1. Introduction
“Over-tourism” implies the phenomenon of popular destinations or sightseeing becoming overrun by tourists in an unsustainable way (Routledge, 2018). According to the research of Intrepid Adventure Travel Index 2018, South European states and Iceland are the countries that the numbers of tourists exceed that of local residences for 2 to 13 times.
Concerns about over-tourism practices of putting the UNESCO World Heritage of some destinations at risk (Seraphin, 2018) have also been putting under the global spotlight. The opponents of over-tourism criticize that it is equitable with mass tourism, in which Koens (2018) claims that increasing tourist number cause no obvious impacts are observed towards the heritage, while Goodwin (2017) claims that over-tourism has contributed over-crowding, wear-and-tear and tainted social problems to the heritage.
Regarding the above arguments, I support Goodwin's view that over-tourism will cause detrimental effects on the global cultural heritage, by the means of structural and atmospheric damage on the heritages, commercialization and cultural invasion on heritage are the damage that is contributed to them. This first part of the essay is going to critically examine the above phenomenon on global heritage, while the second part will present a brief illustration how business ethics and transnational efforts incorporated into the cultural heritage management, as to analyze how the detrimental effects on heritage can be minimized by upholding ethical codes and multinational help. 2.1) Structural and atmospheric damage on Heritage sites
Cultural tourism has emerged currently, where tourists are influenced by the globalization trend under the cultural perspective, Fabion Carbone (2017) initiated that cultural diplomacy act as a “conceptual bridge” to tourism by promoting mutual understanding of cultures, while Mary-Catherine Garden (2006) introduces “Heritagescape” as a powerful mean to enrich the tourists experience by offering linkage with cultural memory. Social media plays an important role to promote heritage tourism, that Koumelis (2011) brings out that social media have been adopted by travellers as to search and annotate travelling experiences through social bookmarking and knowledge sharing sites. As a result, a mass number of tourists visited heritage by online communities’ recommendation and explore historic or artistic architectures and by their genealogical interests of those countries.
Tourists from diverse countries and cultures at the same time pose a threat on the capacity of the heritage, as well as the uncivilized of the tourists’ actions such as stealing or stamping, leaving surficial and structural destructions on the monuments. The alter of climates and atmospheric conditions due to the influx of tourists also reduce the vulnerability of heritages themselves and accelerate degradation along with the monument sites.
A journal article from The Telegraph in 2017 points out that Machu Picchu in Peru has observed with tourist’s relentless behaviour by tourists, who are clambering over the ruins, taking stones and marking on the floor of the site. (McDemott, 2007) These worsen the landscapes and increase the risks of structural erosion of the site, on the other hand, mass tourists visiting generating £30 million every year to Peru government. While in the Great City Wall in China, which has been recorded 24 million global visitors in 2013, are observed with graffiti along the wall, damages are observed that pathways of the trails are demolished that bricks are excavated by the tourists. (Seeker Media, 2017)
Cultural heritage is a global patrimony for global citizens, yet poorly-behaved behaviours leave indelible damages on the heritage, the issue is worsened particularly in some developing countries, which Carroll (2017) put further arguments that the existence of lack of infrastructural support and government less lenient punishment with the unscrupulous tourists are threatening the integrity of the heritage by disrupting the uniqueness of historic and spiritual resources. The consequences of over-tourism may have an extensive threatening to the heritage that continuous misbehaviour act will shorten the lifespan of the heritage and increasing its vulnerabilities to resist natural degradation.
The natural degradation may be accelerated by over-tourism, demonstrating impactful geological disasters on the heritage by disrupting its natural level of climatic level, which increase its risk of destruction under the natural environmental change. With the uncontrollable tourists' flow on the fragile heritage and mismanagement of population flow exacerbate such crisis. The atmospheric damage on the archaeological painting in the Altamira and Lascaux cave in Spain and France respectively are observed due to high tourists along with the vulnerable heritage.
