Step 3: The Advisory Bodies
3.5 Eastern and western perspectives
People in the east have relationships with the architectural remains and decayed buildings as icons of their past, which are different from those in the west (Isar, 2011). Isar (2011) also sug- gests that intangible assets from the past such as the embodied knowledge and skills identical to, or at least very close to, the ones used for the cre- ation of the cultural heritage are essential for the proper restoration of cultural heritage. Com- pared to the east, the significance of such intan- gibles in terms of continuity between a present and a past has been relegated in the scale of eco- nomic and social transformation in the west (Isar, 2011). Consequently, a past has become ‘a foreign country’, which has already been ‘lost’
(Lowenthal, 1985).
Ise Jingu (Ise Grand Shrine) in Japan is an emblematic example that reflects an eastern approach to heritage and significance of intan- gibles in heritage conservation (Isar, 2011). Ise Jingu has been regarded as a prime candidate for a cultural WHS in Japan from the viewpoint of Japanese people (Yoshida, 2004). However, it has not been inscribed. The shrine will also not be listed even in the future unless the con- cept of WHSs and the selection criteria for WHSs change dramatically. In principle, the main buildings of Ise Jingu have been rebuilt in the same form every 20 years for over 1300 years. It is called ‘shikinen sengu’ in Japanese (Ise Jingu, n.d.) and the latest one was con- ducted in 2013. The technique inherited from the past has been applied, whilst new lumber is
used. Hence, the current main buildings are actually ‘new’ and can be seen as ‘inauthentic’
in terms of the general view of WHSs (Yoshida, 2004). As discussed above, however, the tech- nical knowledge, the procedure of rebuilding and the practice itself have been passed down (Yoshida, 2004) for more than 1300 years.
Therefore, such intangible aspects of tangible heritage should be valued and need to be con- served for future generations even if Ise Jingu cannot be listed as a cultural WHS under the current selection criteria. Isar (2011) empha- sizes that intangible elements of heritage such as knowledge and skills embodied in people are more significant than the tangible products of those knowledge and skills for heritage in the eastern context. Such a heavy emphasis on in- tangible elements of heritage can also be con- firmed in India, and it is evidenced in the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage Charter (Isar, 2011). The meaning of
‘shikinen sengu’ might be difficult to under- stand in the western context. Moreover, such a practice of Japanese ‘scrap and build’ culture might seem to be unsustainable or a waste of valuable natural resources for some people.
According to Ise Jingu (n.d.), however, the meaning of shikinen sengu is to hold such a
‘never-changing’ ritual at ‘always-fresh’ main buildings of the shrine. The purity and holi- ness required for prime religious sites such as Ise Jingu can be secured through shikinen sengu.
As Yoshida (2004) and Isar (2011) show, shikinen sengu of Ise Jingu is an intriguing example, which implies that there would be a difference in people’s attitudes towards authen- ticity of (cultural) heritage, as well as those to- wards the meaning of intangible elements of heritage, between the west and the east and be- tween a universal context, such as WHSs, and a national context, such as Japan or India. In rela- tion to these points, Isar (2011) and Weerasinghe (2011) emphasize the importance of the Nara Document on Authenticity, which was adopted in 1994. Article 11 of the document states that ‘All judgements about values attributed to cultural properties as well as the credibility of related information sources may differ from culture to culture, and even within the same culture’
(WHC, 2007).
Case Study: Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (WHS Kii) – Cultural WHS in Japan, Listed in 2004
WHS Kii extends over Wakayama, Nara and Mie prefectures and comprises Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples and pilgrimage routes. Conservation works for shrines and temples require special knowledge and skills, whilst those for pilgrimage routes can be conducted by ordinary people. This is because the routes consist mostly of soil and stones and their upkeep does not entail particular know-how and techniques compared to shrines and temples. Of course, some technical guidance is offered to partic- ipants prior to conservation activities.
Conservation works on the pilgrimage routes in WHS Kii have flourished after WHS inscription thanks to WH status. The Wakayama World Heritage Centre, Wakayama prefecture, and local Fig. 2.1. Daimon-zaka in WHS Kii (Photo: the author)
Continued
4 Conclusion
Heritage has been ‘constructed’ worldwide in the context that is unique to each situation and has been developed through its association with the past, and its links with certain local commu- nities, regions and/or countries. Heritage is one of the essential components of our current society;
however, there are opportunities and challenges for heritage management and its conservation activities, especially in the postmodern era. The influence of globalization on heritage manage- ment and conservation cannot be ignored.
