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Part I
Heritage issues and challenges in developing regions
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1
Introduction
Heritage tourism and the less-developed world
People visiting cultural and historical resources is one of the largest, most pervasive, and fastest growing sectors of the tourism industry today. In fact, heritage tourism appears to be growing much faster than all other forms of tourism, particularly in the developing world, and is thus viewed as an important potential tool for poverty alleviation and community economic development (UNWTO 2005). Heritage tourism typically relies on living and built elements of culture and refers to the use of the tangible and intangible past as a tourism resource. It encompasses existing cultures and folkways of today, for they too are inheritances from the past; other immaterial heritage elements, such as music, dance, language, religion, foodways and cuisine, artistic traditions, and festivals; and material vestiges of the built cultural environment, including monuments, historic public buildings and homes, farms, castles and cathedrals, museums, and archeological ruins and relics. Although the heritage industry has in the past focused overwhelmingly on the patrimony of the privileged (e.g., castles, cathedrals, stately homes), there is now widespread acknowledgment and acceptance of everyday landscapes that depict the lives of ordinary people: families, farmers, factory workers, miners, fishers, women and children (Timothy and Boyd 2006a).
There is recognition in tourism studies in general, and heritage tourism in particular, that tourism and its impacts, constraints, and management implications are different in the developing world from conditions in the developed world. These differences are underscored principally by differences in economics; politics, power and empowerment; colonialism; conservation/preservation practices; social mores; cultural vitality; gender and socio-economic disparities; urbanization; and legislative engagement, among others (Britton 1982; Harrison 1992; Huybers 2007; Mowforth and Munt 1998; Oppermann and Chon 1997; Timothy 1999). These differences are especially perceptible in the realm of heritage tourism and its impacts (Berger 1996; Bruner 1996; Evans 1998; Leung 2001; Timothy and Boyd 2003, 2006a; Wager 1995).
In spite of the growing interest in this area, the body of knowledge is young, and there still remains a dearth of consolidated research on the dynamics of cultural heritage tourism in the developing regions of the world. This knowledge is vital for the preservation of heritage and the longevity of tourism in those destinations. This book aims to address the issues that are unique to the developing world, as well as the matters that overlap with the more developed parts of the globe. It aims to discuss much of what is known about heritage tourism in the less-developed world and to examine and challenge the existing paradigms, concepts, and practices related to cultural heritage tourism. It provides a global overview of the most critical issues facing heritage managers and heritage destinations in less-developed countries, including opportunities and prospects for developing heritage-based tourism.
Developing countries and heritage tourism
From a socio-economic perspective, the world has been, and continues to be, divided into developed and developing countries, sometimes referred to as the “haves” and “have-nots,” the “North” and “South” (because of the high concentration of poorer countries in the southern hemisphere), “industrialized” versus “non-industrialized,” or “more-developed” (MDCs) and “less-developed” (LDCs) states of the world. Such designations are fraught with definitional problems, as the earth continues to be a dynamic place, and many less-developed countries continue to progress on paths of development and modernization. Some nations hardly fit within the basic framework of developed and developing countries, such as a few in Eastern Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and South America. These, according to Hobbs (2009), might best be considered “newly industrializing countries,” although they all share fairly common socio-economic characteristics that define their level of development.
While there is no absolute or universally accepted set of criteria to determine where a country lies on the spectrum of development, the world community and development agencies have identified several variables that permit the distinction between the more-developed and less-developed portions of the world. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) or per capita gross national income (GNI) are among the most important indicators. Another related indicator that is more revealing in actual terms is annual per capita gross national income purchasing power parity (GNI PPP), which takes into account GNI (GDP plus money from abroad) and differences between countries in the relative prices of goods and services (Hobbs 2009). The disparities between wealthy and poor countries are quite remarkable. According to the Population Reference Bureau (2008), the average GNI PPP in MDCs in 2007 was US$31,200, while in LDCs, the average was US$4,760. The wealthiest country, according to this index, is Luxembourg, where the per capita annual GNI PPP was approximately US$64,400. The poorest two countries, according to this per capita index, are Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose GNI PPP were both measured at US$290 in 2007.
The human development index (HDI) is another indicator that measures the average achievement of countries in three basic dimensions of human development, including a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living (UNDP 2008). These are measured by life expectancy at birth, adult literacy and combined gross enrollment in education, and per capita GDP. It is argued that the concept of the HDI is much broader than simple GDP. This criterion divides countries into three categories, high, medium, and low human development, and helps compare and monitor long-term trends in human development. According to the 2008 Human Development Index report (UNDP 2008), Iceland (0.968), Norway (0.968) Australia (0.961), and Canada (0.961) rank the highest, and Sierra Leone (0.336), Burkina Faso (0.370), Guinea-Bissau (0.374), and Niger (0.374) rank the lowest.
Other development indicators include, but are not limited to, birth rate, infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy rates, urban versus rural populations, levels of energy use, industrial versus service economies (de Blij and Muller 2006). Table 1.1 shows several of these indicators and their characteristics in relation to the level of development.
Many historical, socio-economic, geographical, and political factors come into play in determining the level and rate of development of any given country. Climate has long been seen as a determiner of human behavior and capability, with extreme climatic conditions being disadvantageous to growing nutritious crops in adequate abundance to support a population (de Blij and Muller 2006; Semenov and Porter 1995). Historically, people in tropical areas have tended to be less productive and poorer than people living in colder climates because of their vulnerability to heat and diseases, which is true even in the twenty-first century as the South is less affluent than the North (Landes 1998). Natural resource advantages and their distribution are also often cited as reasons why places develop or remain in an underdeveloped state (Pearce
Table 1.1 Characteristics of developed and developing countries
| Traits | Developed countries (MDCs) | Developing countries (LDCs) |
| Per capita GDP and income | High | Low |
| Percentage of population employed in manufacturing | High | Low |
| Energy use | High | Low |
| Percentage of population living in cities | High | Low |
| Percentage of population living in rural settings | Low | High |
| Birth rate | Low | High |
| Death rate | Low | Higher than in MDCs |
| Population growth rate | Low | High |
| Percentage of population under age 15 | Low | High |
| Percentage of population that is literate | High | Low |
| Amount of leisure time available | High | Low |
| Life expectancy | High | Low |
| GDP, gross domestic product. Source: After Hobbs (2009:44). |
and Turner 1990; Sachs and Warner 1995). Accessibility and location are primary issues as well, particularly in relation to trade in natural resources. Countries with inaccessible physical geography or those that are landlocked have a tendency to lag behind countries with ocean access, deep water ports, and more extensive coastal and agricultural plains (Faye et al. 2004; MacKellar et al. 2000). According to one prominent line of thinking, European colonization and the over-exploitation of natural resources that accompanied it have resulted in a modern dependency of the colonized world on the Western, colonial powers for income, trade, and governance. This has resulted in a legacy of continued dependency relationships (neo-colonialism) between the developed and developing portions of the world (Bertocchi and Canova 2002; Crosby 2004).
From a tourism perspective, less-developed countries are extremely important as destinations and players in the global industry. Travel to and within the developing world is growing at a rapid rate, more quickly in fact than in more developed regions. Between 1990 and 2005, for example, international arrivals in developing countries grew by an average of 6.5 percent each year. Arrivals in the developed world during the same period averaged below 3 percent per annum. This remarkable growth is a result of many factors, including improved standards of living among the traveling public, increased freedom to travel within many parts of the less...
