Every year, millions of people travel to see history – old cities, holy places, forts, music, food, festivals, and living traditions. Tourism brings money, jobs, and attention. This can help restore old buildings, give work to local guides and artisans, and keep ancient skills alive.
But if not managed well, tourism can hurt heritage. Too many visitors, careless actions, or shops replacing local homes can cause problems. After the pandemic, travel grew quickly. By 2024, global trips were almost back to pre-COVID numbers. This means the pressure on heritage sites is high again – but so is the chance to protect them.
What we mean by “cultural heritage”
Cultural heritage is not only monuments and museums. It includes:
- Historic buildings, temples, forts, mosques, churches, shrines, palaces, and old neighborhoods
- Archaeological sites
- Traditional arts, crafts, music, dance, and festivals
- Local foods and culinary traditions
- Languages, rituals, and daily ways of life
The World Heritage list of UNESCO identifies exceptional global value places. In 2025, the registry expanded once more to list 26 new properties, revealing just how numerous communities are seeking to conserve their legacies and invite guests sustainably.
The good: how tourism helps protect heritage
1) Money for conservation
Entrance tickets, guiding fees, and tourism taxes can pay for real work: repairing walls, cleaning sculptures, stabilizing foundations, and funding full-time staff. Many destinations set up special funds or fees to make this happen. For example, the Galápagos National Park doubled its visitor entry fee in August 2024 to raise more money for conservation and local needs.
2) Jobs and skills
Tourism gives jobs to guides, craft makers, musicians, traditional builders, repair experts, and small business owners like homestays and food stalls. When these jobs are connected to heritage, people have a reason to keep old skills and knowledge alive. The World Bank says that well-planned heritage tourism can help local economies grow and improve cities.
3) Awareness and pride
When visiotors are interested in the history and culture of a group of people, it helps to increase pride and also brings along the young people to attend; such as, through learning a traditional dance or an old craft instruction course.
4) Better planning and partnerships
The World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme of UNESCO assists the site managers, governments, businesses, and local people collaborate in the planning of tourism. It is a simple idea that safeguards the place first and then creates tourism based on that protection and that the money made is distributed fairly to all the stakeholders who contribute to it.
The bad: when tourism harms heritage
1) Too many people in small spaces (“overtourism”)
When too many visitors crowd into a small area, it can wear down old stones, floors, and fragile paintings. Residents may find it hard to live normally. UNESCO says that without good planning, too much tourism can slowly destroy the beauty and uniqueness that made people want to visit in the first place.
2) Physical damage and pollution
There are times when tourists reach carvings, jump on old walls or drop garbage behind. Vehicle smoke, ground tremors of heavy traffic, and vapour of people breath in small rooms will damage. Such little activities may damage or cause decay of significant heritage sites over time hence stripping them of their originality and interest.
3) Loss of local life
Local people might leave the area as houses become holiday rentals and stores that sell only souvenirs. Neighborhoods will resemble theme parks. The culture and the traditions turn into something to show to the guests, rather than something the community living there for years and years already is.
4) Unequal benefits
Tourism is associated with the flow of money but when the primary profits are absorbed by large corporations not operating within the community, citizens receive a very low amount. Once there is no material gain that people can see through tourism activities, they might not be inclined to preserve the history sites or cultural practices. This may expose the heritage to more danger with time.
Real-world fixes that work
The good news: many places have made smart rules to protect heritage while still welcoming visitors. Here are practical tools that are being used, with examples.
Daily caps and timed tickets
Limiting numbers and spreading visits across the day protects the site and makes the experience calmer.
- Machu Picchu (Peru) now uses named tickets with timed entry and separate visiting circuits. Visitor caps vary by season to control crowds while keeping funds flowing for conservation.
- Dubrovnik (Croatia) studied how many people its medieval Old Town can realistically handle. The carrying-capacity study suggested maximums inside the city core (e.g., around 8,000 people, with certain exceptions). This helps the city plan cruise arrivals and peak times.
Conservation fees and “you break it, you fix it” financing
Small fees from many visitors add up to serious conservation budgets.
- Galápagos Islands (Ecuador): Entry fees were increased for the first time since 1998, specifically to fund conservation and local community needs.
- Bhutan uses a Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) under its “High Value, Low Volume” model. The government has adjusted the fee (halved to US$100 per night during a multiyear period) to balance conservation goals with visitor demand.
Zoning and traffic controls
Keeping large buses out of fragile cores, directing pedestrian flow, or creating special traffic zones reduces damage and stress for residents and visitors. Dubrovnik and other historic centers are moving in this direction to protect fragile streets and buildings.
Trained guides and clear visitor rules
Good interpretation improves understanding and reduces risky behavior. Some sites require certified guides, set group size limits, or close trails for maintenance. (For example, the Inca Trail has daily trek limits and a February maintenance closure.)