Regarding WHSs, it can be stated that WH is now an established concept among ordinary people, such as visitors and local people, as well as relevant practitioners, experts and academics.
The philosophy and mission of WHSs are em- bodied in the WH Convention, and this has been playing an essential role for WHSs, each of which has its own OUV. The idea of OUV is key for WHSs, although this notion can be criticized mainly due to a gap between its universal appli- cation and the above-discussed fundamental nature of heritage. In the reality of WHS man- agement and conservation activities, the Opera- tional Guidelines and Reporting and Monitoring work as integral frameworks, and they have been revised continuously to reflect new ideas, emerging issues and a variety of voices in order to keep functioning as a comprehensive founda- tion for the management and conservation of WHSs. The WH Convention, the Operational Guide- lines and the Reporting and Monitoring system
are a key principle and framework that applies to all WHSs. Even if heritage is designated as a WHS, the meaning of each heritage in the con- text of its cultural and natural background, and associations with people at local, regional and/or national level, must be respected to conserve authenticity and integrity and to secure the di- versity of heritage around the world. To this end, accumulated know-how and techniques that are inherited from the past and peculiar to each WHS should also be fully utilized and practised in the management and conservation of WHSs.
WHSs themselves are tangible; however, both tangible and intangible elements are reflected in the selection criteria for WHSs and considered in the decision-making process. UNESCO is well aware of the significance of intangible heritage (UNESCO, 2017). The aforementioned know-how and techniques for heritage management and conservation activities are more or less unique to each heritage. This knowledge and these meth- ods are intangible elements of heritage; they can keep the heritage ‘alive’, giving it a certain mean- ing in local, regional and national contexts even before it is designated as a WHS. Overall, the sig- nificance of intangible elements for the manage- ment and conservation of tangible heritage seems to be more recognized in the east than in the west.
As the case of Ise Jingu (non-WHS in Japan) indi- cates, however, the value of such intangible ele- ments of tangible heritage does not appear to be respected enough and should be considered more in the selection criteria and decision-making pro- cess, especially for cultural WHSs.
governments such as Tabane city, started the ‘michi-bushin’ programme in 2007 for regular maintenance of pilgrimage routes stretching around 300 km. ‘Michi-bushin’ means footpath maintenance, and the programme offers valuable and rare opportunities to ordinary people to be involved in WHS conservation.
Hence, the ‘michi-bushin’ programme can be seen as an outstanding example of WHS management and conservation activities that involve a wide range of people, such as local people, people interested in the WHS, organizations and enterprises.
Any individuals or companies can participate in the ‘michi-bushin’ programme as volunteers or as part of companies’ corporate social responsibility activities. Individuals can be involved in the programme, for instance, by joining the ‘michi-bushin’ walk or a sightseeing tour containing ‘michi-bushin’ in it. Enter- prises that have taken part in the programme include Suntory, Kiyo Bank and Nankai Electric Railway, which have close ties with the area listed as WHS Kii and/or sympathy with the intent of the programme.
Daimon-zaka is a gateway to several key attractions in WHS Kii, including shrines, temples and water- falls, and is often designated as a meeting-place for the ‘michi-bushin’ walk and guided tours.
(From: Jimura, 2016b) Case Study. Continued.
States Parties and WHS managers are ex- pected to complete their duties and take their responsibilities for WHS management and con- servation activities at macro and micro levels to preserve the WH status that their properties have. Having a single organization in charge of heritage management and conservation would be ideal to reconcile different aspirations of vari- ous stakeholders in and around a WHS. It would
be particularly important for a WHS inscribed as a specific area, as diverse stakeholders, including local communities, are based in or around such a WHS. As tourism shares an integral position at most WHSs, balancing conservation and visits and settling the needs of local communities and those of visitors are demanding but necessary tasks in the management and conservation of WHSs.
References
Al-hagla, K.S. (2010) Sustainable urban development in historical areas using the tourist trail approach:
a case study of the Cultural Heritage and Urban Development (CHUD) project in Saida, Lebanon.