Heat, humidity and carbon dioxide level disrupt the normal level of the atmosphere that preserves the heritage painting in an optimal condition (NY Times, 2014). The Guardian in 2014 argues that microbial colonization is also speeded along the walls and the cave ceilings lead to partial openness to the public (Guardian, 2014). It was being concluded by the Spanish National Research Council that people contribute bad habit of moving, breathing and perspiring, while the curator of the Lascaux museum, Muriel Mauriac consider the cave is over fragile while facing the influx of tourists.
A mass number of tourists from the over-tourism activities put the risk of heritage facing atmospheric destruction on some prehistoric heritage due to the alter of micro-climate by causing on erosion and sediment surfaces. The fragility of the heritage is needed to maintain a suitable level of protection; however, the uncontrollable number of tourists lowered the resistance of heritage towards endogenous atmospheric threat which eventually lowers its vulnerability to overcome degradation.
Mismanagement practices are also found that institutional measures of tourists’ divergence are proven ineffective to combat on over-tourism, putting the fragile heritage at the verge of destruction. Michelangelo’s ceiling painting in the Vatican is under the threat of oxidization under mass tourists’ exhaustion of carbon dioxide, and body sweat towards 16th century chapel(Guardian, 2012), while the head of Vatican Museum, Antonio Paolucci stressed that the mix of entrance channels by queuing outside, making reservations through Internet and travel agencies, cannot erase the problem of over-tourism, in which Sistine Chapel has reached the maximum number of visitors.
The same issue happened in Venice, where The Guardian in 2017 through the article, <Venice world heritage status under threat>, worried subsidence of water village is emerging under over-tourism that tourism ministry of Italy failed to diverge cruise ships out of Venice, causing waterway disruption and weakening building foundations, Van ber Borg (1996) further argues that over-tourism in Europe is mainly due to laissez-faires approach adopted by policymakers and entrepreneurs(Van der Borg, 1996).
Government inability to play an adequate intervention role to enhance better urban planning land use or tourist flow controlling policy, pampering tourism activities that further diminishing the capacity of the fragile heritage, greatly causing the instability of heritage foundations and lost of the attractiveness of some prehistoric heritage. Damage on cultural heritage can be explained by two-fold: The endogenous threat from the over-tourism and the loss of strength of the heritages overcoming such over-tourism threats.
Over-tourism representing a huge amount of tourists’ flow cause tremendous threats by resulting demolishment and structural weakening of the heritage. On the other hand, the susceptibility of heritage experiencing atmospheric change and ineffective institutional policy towards heritage monument also leads to the crisis of heritage devaluation. 2.2) Commercialization of heritage In order to accommodate the needs of the influx of tourists, high level of commercializing is observed in the majority of heritage, repackaging heritage as a place that orient to tourists’ commodities. I agree with Coombe (2009)’s argument that the situation of such proliferation of heritage commercialization can be described as Viking heritage is rebranded as a Disney-style amusement park and urban trail systems as to promote the city’s brewing heritage nowadays. The scenario of heritage commercialization is laid out during the first United Nations of World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as tourists overshadow residents and become the main market of commercial provision, which the commodity in the market are characterized as homogeneity and mass-assemble that is deviating to local residences’ demands.
The tourists- oriented cultures greatly undermine and dilute the cultural uniqueness of the heritage, in which the transformation of the surficial outlook and the commercial value intrusion to the heritage culture give rise to such problems. Over-tourism is a severe problem struggling in Lijiang and Dali Old city in Yunnan, China for a long time, Bao and Su (2007) blame that shops were highly dependent upon tourists rather than the locals in different streets, where market mechanisms determine the ship distribution that more than 75% of houses are used for tourists businesses and only 2.4% of them exclusively served the locals. Samadi and Yunus (2012) outline Malacca and Penang in Malaysia are flooded with functionally mixed-used for shopping, working and living but personalization quality by end users, these are putting the pressures on maintaining heritage aesthetical and economical balance.
