The perception of UNESCO World Heritage Sites' managers about concepts and elements of cultural sustainability in tourism

Abstract

PurposeThe research aims to identify the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site (WHS) managers' perception of cultural sustainability concepts and elements in tourism.Design/methodology/approachA literature review was carried out to identify the main speeches and characteristic elements of cultural sustainability present in the academic field, and then a quantitative survey was carried out with 60 managers of UNESCO WHSs to evaluate their perception of the theme.FindingsThe results show that managers believe that the concept of cultural sustainability is much more closely linked to the social dimension of sustainability than to the economic and environmental dimensions. Thus, elements such as the preservation of tangible and intangible assets, the participation of society in the management of heritage, the democratization of access, the guarantee of the appreciation of culture and its preservation for future generations are basic elements for cultural sustainability. Finally, although they believe that understanding the concept of cultural sustainability is fundamental to their activities, they still lack knowledge of how to measure cultural sustainability in their spaces.Originality/valueAlthough the theme of sustainability has several published studies, most of the work focuses only on studies of its social, economic and environmental dimensions. The debates on the role of culture in sustainability are still incipient, and understanding the managers' perception of the topic enables the creation of more effective strategies that guarantee cultural sustainability in heritage by tourism.