The ICOMOS Draft International Charter for Cultural Heritage Tourism (2021): Reinforcing Cultural Heritage Protection and Community Resilience Through Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Management. New Approaches to Global Policies, Challenges and Issues Concerning Cultural Heritage Preservation and Enjoyment Within Tourism

Abstract

The ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Cultural Tourism decided to review the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Charter - Managing Tourism at Places of Heritage Significance 1999 at its Annual Meeting in Florence in 2017. The main objective of the revision was to update this document to the developments experienced by heritage theory and tourism practice during the past twenty years. In October and November 2021 the Scientific Council and Advisory Committee of the organisation have approved the resulting ICOMOS Draft International Charter for Cultural Heritage Tourism (2021): Reinforcing cultural heritage protection and community resilience through responsible and sustainable tourism management in view of its adoption at the ICOMOS General Assembly in 2022. The main aim of this paper is to reflect on the long process for drafting and approving this Charter and on its new conceptual approaches. Both show the emerging trends affecting cultural heritage globally and allow delving on the main issues and subjects that will characterize the future of cultural heritage tourism management and its links with today’s environmental, social and cultural challenges.