Cities 27(4), 234–248.
Ashworth, G.J. and Tunbridge, J.E. (2000) The Tourist-Historic City: Retrospect and Prospect of Manag- ing the Heritage City. Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK.
Ashworth, G.J. and van der Aa, B.J. (2002) Bamyan: Whose heritage was it and what should we do about it? Current Issues in Tourism 5(5), 447–457.
Attwell, C.A.M. and Cotterill, F.P.D. (2000) Postmodernism and African conservation science. Biodiversity
& Conservation 9(5), 559–577.
Bianchi, R. and Boniface, P. (2002) Editorial: the politics of World Heritage. International Journal of Herit- age Studies 8(2), 79–80.
Bourdeau, L., Gravari-Barbas, M. and Robinson, M. (eds) (2015) World Heritage, Tourism and Identity:
Inscription and Co-production. Ashgate, Farnham, UK.
Brumann, C. (2014) Shifting tides of world-making in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention: cosmopol- itanisms colliding. Ethnic and Racial Studies 37(12), 2176–2192.
Buckley, R. (2004) The effects of World Heritage listing on tourism to Australian national parks. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 12(1), 70–84.
Burns, P. M. (1999) An Introduction to Tourism and Anthropology. Routledge, London.
Byrch, C., Kearins, K., Milne, M. and Morgan, R. (2007) Sustainable ‘what’? A cognitive approach to understanding sustainable development. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management 4(1), 26–52.
Chirikure, S. and Pwiti, G. (2008) Community involvement in archaeology and cultural heritage management.
Current Anthropology 49(3), 467–485.
Chirikure, S., Manyanga, M., Ndoro, W. and Pwiti, G. (2010) Unfulfilled promises? Heritage management and community participation at some of Africa’s cultural heritage sites. International Journal of Heritage Studies 16(1–2), 30–44.
du Cros, H. (2008). Too much of a good thing? Visitor congestion management issues for popular World Heritage tourist attractions. Journal of Heritage Tourism 2(3), 225–238.
Durie, M. (2010) Global transitions: implications for a regional social work agenda. Journal of Indigenous Voices in Social Work 1(2), 1–9.
English Oxford Living Dictionaries. (2017) Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/
postmodernism (accessed 5 January 2017).
Evans, G. (2002) Living in a World Heritage City: stakeholders in the dialectic of the universal and particular.
International Journal of Heritage Studies 8(2), 117–135.
Fowler, P. (2002) World heritage cultural landscapes, 1992–2002: a review and prospect. Cultural Landscapes: The Challenges of Conservation 16.
Graham, B., Ashworth, G.J. and Tunbridge, J.E. (2000) A Geography of Heritage: Power, Culture and Economy. Hodder Arnold, London.
Hall, C.M. and McArthur, S. (eds) (1996) Heritage Management in Australia and New Zealand: The Human Dimension. Oxford University Press, Sydney, Australia.
Hall, C.M. and Page, S.J. (1999) The Geography of Tourism and Recreation: Environment, Place and Space. Routledge, London.
Hall, T. (2001) Urban Geography, 2nd edn. Routledge, London.
Hewison, R. (1987) The Heritage Industry: Britain in a Climate of Decline. Methuen, London.
Hockings, M., James, R., Stolton, S., Dudley, N. and Mathur, V. (2008) Enhancing our heritage toolkit:
assessing management effectiveness of natural world heritage sites. Available at: http://whc.unesco.
org/en/series/23/ (accessed 16 January 2017).
Hoelscher, M. (2011) Indicator suites for heritage, memory, identity. In: Anheier, H. and Isar, Y.R. (eds) Heritage, Memory & Identity. Sage, London, pp. 287–407.
ICOMOS International Committee on Cultural Tourism (1999) Tourism at World Heritage Sites: The Site Manager’s Handbook, 2nd edn. WTO, Madrid.
Inwood, J.F. (2010) Sweet Auburn: constructing Atlanta’s Auburn Avenue as a heritage tourist destination.
Urban Geography 31(5), 573–594.
Isar, Y.R. (2011) UNESCO and heritage: global doctrine, global practice. In: Anheier, H. and Isar, Y.R.
(eds) Heritage, Memory & Identity. Sage, London, pp. 39–52.
