This is the first book to provide a comprehensive account of cultural and heritage tourism in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the many complexities that heritage sites and tourist attractions face. The MENA region has long been regarded as the cradle of Western and Arab civilisation and is the home of many of the world’s major religions. Because of this, the region is rich in heritage sites that serve as major tourist attractions and as icons of national, cultural and religious identity. However, as this book examines, heritage in the region is simultaneously highly contested and has even become a target for terrorism creating a situation that brought major challenges for heritage management and sustainable tourism development. Many of the region’s innumerable cultural sites are threatened, in some cases by overuse, in others by neglect and, in many, simply by the pressures of economic development. This book is therefore of interest not only to heritage managers and policy makers but those academics who seek to address the delicate balance between tourism development, communities and the tourists who visit such sites in a turbulent but highly significant region of the world.

The Routledge Handbook on Tourism in the Middle East and North Africa examines the importance of tourism as a historical, economic, social, environmental, religious and political force in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It highlights the ecological and resource challenges related to water, desert environments, climate change and oil. It provides an in-depth analysis of the geopolitical conditions that have long determined the patterns of tourism demand and supply throughout the region and how these play out in the everyday lives of residents and destinations as they attempt to grow tourism or ignore it entirely. While cultural heritage remains the primary tourism asset for the region as a whole, many new types of tourisms are emerging, especially in the Arabian Gulf region, where hyper-development is closely associated with the increasingly prominent role of luxury real estate and shopping, retail, medical tourism, cruises and transit tourism. The growing phenomenon of an expatriate workforce, and how its segregation from the citizenry creates a dual socio-economic system in several countries, is unmatched by other regions of the world. Many indigenous people of MENA keep themselves apart from other dominant groups in the region, although these social boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred as tourism, being one socio-economic force for change, has inspired many nomadic peoples to settle into towns and villages and rely more on tourists for their livelihoods. All of these issues and more shape the foundations of this book. This Handbook is the first of its kind to examine tourism from a broad regional and inclusive perspective, surveying a broad range of social, cultural, heritage, ecological and political matters in a single volume. With a wide range of contributors, many of whom are natives of the Middle East and North Africa, this Handbook is a vital resource for students and scholars interested in Tourism, Middle East Studies and Geography.

The Routledge Handbook on Tourism in the Middle East and North Africa examines the importance of tourism as a historical, economic, social, environmental, religious and political force in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It highlights the ecological and resource challenges related to water, desert environments, climate change and oil. It provides an in-depth analysis of the geopolitical conditions that have long determined the patterns of tourism demand and supply throughout the region and how these play out in the everyday lives of residents and destinations as they attempt to grow tourism or ignore it entirely. While cultural heritage remains the primary tourism asset for the region as a whole, many new types of tourisms are emerging, especially in the Arabian Gulf region, where hyper-development is closely associated with the increasingly prominent role of luxury real estate and shopping, retail, medical tourism, cruises and transit tourism. The growing phenomenon of an expatriate workforce, and how its segregation from the citizenry creates a dual socio-economic system in several countries, is unmatched by other regions of the world. Many indigenous people of MENA keep themselves apart from other dominant groups in the region, although these social boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred as tourism, being one socio-economic force for change, has inspired many nomadic peoples to settle into towns and villages and rely more on tourists for their livelihoods. All of these issues and more shape the foundations of this book. This Handbook is the first of its kind to examine tourism from a broad regional and inclusive perspective, surveying a broad range of social, cultural, heritage, ecological and political matters in a single volume. With a wide range of contributors, many of whom are natives of the Middle East and North Africa, this Handbook is a vital resource for students and scholars interested in Tourism, Middle East Studies and Geography.

