Working Groups
Although the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Charter continues being relevant to deal with the positive and negative impacts of tourism on cultural heritage preservation and enjoyment and on destination communities, the ICTC decided to review this charter in its 2017 Annual Meeting in Florence to update it to current tourism circumstances and problematics. Profound change and growth in tourism in the 21st century, the progress of cultural heritage preservation in the last twenty years, a growing awareness of social, ethical, cultural and environmental issues linked to tourism, and the deep impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in this activity worldwide, have necessitated this revision.
Charter Operationalisation & Application (Cecilie Smith-Christensen)
The 2022 Charter highlights the opportunity and urgency of addressing unsustainable developments, extractive practices, and rights-based issues in tourism, calling the opportunity to recalibrate the perpetual economic growth-based approach to tourism, recognizing and mitigating its unsustainable aspects. Since 2024, a Task Team within the ICOMOS ICTC Bureau has been elaborating a Charter Application Compendium focused on the transformative potential of the Charter. The Compendium comprises, in addition to the Charter, three annexes including Annex 1: Glossary & Concept Clusters; Annex 2: Foundational reorientation; and 3: Application by stakeholder group. The effort is ongoing and evolving through collaborative inquiry among ICOMOS members and beyond.
Emerging Professionals (Rouran Zhang)
As part of the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee’s (ICTC) renewed mandate and applying the rubric of the Eiger-Xi’an Principles, our scientific committee aims to draw more Emerging Professionals (EP) into the fold of cultural tourism and be involved in our work within ICOMOS. EPs are those professionals who: are 35 years of age or younger, are members of an ICOMOS National Committee; and have a demonstrated professional interest and/or academic background in cultural tourism.
Climate Change (Sofia Fonseca)
The Climate Change Working Group was created to examine the potential impacts of climate change on cultural tourism and measures that can adapt or mitigate different circumstances. This will help inform the work of the Climate Change and Heritage Working Group, the Charter and other initiatives that the ICTC is working on.
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