Ise Jingu (n.d.) Shikinen Sengu (in Japanese). Available at: http://www.isejingu.or.jp/sengu/ (accessed 12 January 2017).
Jimura, T. (2003) Visitor management – as a professional responsibility of the various site managers ( Maritime Greenwich – Cultural World Heritage Site). Master’s thesis, University of Greenwich, London.
Jimura, T. (2007) The impact of World Heritage Site designation on local communities – a comparative study of Ogimachi (Japan) and Saltaire (UK). Doctoral thesis, Nottingham Trent University, UK.
Jimura, T. (2011) The impact of world heritage site designation on local communities: a case study of Ogimachi, Shirakawa-mura, Japan. Tourism Management 32(2), 288–296.
Jimura, T. (2016a) Re-examination of the relationship between World Heritage Site designation and local identity. In: Amoeda, R., Lira, S. and Pinheiro, C. (eds) Heritage 2016: Heritage and Sustainable Development. Green Lines Institute, Lisbon, 12–15 July, pp. 283–290.
Jimura, T. (2016b) World heritage site management: a case study of sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii mountain range, Japan. Journal of Heritage Tourism 11(4), 382–394.
Jokilehto, J. (2006) World heritage: defining the outstanding universal value. City & Time 2(2), 1–10.
Labadi, S. (2007) Representations of the nation and cultural diversity in discourses on world heritage.
Journal of Social Archaeology 7, 147–170.
Lash, S. (1990) Sociology of Postmodernism. Routledge, London.
Leask, A. (2006) World Heritage Site designation. In: Leask, A. and Fyall, A. (eds) Managing World Herit- age Sites. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK, pp. 5–19.
Leask, A. and Fyall, A. (eds) (2006) Managing World Heritage Sites. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK.
Lowenthal, D. (1975) Past time, present place: landscape and memory. The Geographical Review 65, 1–36.
Lowenthal, D. (1985) The Past is a Foreign Country. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Maikhuri, R.K., Nautiyal, S., Rao, K.S. and Saxena, K.G. (2001) Conservation policy–people conflicts: a case study from Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (a world heritage site), India. Forest Policy and Economics 2(3), 355–365.
McMorran, C. (2008) Understanding the ‘heritage’ in heritage tourism: ideological tool or economic tool for a Japanese hot springs resort? Tourism Geographies 10(3), 334–354.
Meskell, L. (2014) States of conservation: protection, politics, and pacting within UNESCO’s World Herit- age Committee. Anthropological Quarterly 87(1), 217–243.
Miller, S. (1989) Heritage management for heritage tourism. Tourism Management 10(1), 9–14.
National Park Service (n.d.) Yellowstone: park history. Available at: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/history- culture/park-history.htm (accessed 17 January 2017).
Nyseth, T. and Sognnæs, J. (2013) Preservation of old towns in Norway: heritage discourses, community processes and the new cultural economy. Cities 31, 69–75.
OECD (2005a) Strong sustainability. Available at: http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=6577 ( accessed 4 January 2017).
OECD (2005b) Weak sustainability. Available at: http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=6611 ( accessed 4 January 2017).
Orbasli, A. (2000) Tourists in Historic Towns. E. & F.N. Spon, London.
Pedersen, A. (2002) Managing tourism at World Heritage Sites: a practical manual for World Heritage Site managers. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/activities/documents/activity-113-2.pdf (accessed 9 December 2016).
Pickard, R. (2001) Introduction. In: Pickard, R. (ed.) Management of Historic Centres. Spon Press, London, pp. 1–7.
Pocock, D. (1997) Some reflections on world heritage. Area 29, 260–268.
Science Daily (2012) New way to protect historic limestone buildings. Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.
com/releases/2012/12/121204145922.htm (accessed 9 December 2016).
Scott, J. (2002) World Heritage as a model for citizenship: the case of Cyprus. International Journal of Heritage Studies 8(2), 99–115.
Selwyn, T. (1996) Introduction. In: Selwyn, T. (ed.) The Tourist Image: Myths and Myth Making in Tourism.
John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK, pp. 1–32.
Shackley, M. (ed.) (1998a) Visitor Management: Case Studies from World Heritage Sites. Butterworth- Heinemann, Oxford, UK.