Data and digital tools
People are distributed across circuits and time slots through timed tickets, QR-code entry, and visitor-flow apps (as is being tested with recent Machu Picchu fixes). This secures the site and eases the tour.
Community-based tourism and local ownership
When locals help manage tourism and earn from it (through homestays, guiding, craft markets, or food tours), they have a strong reason to protect heritage. This people-first model is endorsed by the UNESCO toolkit and in 2022, ICOMOS replaced its Cultural Heritage Tourism Charter with new updated language that emphasized the rights of communities and heritage protection within tourism strategies.
What international bodies say
- UN Tourism (UNWTO) reports that global travel recovered to near or above pre-pandemic levels in 2024, so the pressure and potential funding for heritage are both back. This makes strong management even more important.
- UNESCO promotes integrated planning so that tourism supports, rather than weakens, heritage values. It also warns that unmanaged crowds can erode the very qualities that attract visitors.
- OECD (a policy group of many governments) urges whole-of-government strategies to make tourism more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable; exactly what heritage sites need.
- World Bank shows, through case studies, that heritage-led urban renewal can attract investment and create jobs, if communities are part of the plan and preservation is front and center.
- ICOMOS sets professional standards. Its 2022 charter highlights community rights, fair benefits, and careful visitor management as core principles.
Simple checklist for making tourism protect heritage
If you are a site manager, local official, tour operator, or community leader, these steps are practical and proven:
Know the site’s limits- Do a carrying-capacity study: how many people can safely visit at one time? Set daily caps and use timed entry if needed. (Dubrovnik’s approach is a model.)
Charge smart, spend locally- Keep a clear, public link between fees and conservation results: “Your ticket fixed 50 meters of the city wall this month.” The Galápagos fee change is a good example of transparent conservation finance.
Design visitor flows- Create one-way routes and themed circuits. Spread arrivals over the day. Use QR codes and named tickets (Machu Picchu’s system shows how this reduces bottlenecks).
Train and certify guides- Guides can protect artifacts, correct misinformation, and model good behavior. Limit group sizes and require accredited guides for sensitive zones.
Share benefits with the community- Support local homestays, markets, and cultural events. Involve elders, youth, and artisans in decisions. Follow the ICOMOS Charter’s people-centered approach.
Protect residents’ quality of life- Keep essential shops and housing in heritage districts. Manage cruise arrivals and coach traffic. Create “quiet hours” for religious sites and homes.
Repair before promotion- Fix the basics; stabilize structures, improve drainage, manage waste, before big marketing pushes. Growth should not outpace protection.
Monitor and adapt- Track wear-and-tear, resident satisfaction, and visitor numbers. Publish the data. Adjust caps and routes when needed.
Case snapshots (quick and clear)
- Machu Picchu, Peru: Named, timed tickets and three main circuits help spread people out. Daily caps differ by season to protect the site while sustaining local jobs. Visitors must book early, but the experience is more organized and respectful.
- Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Entry fees doubled in 2024; the first rise since 1998, to fund conservation and community needs in a very fragile archipelago. This is a textbook example of using tourism income for protection.
- Bhutan: The Sustainable Development Fee under the “High Value, Low Volume” policy aims to control numbers and keep tourism aligned with environmental and cultural goals. The temporary reduction to US$100 per night shows how pricing can be tuned to market conditions while keeping the core model.
- Dubrovnik, Croatia: A carrying-capacity study led to concrete targets for people inside the Old Town at any one time. This guides decisions on tour-bus access, cruise schedules, and on-street crowd management.
What travelers can do (your role matters!)
- Choose sites that manage well- Look for places with timed tickets, route plans, and clear conservation goals.
- Pay the fee without grumbling- Those funds keep the site alive for the next generation.
- Use local services- Hire local guides, eat local food, and buy directly from artisans.
- Follow the rules- Don’t touch carvings, don’t climb on walls, and respect quiet zones in religious places.
- Travel off-peak or off-route- Spreading your visit reduces pressure on famous hotspots and supports lesser-known gems.
Impact of Global Tourism on Preserving Cultural Heritage
Tourism can absolutely help save cultural heritage; but only if protection comes first. The right combination is obvious based on world experience: restrict where necessary, collect reasonable costs and apply them openly to conservation, ensure movement and flows are managed, enlighten guides, and reward local communities an authentic stake and voice.
International guidance from UNESCO, UN Tourism, OECD, ICOMOS, and the World Bank all points in the same direction: plan together, manage actively, monitor the impact, and put people and heritage at the center.
If we do this, travel does more than take photos. It becomes a powerful tool to keep history alive.
Article by Rachna