EAA2021: Session #495

At the time of writing (November 2020) it is virtually impossible to imagine the longer term effects of the global pandemic. For many archaeological sites and other cultural sites open to the public, a vital stream of income has been disrupted. For some this is due to the loss of international cultural tourism visitors, local visitor activity and temporary closure. The collapse in income has resulted in job losses, loss of critical staff infrastructure and, by association, loss of knowledge. The impact on many local community economies has also been felt, sometimes acutely. For some destination sites, however it has offered welcome respite to get some conservation works done and the possibility to review the impact of visitors, how visitors are managed and who their target visitors are. ‘Stay at home’ tourism provided some welcome relief during the summer months and provided an indication of the potential for future marketing focus and future development. The home market, a link to rural tourism development, eco-tourism, and green-route tourism initiatives are all areas of increased interest as uncertainty grows about the future of international mass tourism.
This session seeks presentations from archaeological site managers and regional museum managers on how they have coped during the pandemic and how they see the way forward. It will also seek participation from destinations that are partners in European cultural routes and World Heritage to learn of what new promotion strategies that may be envisaged. It also seeks contributions from academic researchers in cultural heritage management, cultural heritage tourism.

global pandemic, archaeological sites open to the public, international cultural tourism, impact, possibilities, the home market

 Session #495 (PDF)

Margaret Gowen Larsen^1,2

Annemarie Willems^3,2
Cynthia Dunning Thierstein^4,5

Tourism Recovery and Renewal at World Heritage Sites: Balancing Sustainability and Resiliency

The Flâneur, the Collector, and the Gambler: How will we read and remember the early 21st century?

Post-pandemic tourism development for the long-term

The European Route of Megalithic Culture: Strategies for a sustainable development for an international archaeological cooperation network

Creating a transnational culture route in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis – the Iron Age Danube route experience

November Blues and Spring Feelings – The LVR-Archaeological Park at Xanten (Germany) in the time of CoVid19

Unlocking archaeological sites to public in lockdown: exploring the local and neglected

«The stones of the Ancestors»: an experience of holding a modern immersive exhibition of stone tools during a pandemic