Session: #495

Regular session

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

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Margaret Gowen Larsen (Denmark) ^1,2

Annemarie Willems (Netherlands) ^3,2
Cynthia Dunning Thierstein (Switzerland) ^4,5