Shackley, M. (1998b) Conclusions – visitor management at cultural World Heritage Sites. In: Shackley, M.
(ed.) Visitor Management: Case Studies from World Heritage Sites. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK, pp. 194–205.
Shackley, M. (1998c) Introduction – World Cultural Heritage Sites. In: Shackley, M. (ed.) Visitor Management:
Case Studies from World Heritage Sites. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK, pp. 1–9.
Shackley, M. (2006) Visitor management at World Heritage Sites. In: Leask, A. and Fyall, A. (eds) Managing World Heritage Sites. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK, pp. 83–93.
Smith, L. (2006) Uses of Heritage. Routledge, London.
Su, M.M., Wall, G. and Xu, K. (2016) Heritage tourism and livelihood sustainability of a resettled rural com- munity: Mount Sanqingshan World Heritage Site, China. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 24(5), 735–757.
Su, X. (2015) Urban entrepreneurialism and the commodification of heritage in China. Urban Studies 52(15), 2874–2889.
Sullivan, S. (2004) Local involvement and traditional practices in the world heritage system. Linking Universal and Local Values, 49. Available at: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=
10.1.1.476.8460&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=50 (accessed 7 January 2017).
Timothy, D.J. (2011) Cultural Heritage and Tourism: An Introduction. Channel View Publications, Clevedon, UK.
Tomlinson, J. (1999) Globalization and Culture. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.
UNESCO (2017) Intangible heritage. Available at: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/ (accessed 20 January 2017).
Urry, J. (2002) The Tourist Gaze, 2nd edn. Sage, London.
Wang, Z., Yang, Z., Wall, G., Xu, X., Han, F., Du, X. and Liu, Q. (2015) Is it better for a tourist destination to be a World Heritage Site? Visitors’ perspectives on the inscription of Kanas on the World Heritage List in China. Journal for Nature Conservation 23, 19–26.
Weerasinghe, J. (2011) Living sacred heritage and ‘authenticity’ in south Asia. In: Anheier, H. and Isar, Y.R.
(eds) Heritage, Memory & Identity. Sage, London, pp. 139–147.
WHC (2007) The Nara Document on Authenticity. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/document/9379 ( accessed 15 January 2017).
WHC (2017a) The World Heritage Convention. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/convention/ ( accessed 16 January 2017).
WHC (2017b) The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Avail- able at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines/ (accessed 4 January 2017).
WHC (2017c) The criteria for selection. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/ (accessed 4 January 2017).
WHC (2017d) Reporting and monitoring. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/118/ (accessed 2 January 2017).
WHC (2017e) State of Conservation information system (SOC). Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/
(accessed 15 January 2017).
WHC (2017f) Periodic reporting. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/periodicreporting/ (accessed 15 January 2017).
WHC (2017g) List of factors affecting the properties. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/factors/
( accessed 15 January 2017).
WHC (2017h) Reactive monitoring process. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/reactive-monitoring/
( accessed 15 January 2017).
WHC (2017i) World Heritage Fund. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/world-heritage-fund/ (accessed 8 January 2017).
WHC (2017j) Funding. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/funding/ (accessed 8 January 2017).
WHC (2017k) UNESCO Sustainable Tourism Toolkit. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/sustainabletour- ismtoolkit/ (accessed 16 January 2017).
WHC, ICCROM, ICOMOS and IUCN (2013) Managing cultural world heritage. Available at: https://whc.
unesco.org/en/managing-cultural-world-heritage/ (accessed 7 July 2018).
Winter, T. (2013) Culture of interpretation. In: Staiff, R., Bushell, R. and Watson, S. (eds) Heritage and Tourism: Place, Encounter, Engagement. Routledge, Abingdon, UK, pp. 172–186.
Yoshida, K. (2004) The museum and the intangible cultural heritage. Museum International 56 (1–2), 108–112.
34 © T. Jimura 2019. World Heritage Sites (T. Jimura)
3
Tourism Development at World Heritage Sites
1 Tourism Development 1.1 Introduction
To establish a definition of tourism that can sat- isfy all stakeholders seems to be almost impossi- ble, mainly due to its multi-disciplinary nature and the range of sectors and activities involved.
However, the following definition and context is one of the most widely accepted among tourism researchers:
Definition: