, heritage, tourism and tourists?

iv. Manage risk and adopt the precautionaryprinciple?

v. Include provision for review based onmonitoring?

Processesa. Are all stakeholders, including residents,businesses, politicians and heritage andinterest groups responsible for thestewardship of the place, engaged inthe development of the objectives andpolicies and the subsequent delivery ofmore sustainable tourism?

b. Are there measures to developeffective decision making througheducation and training for policymakers and decision takers?

c. Does the approach to developinglocal engagement include:

i. Establishing formal or informal inter-agency delivery partnerships?

ii. Use of a Tourism Forum to facilitate anongoing dialogue with the hostcommunity?

iii. Use of local guides and volunteers?

Guidelines for Sustainable Cultural Tourism:


iii. Encourage community businesses basedon marketing locally distinctive products?

iv. Encourage businesses that invest intraining and skills to provide jobs for localpeople?

c. In developing sustainable products, isthere a focus on:

i. Attractions that are built on the inherentstrengths of the area and which reinforcedistinctiveness and identity?

ii. Complementing the inherent qualities ofthe place where there is pressure todiversify the product(s)?

iii. Products that are identified anddeveloped by the local community –community based tourism – and providethem with a direct income?

iv. Using tourism creatively to find new ways ofviably and flexibly reusing historic buildings?

v. Sourcing local goods and materials thatbenefit local people?

vi. Services and products with small carbonfootprints?

Appraisala. As culture, heritage and tourism arenot static, is the approach tosustainable cultural tourism subject tofundamental regular review,dependent on the rate of change,usually at not more than five yearintervals?

b. In order to provide evidence for policydevelopment and investmentdecisions, are tools and methodologiesdeveloped continually to:

i. Measure the local quantitative dimensions– volume and value – of tourism?

ii. Assess the physical and social impacts andother qualitative aspects of tourism?

c. Do you regularly review best practiceto learn from the experience of otherdestinations?

Delivery and Actiona. Do the steps towards establishing asustainable destination:

i. Include a clear understanding of whatlocal products and markets are to bedeveloped and what are to be managed?

ii. Ensure that marketing and mediaexposure is objective and aimed atpotential cultural tourists, who have a realinterest in visiting the destination for itsinherent qualities?

iii. Use destination management techniquesto balance demand and capacity bymanaging/restricting access to sensitivesites and spread the visitor load bothspatially, temporally and considerlengthening the stay?

iv. Use interpretation carefully to celebratethe distinctive culture, heritage anddiversity of the place?

v. Establish mechanisms to ensure that aproportion of the economic benefitaccruing from tourism is reinvested in theculture and heritage of the place?

vi. Actively promote the use of sustainabletransport, including cycling, walking andpublic transport, locally and for access,and charging accordingly?

vii. Meet visitor needs for services, information,comfort, stimulation and safety?

viii. Provide advance information to visitors toplan their visit effectively and encourageappropriate and sustainable behaviourand transport use?

ix. Respect diversity and meet the needs ofminority groups and mobility impaired people?

b. Do steps to support and developsustainable businesses,

i. Favour businesses with good long-termprospects that are rooted in the inherentstrengths of the destination?

ii. Encourage businesses that takeconservation and communityengagement seriously and show strongcorporate social responsibility?


Process OverviewThese guidelines embody the fact that places and cultural tourism are not static, but exist inrelationships that affect each other. Figure 2 summarises the principles and guidelines as a process.

CONTEXT FACTORS• Key cultural assets• Current Tourism• Local drivers• External tourism trends

POSITIONSTATEMENT

OBJECTIVES ANDPOLICIES• Vision• Policy

PROCESSES• Stakeholders• Decision making• Local engagement

DELIVERY AND ACTION• Destination• Business• Products

APPRAISAL• Respond to change• Monitoring tools• Best practice

PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLECULTURAL TOURISM

Figure 2 Sustainable cultural tourism – a dynamic process

In applying the Guidelines it is important to consider the relationship with the visitor. Figure 3 setsout a simplified form of a visitor journey that embraces the thinking behind this framework. Eachstep has a counterpart in the principles and guidelines and is important in ensuring that theobjectives are realised on the ground.

Figure 3 Sustainable cultural tourism and the visitor journey (with acknowledgements to TourismSite Network)

Pre visit images and

messagesPre visit informationemphasises unique

place

Journey todestination by

sustainable modes

Welcome/gatewaydefining the unique

place

Sustainableinfrastructure andenvironment

Cultural andheritage attractions

Locally generatedservices and products

Cultural and heritageinformation indestination

Aftervisit contact,memories and

transmitted messages

Farewell and returnjourney

Engagement withculture heritage andthe community

Park and ride contributes towards more sustainabletransport for visitors in historic towns and cities

Action PlanAll of the preceding stages should bebrought together in a SustainableCultural Tourism Action Plan.

