About partners for livable

3 | CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM ABROAD
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM=SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
An emerging focus of Partners’ cultural heritage tourism work in recent years has been overseas, on 
developing parts of the world. As was discussed in chapter one, tourism around the world is booming, 
and leading destinations near and far to make competitive efforts to seize more and more tourists and the 
resources they bring along. 
Clearly, the benefits to communities that have traditionally existed on the margins can be significant. In 
just one example culled from endless stories of places that have been buoyed by the growth in tourism, 
the Central American nation of Panama has succeeded in their efforts to attract more tourists in recent 
years. A report from the World Bank’s “Responsible Tourism Series” revealed how Panama’s efforts have 
not only brought more dollars to the government’s coffers, but have also benefitted poor populations and 
rural economies, and all the while protecting the natural environment in a responsible way.
6
Yet, as successful as tourism has been in some places, Partners’ experience together with leading literature 
on the subject suggests that many more communities in developing parts of the world struggle to grow 
their tourism sectors responsibly, in a manner that benefits local residents and preserves the cultural and 
natural qualities that make unique communities desirable tourist destinations in the first place. For those 
who have been lucky enough to visit a range of places around the world, the experience of visiting a so-
called “tourist trap” is probably a familiar one: an otherwise charming community that has forsaken its 
defining characteristics in exchange for kitschy souvenir shops and bad tour guides.
Similarly, some communities have 
seen the growth in global tourism and 
responded by selling off all of their 
natural beauty and cultural heritage 
to the highest bidder, thinking that 
they only way they can capture tourist 
dollars is by building ever bigger 
resorts, spas or golf courses.