Commercial activities of the heritage has a good deed which is effectively to provide value-added benefits to various suppliers, Gould (2016) believes that tradespeople and service industries who support the site and generate sustainable fund for further heritage maintenance, which I partly agree with the viewpoint of Gould, yet the over-inclination to tourists leads to the ingratiation of tourists by amending the original features of the heritage. The aesthetic value of the site may be disrupted by the construction of facilities which are designed for the tourists.
The over-tourism accelerates the demands form tourists’ spending sectors, high level of the commodification of heritage is observed. Timothy & Nyaupane (2009) depict such commodification leads to the detachment of the traditional artefacts and practices’ meaning from the original context, displaying to the visitors who may not appreciate the cultural significance. It is rational what Timothy & Nyaupane’s viewpoints as they also consider that heritage maintenance may have a conflictual clash with the strategic objectives of international private sector developers. The commodification of heritage services appeared in the Caribbean states in St. Lucia, the well-known archaeological sites of Lavoutte are being partially destroyed by the tourism services of horse-riding by trampling on the site, Siegel (2017) depicting a situation that destruction of heritage is owing to the combination of the interests of developers and national government lack of concern as to the importance of cultural memory. Siegel and his colleagues further argue that Caribbean heritagescapes are threatened by the combination of socioeconomic needs of modern society. Siegel considers urgent socio-economic development needs lead to such issue which Zhu (2004) can help to explain by protesting such efforts by increasing heritage attractiveness, in turns destroying and demeaning the cultural context of the monument.
The exploitation of heritage and commercialization often experienced dilemma situation in which appropriate marketing is needed to produce resonance to the global tourists (Liu, 2015), however, over-tourism with the gradual increase in multinational and multi-cultural tourists leaves no room for the government-official to consider balancing of heritage core value and commercial portion. Chang (2015) argues that intentional replication of heritage without historical reference with unrelated service offerings will destroy the authenticity of the heritage features by commodities “packaged and sold to tourists.” The issue is getting worsened when the government officials like cultural ministry failed to safeguard the core value of heritage and allow business organizations to brand heritage as a place for entertainment rather than cultural appreciation, such decorations of heritage include adding unrelated commercial activities like dancing and over-altering of heritage outlooks. I agree with Liu (2015)’s criticisms that such cultural commoditization happened in Alarde festival in Spain that over-packaging of ritual dances as a tourists’ performance led to the loss of the Basque language in the streets. Commercialization can create synergic effects with marketing, yet, detrimental consequences may occur if it is more inclined to ingratiate tourists, the balance is lost and leaving lengthy and remarkable damage to the heritage. 2.3) Disruption of social-cultural interactions of heritages Heritage is not constrained as a specified monument site, but it is expanded as a heritage belt or as a heritage city’s landscape. It is also common knowledge that over tourism also leads to social discontent is resulted from the resentment towards the tourists. Organization of anti-tourism, by protesting tourism activities are impacting negatively to their daily life and disrupting their legitimacy of local legal business. (Bucklet, 2017), and Croes (2017) proclaiming that their pursued interest in their quality of life prevailed the income generated by the tourism industry. I support Naboodah (2011) believing heritage is a living entity that submerged into the socio-cultural atmosphere, which provides a communicative bridge with the local cultures and tourists. The interaction of heritage and social culture, however, is disrupted by the invasive cultures of the tourists, possibly doing unethical or societal behaviours that are largely contradicted to the heritage and its surrounding cultures.
Barcelona has 9 entitled UNESCO heritage including Park Guell and Casa Ballto, but the surrounding heritage cultures are being voiced that rave parties and drug dealing activities are prevalent in the surrounding districts, Goodwin (2016) expresses his concern that tourists using the nearby street as toilets and even having sex in the public cause massive resentment of the Barcelonans, by condemning such tarnishing social atmosphere of the heritage and delivering their wants to get the heritage of Barcelona back as a “dignified district”. Such disruptive tourists’ behaviour devalues the surrounding heritage area and deprives the cultural value of the heritage. Although the primary impact is minimal that such behaviours are having no direct linkage to any structural damages on the heritage, however secondary impact related to the perception of heritage is massively lowered by the immoral acts of the tourists.