Cultural Heritage and Tourism in the Developing World is the first book of its kind to synthesize global and regional issues, challenges, and practices related to cultural heritage and tourism, specifically in less-developed nations. The importance of preservation and management of cultural heritage has been realized as an increasing number of tourists are visiting heritage attractions. Although many of the issues and challenges developing countries face in terms of heritage management are quite different from those in the developed world, there is a lack of consolidated research on this important subject. This seminal book tackles the issues through theoretical discourse, ideas and problems that underlay heritage tourism in terms of conservation, management, economics and underdevelopment, politics and power, resource utilization, colonialism, and various other antecedent notions that have shaped the development of heritage tourism in the less-developed regions of the world. The book is comprised of two sections. The first section highlights the broader conceptual underpinnings, debates, and paradigms in the realm of heritage tourism in developing regions. The chapters of this section examine heritage resources and the tourism product; protecting heritage relics, places and traditions; politics of heritage; and the impacts of heritage tourism. The second section examines heritage tourism issues in specific regions, including the Pacific Islands, South Asia, the Caribbean, China and Northeast Asia, South-East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America. Each region has unique histories, cultures, political traditions, heritages, issues and problems, and the way these issues are tackled vary from place to place. This volume develops frameworks that are useful tools for heritage managers, planners and policy-makers, researchers, and students in understanding the complexity of cultural heritage and tourism in the developing world. Unlike many other books written about developing regions, this book provides insiders’ perspectives, as most of the empirical chapters are authored by the individuals who live or have lived in the various regions and have a greater understanding of the region’s culture, history, and operational frameworks in the realm of cultural heritage. The richness of this ‘indigenous’ or expert knowledge comes through as each regional overview elucidates the primary challenges and opportunities facing heritage and tourism managers in the less affluent areas of the world.

The perceived quality of a destination’s cultural offering has long been a significant factor in determining tourist choices of destination. More recently, the need to present touristic offerings that include cultural experiences and heritage has become widely recognised, that this aspect of the tourism experience is an important differentiator of destinations, as well as being amongst the most manageable. This has also led to an increase in the management of such experiences through special exhibitions, events and festivals, as well as through ensuring more routine and controlled access to heritage sites. Reflecting the increasing application of cultural heritage as a driver for tourism and development, this book provides for the first time a cohesive volume on the subject that is theoretically rich, practically applied and empirically grounded. Written by expert scholars and practitioners in the field, the book covers a broad range of theoretical perspectives of cultural heritage tourism; regeneration, policy, stakeholders, marketing, socio-economic development, impacts, sustainability, volunteering and ICT. It takes a broad view, integrating international examples of sites, monuments as well as intangible cultural heritage, motor vehicle heritage events and modern art museums. This significant book furthers knowledge of the theory and application of tourism within the context of cultural heritage and will be of interest to students, researchers and practitioners in a range of disciplines.

This book proposes that sustainable marketing should be founded on a higher level of consciousness, governed by the Eastern ethical principles of dharma and karma. It suggests a socially responsible, integrated marketing strategy to boost transformational heritage tourism. The book puts forward a framework to promote and inspire transformative heritage tourism from a sustainable marketing perspective. Drawing on examples from different parts of the world such as Thailand, China, the USA, India, Australia, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Hong Kong, it takes a unique approach by integrating elements associated with distributive justice, procedural justice, morally motivated existentialist authentic experiences and the well-being of visited and visiting environments. The book pivots on the planning and marketing of heritage of communities such as local, descendent and indigenous across eight broad themes: (1) promotion and sustainable branding of heritage tourism; (2) empowerment of indigenous communities; (3) authenticity and conservation of heritage; (4) safeguarding of art, culture and cultural landscapes; (5) economic viability for the host communities; (6) interpretation and resolution of dissonant heritage representations; (7) stimulating audience engagement and co-created mindful spaces and; (8) facilitating moral consciousness and stimulating lasting inner transformation in guests and hosts. Scholars can replicate and/or test the proposed guided sustainable marketing model, referred to as the transformative heritage tourism pathway, which is adapted from a) the needs, activities and well-being sequential path of transformation and, b) the socially responsible sustainable marketing doctrine guided by the principles of 'dharma' and 'karma'. This book is unique as it stresses eudaimonia as the ultimate goal of well-being and argues that its pursuit can steer the sustained transformation route toward a higher sense of consciousness and responsible production and consumption of heritage resources. In summary, this book contributes toward advancing the dialogue on sustainable marketing and transformative heritage tourism. It will appeal to researchers, undergraduates and practitioners interested in sustainable marketing, transformative heritage tourism and social, ecological, cultural and economic welfare of visited and visiting destinations.

