WORLD TOURISM ASSOCIATION OF CULTURE AND HERITAGE
Low Season Traveller are delighted to welcome The World Tourism Association of Culture and Heritage (WTACH) as one of our Official Partners. WTACH is a unique global organisation which strives to build the bridge between cultural heritage and tourism. We have worked in partnership with WTACH since 2018 and are proud to be Founder Members of the organisation.
Over-tourism and surges in tourism during the peak seasons can have a devastating effect on cultural heritage assets. We have recently witnessed graffiti on ancient tombs in Egypt, the theft of mosaic tiles in Pompeii and an increase in tourists to Rapanui (Easter Island) to such an extent that this tourism destination with a population of just under 10,000 is now seeing annual tourist numbers in excess of 100,000 and an ensuing waste disposal problem which has unbelievably led to 20 tonnes of garbage (mostly recyclable) being flown daily, over 3,000 km to the mainland of Chile.
Our Cultural Heritage is where we came from, it’s who we were and who we are. It’s the invisible skin which forms part of our identity and it is unbelievably fragile. As in nature, once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. You can’t replant it.
However, Cultural Heritage can work in complete harmony with tourism. It can drive tourism and conversely, tourism can protect cultural heritage.
We are proud to be founding members of WTACH because we similarly believe that Cultural Heritage and Tourism need to work closely together in order that we can protect and preserve our cultural heritage assets for future generations to come.
You can find out more about the World Tourism Association for Cultural Heritage here.