Cultural Tourism Working Group

Co-chairs: Lena Mortensen (University of Toronto - Scarborough) and Dave Schaepe ((Sto:lo Research and Resource Management Centre)

The diversity of the world’s cultures, both past and present, is one of the key attractions of travel. Governments, the tourism industry, and communities work hard to create unforgettable cultural products and experiences. But are the economic benefits of these experiences shared equally with communities? Are they sustainable environmentally, are they culturally appropriate experiences to share, and do communities have control over how their culture is represented? A global rise in cultural tourism creates such intellectual property issues, in areas ranging from archaeological research results to aspects of heritage that remain significant to communities. Tourism opens dialogues internationally, sometimes leading to the distortion of cultural images, and turns cultural heritage into a potential commodity. This Working Group is exploring the range of intellectual property issues emerging in cultural and heritage tourism. It seeks to expand resources for those developing sustainable, community-based tourism, including indigenous groups.  We  are gathering relevant charters and protocols from around the world; identify models for successful and equal tourism partnerships between Indigenous communities and others; find ways to empower communities to participate in or create their own programs; and explore how to mitigate visitor impact on important heritage sites and practices. The Working Group is also working to develop and test a model for collaborative cultural heritage projects with Indigenous communities.

Selected Activities and Output:

• A volume on Cultural and Archaeotourism is under development, co-edited by Mortensen and co-investigator Lyn Leader-Elliott for the Research Handbooks in Archaeology series published by partners Left Coast Press and the World Archaeological Congress.