This has seven main steps:

Endorse the Principles throughadoption as corporate policy

Establish a stakeholder group of allkey interests in the community

Prepare a collective PositionStatement

Assess the current position againstthe Guidelines

Agree actions, resources andtimetable

Implement proposals

Monitor and review

The production of a Sustainable CulturalTourism Action Plan will benefit from adegree of independent support workingin partnership with the municipality andlocal stakeholders. EAHTR is able to offeradvice and in some circumstancesconsultancy support.to draw in expertiseand examples of good practice elsewhere.

1

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4

5

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ConclusionsCultural tourism is an important part of theEuropean economy; and there is a compellingcase for safeguarding European culturalheritage. The principles and guidelines set outhere aim to provide a consistent frameworkfor decision making by municipalities leadingto the delivery of more sustainable culturaltourism at the local level. The Guidelines donot ignore the broader environmental issues,but seek to show how actions towards moresustainable tourism can be taken locally in thecontext of that bigger picture.

A Community stakeholder meeting, Regensburg, Germany


Appendix

Existing Guidelines These Guidelines do not exist in a vacuum. In addition to the Agenda for a sustainable andcompetitive European Tourism1, other charters and guidelines for sustainable tourism include:

• International Cultural Tourism Charter – Managing Tourism at Places of Heritage Significance,19992

• World Tourism Organisation Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, 19993

• The Burra Charter, ICOMOS Australia, 19994

• The Malta Declaration on Cultural Tourism: Its Encouragement and Control, Eupopa Nostra, 20065

• The Dubrovnik Declaration, Council of Europe, 20066

AcknowledgmentsEAHTR established an international multi disciplinary workinggroup. The group was led by Brian Human (BRH Associates) andcomprised David Bruce (Walled Towns Friendship Circle),Anthony Climpson (New Forest District Council), Michele Grant(L&R Consulting), Peter Lane (Planet PLC), Professor RobertMaitland (University of Westminster), Duncan McCallum (EnglishHeritage) and Matthias Ripp (World Heritage Management,Regensburg).The Work was funded by EAHTR from the EUCulture Programme.

1 Agenda for a sustainable and competitive European Tourism, Brussels, 19.10.2007 COM(2007) 621 final

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2007:0621:FIN:EN:PDF

2 http://www.icomos.org/tourism/charter.html

3 http://www.unep.org/bpsp/Tourism/WTO%20Code%20of%20Conduct.pdf

4 http://www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/burracharter.html

5 http://www.europanostra.org/OS/lang_en/index.html

6 https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1044795&BackColorInternet=e0cee1&BackColorIntranet=e0cee1&BackColorLogged=FFC679


ContactsThe Secretary GeneralEuropean Association of Historic Towns and RegionsThe Guildhall, Gaol HillNorwich NR2 1JSUnited Kingdom

Telephone +44 1603 496400Mobile +44 7799 885671Fax +44 1603 496417Email [email protected]

About EAHTR• The European Association of Historic Towns and Regions (EAHTR) was formed as part of theCouncil of Europe’s initiative ‘Europe – A Common Heritage, in October 1999. EAHTR aims topromote the interests of Europe’s historic cities through: -

o International co-operation between heritage organisations and historic townso Sharing experience and good practice between historic townso Promoting vitality, viability and sustainable management of historic towns and cities

Activities• Since its inception EAHTR has organised, or helped organise, 12 international Symposia inRussia, Finland, Malta, Turkey, Italy (2), UK (2), Sweden, Croatia and Poland.

• EAHTR leads and /or participates in European projects as a key means of exploring issuesrelevant to historic cities particularly in terms of the social, environmental and economicimportance of investing in cultural heritage. We provide funding information to members andhelp establish project partnerships.

• EAHTR has recently established a programme of guidelines for local and regional authorities.The first of these is “Sustainable Cultural Tourism in Historic Towns and Cities”.

• EAHTR is committed to facilitating ‘knowledge’ transfer both at city and individual levels. Forexample we fund short ‘secondments’ for staff between member cities on key issues relevantto our work and organise study visits to member cities to share experience.

• EAHTR has established ‘Heritage Zone’ - a dedicated social networking site for heritageprofessionals and other interested individuals. See www.heritagezone.net

Membership• EAHTR has members in 28 European Countries and through its membership arrangementsrepresents over 1000 historic towns and cities. Membership is open to towns, cities, regions,associations, academic institutions and individuals.

• Membership details and further information can be found on EAHTR’s web site: www.historic-towns.org

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