The sustainable integration of cultural heritage and tourism: a meta-study

Abstract

This paper presents a cross-disciplinary thematic investigation into the relationship between cultural heritage and tourism. It systematizes evidence on concepts, policies and strategies and provides an interpretive synthesis illuminating the factors deemed critical by researchers for the sustainable integration of heritage and tourism. It seeks to find consilience to lead to a “new age of synthesis”. After an extensive literature review, 483 studies were selected and reviewed, assisted by a qualitative data analysis software (NVivo). The research followed the meta-synthesis approach, particularly meta-ethnography, of identifying findings, grouping findings into categories and grouping categories into synthesized findings, to produce a representative set of 15 synthesis factors. These include local involvement, education and training, authenticity and interpretation, sustainability-centered tourism management, integrated planning, incorporation into a wider sustainable development framework, controlled growth, governance and stakeholder participation, market and product diversification, suitable funding provision, international governance and support systems, a heritage capital approach, effective site management, destination management and a sound theoretical/methodological base. These 15 factors are suggested as the fundamental components of a more efficient theoretical frame and evidence-based policy in the fields of cultural heritage and tourism, aimed at achieving sustainability.

文化遗产和旅游的可持续化合体：一种后续研究

该文章展示了关于文化遗产和旅游之间关系的跨学科的主题性调查。它系统化地提供了相关概念，政策和战略，并对被做遗产与旅游可持续化合体相关研究的研究者看作最主要的影响因子作出解释性的综合分析。文章旨在寻找引领“综合分析新纪元”的融合。经过深度的文献阅读，483份研究被选择和分析。，质化数据研究方法被用来作辅助。研究使用了后综合方法，特别是综合民族质化方法，来探究结果。结果发现将结果分成不同类别，再将不同类别分组成综合性结论，并制造出有代表的15种综合性因素。这些因素包括当地居民的参与，教育和培训，真实性和解释性，以可持续性为中心的旅游管理，综合规划，对更广泛可持续发展框架的考虑，控制下的增长，决策和利益相关者参与，市场和产品分类，适合的投资资金提供渠道，国际化决策和支持系统，一种以遗产为资本的方法，有效的场地管理，目的地管理和有效的理论化/研究化基础。这15种因素在文化遗产和旅游的领域中，为达到有效的理论化框架和足够证据支持的政策提供基础环节，并能帮助实现可持续性。

Keywords:

• sustainability of cultural heritage
• sustainable tourism
• sustainable integration of heritage and tourism
• integrated planning and management
• meta-synthesis

Keywords:

• 文化遗产的可持续性
• 可持续性旅游
• 遗产和旅游的可持续性合体
• 综合规划和管理
• 后续性综合分析

Acknowledgements

This research was conducted in collaboration with Professor Shuzo Ishimori of the Center for Advanced Tourism Studies, Hokkaido University, and was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). The authors would also like to thank Bill Bramwell and Bernard Lane for their thorough editorial support, as well as the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

Notes

1. Literally meaning “bringing together” of knowledge, or more articulately defined as “units and processes of a discipline that conform with solidly verified knowledge in other disciplines, and are superior in theory and practice to units and processes that do not conform” (Wilson, 1998, p. 198).

2. Meaning the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true – the act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.