Such social-cultural clash, however, was justified that Barcelona needs to uphold its tourism brand as an open city. Josep Ramoneda (2016) as the director of the contemporary cultural centre of Barcelona argue that Barcelona “need to be pluricultural in the world, as this city is proud of its diversity with free and open cultures”. Ramoneda’s viewpoints can hardly be agreed upon that it is unwise to trade off indigenous cultures in exchange of growing popularity of heritage, although heritage is a valuable asset that is needed to promote to tourists with pluralistic cultures.
The citizenship of locals is becoming endangered due to over-tourism activities by provoking a strong feeling of rejection, and the cultural identity of the indigenous population associated with the perception of heritage cultures will be also diminished. García-Hernández (2017) traced the factors are growing urbanization that contributes less emotional attachment to the heritage due to the growth of tourists’ rental property business, while Sana & Quaglieri (2016) put the blame on the invasion of Airbnb contribute the diminishing features of the heritage surrounding that the is transformed into accommodational usage. Some heritage belt is also threatened by the changing of urban planning under the existence of over-tourism that displace locals’ identity of cultural heritage attachment.
Donostia-San Sebastián (1996) demonstrated that residents’ crowding out effect is occurring in Salzburg in Austria and Bruges in Belgium. The over-tourism effect increases land prices around the heritage, displacing them to alternative places with no basic living needs’ secure. This leaves a prolonged social impact that such altering of the local resident’s life weakens their ethnic identity related to the heritage. Such change of urban land uses encroached to the heritage regions will also weaken their attachment with heritage. Heritage alone cannot project its cultural distinctiveness to the tourists but by the means of creating synergic effects on the nearby, such as socio-cultural and human interactions.
However, over-tourism distorts such balancing effect that misconduct behaviour will taint the perception of the heritage by leaving the impression of nasty or dirty to the heritage. Heritage regions and belts will be also under the threat of urban planning to accommodate a mass number of tourists and resulting in weakened heritage cultural ethnical identity of the local residents. 3) How business ethics incorporated into global cultural heritage management? Cultural heritage management is facing serious challenges with over-tourism. The concept of tourism business ethics started to incorporate into heritage management measures, where sustainability and business ethics play an important role in heritage management. Hagarty (1992) criticizes the current phenomenon of international tourism and hospitality industries that they allegedly scant regard for the environment, community and cultures, while I appreciate what De George (1992) has proposed that tourism needs to be cohesive, rational whole out of the individual and social moral experiences, by determining transnational rules of ethics provide foundations of maintaining heritage. With the transnational help, countries can leverage expertise from the connection of states to implement collective actions.
Therefore, I argue that business ethics are well incorporated into the transnational cultural heritage management, as business ethics create a synergic effect with corporate social responsibility, emphasize the benefits of the minority which prevail the pursuit of profit-maximization, and promote the establishment of fair trade within the tourism industries. 3.1) Obeying corporate social responsibility and sustainability into the cultural management measures The emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility is carried along with the sustainability of triple bottom line (social, economic, environment), Sonia Khan (2014) argues that the emergence of such concepts lies on the of adverse consequences of the tourism industries. CSR implies that corporation is no longer focus on focusing on short term benefit making but to a long-term balance to the society and stakeholders, while Holjevac (2008) proclaimed that CSR in tourism industries are becoming increasingly important for the preservation of the society for market competitiveness and tourism companies’ reputations.
The tourism industries include the provision of services that provides betterment to the customers with the long-term vision of the corporates, these can be applied into the heritage tourism, that the commercial activities are well-balanced with the long-term cultural sustainability of the heritage. Heritage maintenance corporations and organizations should be the entity to enforce its responsibility on fulfilling the balance of commercial and cultures. Heritage tourism may be a boon for the corporations and the countries, particularly the developing that bring considerable return on heritage maintenance, but at the same time it correlates to some negative effects on environmental and socio-cultural situations, which it is pathetic what Suchanek (2001) argues, that the revenue is only reaching to the pockets of the international tourism companies, where heritage transportations and souvenirs generated are the only significant source of income.
