Tourism and Sustainable Development at World Heritage Sites

BFP/RGP/CBS/22/285

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Tourism and Sustainable Development at World Heritage Sites: The Case of the Sultanate of Oman

Abstract

This research will investigate the contribution that World Heritage Sites in Oman can contribute to implementation of “Sustainable Development Goals” and Oman vision 2040 with a focus on tourism role in this regard. Oman has five World Heritage Sites (WHS) enjoying international exposure and distributed in the various regions in Oman. The World Heritage Convention emphasizes the significance of these sites as integral components of socio-economic development, fostering employment opportunities and establishing a strong link between the site and the surrounding communities. “Tourism offers World Heritage the ability to meet the requirement in the WH Convention to ‘present’ World Heritage properties and means to realize community and economic benefits through sustainable use” (UNESCO, 2010). The research will select two sites, assess their readiness for tourism, investigate the level of community engagement, understanding visitor satisfaction at the sites, and evaluating the opportunities and challenges for sustainable site management especially visitors’ management. The research will conclude by assessing the role of the selected sites in realising SDGs especially goal 8, 11, and 12; as well as linking this to the thematic programme of Sustainable Tourism at the WHC. The research will make suggestions for improvement of tourism at WHS to maximise benefits to the local community and contribution to socioeconomic development. The project will implement training programme at selected world heritage in Oman in collaboration with the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage ARC-WH.

Interviews with visitors and the local community to investigate community involvement and visitor satisfaction at World Heritage Sites

Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn – A world Heritage Site