Challenges Of Cultural Tourism

Challenges and Threats of Cultural and Natural Heritage

Heritage-based tourism has evolved into one of the massive and rapidly growing sectors of the tourism industry (Timothy & Nyaupane, 2009). Tourism manifestation in heritage sites serves as a possible development strategy for local communities which in return, generates employment, introduces better economic opportunities, and constructs additional infrastructures (Madden & Shipley, 2012). However, heritage tourism development may pose a damage to the environment, and may cause negative socio-cultural impacts. The possibility of threat is foreseen as the degradation of heritage which can lead to a decline in cultural integrity of the community, scarcity of resources, including the gradual

It falls between historical cities and attractive cultural heritage sites. The aforementioned areas are susceptible to excessive concentration of tourists and traffic congestion; thereby, disrupting the local population’s quality of life. The City of Venice stands as one of the best-known examples experiencing tourism pressure in its heritage and local community. Local and national authorities failed to find a way to coordinate and deal with the volume and intensity of tourism in this city. The adverse impacts of mass tourism contributed to the increase of local population, confusion with the control of the continuous influx of tourists which may eventually lead to disruption of urban identity (Swarbrooke,

Environmental pollution caused by swarmed urban locale near the historical landmarks intensifies the problem. The contribution of exhausts emitted from workshops, recreational establishments, and traffic congestion increases the range of temperature and humidity in the air, producing various detrimental facets such as salinity. A similar case in Egypt caused rock weakness and cracks in its heritage temples (Ghanem & Saad, 2015).

Environmental issues pile up through the age, and climate change is one of the pressing problems nowadays. This instability of climate can reflect serious implications for cultural heritage sites (Phillips, 2014). Direct climate impacts will cause environmental and heritage disturbances. Consequently, it will bear significant effects on tourism development in some regions and destinations prone to climatic threat to nature may materialize (Maksin, 2010).

Phillips (2014) emphasized a generous number of historical assets potentially at risk, as climate change projects damage, it fosters abandonment and forces inappropriate interventions, such as poorly designed adaptation and mitigation measures. Therefore, disrupting heritage may immensely diminish its significance and once uphold