World Heritage and Tourism

Dear Colleagues,

World Heritage and tourism share an inherent and longstanding relationship. Sites, regions, and cultural practices or expressions designated by UNESCO through its various recognition mechanisms—including the World Heritage List (cultural, natural, or mixed), the World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the Man and the Biosphere (MaB) Programme, the Global Geoparks Network, and the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage—function as powerful attractors of tourism while also serving as critical arenas for conservation, research, and sustainable development.

While these designations offer enhanced visibility and opportunities for local development, they also present significant management challenges. These include visitor pressure on urban or natural areas, land-use transformation, the commodification of nature and culture, and socio-demographic shifts within local communities. Further, broader global forces—such as the growing impacts of climate change, decarbonization and energy transition policies, and geopolitical instability—are increasingly shaping the governance of tourism destinations. Under such evolving conditions, tourism can either serve as a means of safeguarding heritage or pose a threat to its integrity and sustainability, depending on the governance models and planning frameworks adopted.

This Special Issue aims to advance interdisciplinary research at the nexus of tourism and UNESCO-designated heritage, promoting the use of innovative theoretical approaches, practical management tools, and empirically grounded evidence. Submissions should explore the destination perspective (e.g., site governance, territorial dynamics) or the visitor perspective (e.g., experiences, behaviors, perceptions). We invite original research addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

1. Heritage valorization, innovation and sustainable tourism development

• The role of tangible and/or intangible heritage as a resource for sustainable and responsible tourism development and in the evolution of tourism destinations.
• Tourism image and/or product development linked to UNESCO-designated heritage sites, regions, and/or cultural expressions.
• Digital and smart tourism innovation in heritage destinations.
• Ecotourism and regenerative tourism strategies in heritage destinations.

2. Destination governance, planning and management

• Strategies for monitoring and managing tourism flows, including tools to address overtourism, crowding, and infrastructure carrying capacity.
• Analysis, planning, and/or management of transportation and mobility systems in heritage areas, including sustainable access solutions and visitor mobility patterns.
• Socioeconomic and environmental impacts of tourism-related accommodation growth, including pressures on residential housing, gentrification, and short-term rental dynamics.
• Successful models of heritage conservation and tourism integration in World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves, or Geoparks.
• The impact of political conflicts and governance challenges on the management, integrity, and conservation of heritage sites, regions, or cultural expressions.
• Cultural commodification and its implications for local identity, authenticity, and community cohesion.

3. Visitor profile, experience and behavior

• Preferences, attitudes and expectations of tourists visiting world heritage destinations
• Tourist behavior in and around heritage sites: spatiotemporal behavior, perceptions, satisfaction, interpretation, learning outcomes, environmental attitudes, and responsible practices.
• Education, awareness-raising, and inclusive community engagement in heritage tourism contexts.
• Gender, accessibility, and social equity in the experience and governance of heritage tourism.

4. Climate resilience and environmental challenges

• Risk assessments and climate change impacts on tangible heritage sites or intangible heritage manifestations.
• Climate change adaptation, mitigation, and resilience-building in heritage tourism destinations.
• Natural commodification and its impacts on ecosystems, landscape touristification, and the symbolic transformation of nature for tourism purposes.

We look forward to receiving new insights that help reconcile heritage protection with tourism development and that advance our collective understanding of how heritage-based tourism destinations can enhance their resilience in a rapidly changing world.

Dr. Antoni Domènech
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Heritage is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.