Peter Fowler

Heritage and Tourism: in the Global Village (Wellcome Institute Series in the History of Medicine) Peter Fowler

Tourism is now a global phenomenon set to become the world's largest industry and already crucial to many national and local economies. To a great extent it feeds off heritage - from monuments and treasures to indigenous cultures, ideas and images. How can heritage sites be protected from, yet still enjoyed by, ever-increasing numbers of tourists? Various heritages are now presented to a wide range of culturally-differentiated tourists and armchair travellers. How does and should the interpreter give meaning to structures, artefacts and ideas for global villagers with different backgrounds, motivations and expectations? Drawing on a wide range of examples from round the world, including Paris, Hawaii, national parks and world heritage sites, Nazi artefacts and `1492', the book specifies both good and bad practice. It pleads for greater understanding of the nature of heritage and tourism, in order to generate better understanding of the global condition.