The Routledge Handbook of Religious and Spiritual Tourism provides a robust and comprehensive state-of-the-art review of the literature in this growing sub-field of tourism. This handbook is split into five distinct sections. The first section covers past and present debates regarding definitions, theories, and concepts related to religious and spiritual tourism. Subsequent sections focus on the supply and demand aspects of religious and spiritual tourism markets, and examine issues related to the management side of these markets around the world. Areas under examination include religious theme parks, the UNESCO branding of religious heritage, gender and performance, popular culture, pilgrimage, environmental impacts, and fear and terrorism, among many others. The final section explores emerging and future directions in religious and spiritual tourism, and proposes an agenda for further research. Interdisciplinary in coverage and international in scope through its authorship and content, this will be essential reading for all students, researchers, and academics interested in Tourism, Religion, Cultural Studies, and Heritage Studies.

Cultural Heritage and Tourism in Africa examines the multiple and diverse manifestations of cultural heritage-based tourism in Africa from a regional, social science, and sustainability perspective. This book delivers a comprehensive treatise on the interdependent concepts of cultural heritage and tourism. Heritage is one of the most pervasive tourism assets worldwide and lies at the foundations of tourism in many localities, including Africa. However, despite its salience, there has not been a systematic examination of Africa’s heritage resources, markets, policies, practices, successes, and challenges in a tourism framework, despite the continent’s immense heritage value. This book reviews the different types of heritages that pervade the cultural environment of Africa and comprises its vast heritagescapes. It also examines the increasing potential for the growth of heritage tourism throughout the entire continent. The contributions in this volume delve into current thinking about space and place and their effects on heritage, mobilities, globalization, colonialism and indigeneity, conflict, identity and nation-building, connections with other regions through migration and the slave trade, and a greater emphasis on the ordinary heritage of Africa, which has long been ignored by tourism scholars and industry representatives. The chapters herein are authored by Africa specialists, most being from Africa, offering a truly African perspective. The chapters are conceptually rigorous and empirically rich with examples from all regions of the African continent. This unparalleled interdisciplinary glimpse at cultural heritage and tourism in Africa delivers strong value and is a vital resource for all students and researchers of tourism, cultural studies, heritage studies, geography, anthropology, sociology, history, and global studies.

The impact of disasters and crises on culture, heritage, and religious tourism, have been realized in recent years, creating a need for solutions to heal and prevent future damage to these aspects of tourist regions. There is a need for strategies in mitigating these challenges and preserving cultural sites for the future. An emphasis on the importance of sustainability in cultural and heritage tourism, discussions on digitalization, stakeholder participation, and socio-economic livelihoods must be made to properly address this intricate issue. This book explores the development, marketing, and societal implications of cultural and heritage tourism enterprises, showcasing best practices and innovative business models. Exploring Culture and Heritage Through Experience Tourism is an academic research book that delves into the intricate relationship between tourism, culture, and heritage. It offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary exploration of this evolving field. Drawing on the latest research and international frameworks, this volume identifies new areas of culture and heritage tourism, understand its scope and challenges, and highlight its interlinkages with various sectors of the industry and the broader economy. Designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students of travel and tourism management, this book serves as a valuable resource. It also meets the needs of universities with cultural and heritage tourism in their curricula, and offers insights for industry leaders, policymakers, and researchers interested in multidisciplinary studies.

The geotourism industry has grown rapidly in recent years. This book introduces the geotourism industry, its attractions, activities and developments, in selected countries of the Middle East. A number of publications and studies have investigated the nature and scope of the phenomenon of geotourism (tourism which starts from geology) and geotourists worldwide. However, despite the breadth of these studies, few publications have investigated the phenomena in the Middle Eastern countries. Consequently, this book seeks to shed light on the different aspects of geotourism and geo-diversity in the Middle East and provides a number of case studies from this region. It assists in bridging the lacuna in the tourism and geology literature and helps planners, marketers, managers, scholars and researchers to enhance their knowledge about such issues. It outlines opportunities for, as well as barriers to, geotourism development in the Middle East as well as providing recommendations for the advancement of geotourism in the region.