It is not rational that heritage tourism can be metamorphosed into the opportunity of money-making activities, therefore business ethics are important to incorporate into the heritage management, which is upholding the importance of expecting a welcome and pleasant stay, including heritage tourism to the tourists. These include preventive activities that reduce nuisance to the operations and reporting on activities to assist heritage preservation which promotes resources sustainability. The concept incorporated can result in more sustainable outcomes of heritage not to be exploited by cultural attacks or physical damage.
New innovative forms of tourism emerge nowadays that promotes niche form of tourists’ interests by providing unique experiences. This is also related to the heritage tourism where tourists may not be appreciating heritage with cultural perspective, but with unconventional travelling experiences. Khan (2014) lays out some examples like slum, space and sex tourism in current tourism trends which have contradicted universal values by the deprivation of either gender respects or dignity. Heritage tourism may be endangered by new forms of travelling methods that tourists mistakenly focus on heritage tourism to some inauthentic issues instead of its genuine cultural elements.
Cultural awareness will be diluted which will pose a threat to heritage sustainable tourism, We can see that business ethics is also important that it reinforces the concept of CSR and sustainability into further heritage maintenance progress. The corporations are also needed to minimize the over-commercialization but at the same time safeguarding the core cultural value of the heritage in the long run. 3.2) Involve engagement of the local communities Business ethics also reinforce the principle of minority involvement and cultural identities in heritage management measures. Two principles are inter-connecting with each other, where the heritage management are sustaining its authenticity and cultural presentation. Minorities referring to the local indigenous peoples or groups, whose representativeness is weak comparing with the tourism organizations, MNC or government.
Horner and Swarsbrooke (1996) emphasize that social responsibility in any forms of tourism should include the relations with the local community, stressing that social responsibility is expanded to all people and the environment in the widest sense of the world (Haljevac, 2011). Horner and Swarsbrooke’s stances are justified that indigenous involvement is the cornerstone of the heritage protection practices by perpetuating strong authenticity of the heritage. Sense of belonging is also greatly associated with the heritage that heritage can exercise socio-cultural interactions in the community and the public. However, globalization has diminished the heritage distinctiveness as Sennett (1970) argues that it reduces the minority to combat against the hegemony of globalization on the heritage.
The case of Singapore demonstrates a good example that it effectively strengthens the racial sense of belongings by conserving Chinese heritages ranging from temples and streets in the style of the colonial period. Under the growing prosperity of Singapore, the Cultural ministry did not put economic development as the priority but also emphasize on preserving cultural elements of the Chinese heritage. The Singaporean government transformed China Town into a “theme-based” heritage spot that follows the highest authenticity of the modes of Chinese business practices and environments in the British colonial era. For example, shophouses with heavy influences of Singaporean Chinese style and British colonial styles are preserved without alters for tourists’ use.
Yuen (2005) claim that Singaporean’s cultural management issues as well- mixing with national citizen’s ethnic identity, performing as a language of globalization by reinforcing the concept of Singapore as a “home of Singaporean” to the Singaporean Chinese mindset, while Zhang (2010) consider that the policy is the extension of historical perception to the tourists, by providing distinctive insight under globalization trend. The case illustrates a successful scenario that although Singapore performed itself as a developmental state in the 1980s and heavily intervened into business sectors, it highly aligns to business ethics by taking great care of the local communities, establishing cultural significance on its heritage management, and respecting other heritage from other ethnic groups like Malaysian or Indians at the same time.
The local involvement of heritage tourism put business ethics into humane tourism, by empowering local communities through travel associated business around the world. Zaharia (2014) outline such benefits falls on enabling travellers to experience the destinations through the eyes of the locals while ensuring tourists dollar are benefitting the local communities directly. Community-based sustainable-tourism can be the methods of that mix with the practices of heritage tourism with the assistance from Small and Medium Enterprises, that Freeman (1984) reveals that SMEs are the secondary stakeholders to put business ethics into heritage management measures. Locals can be a responsible character to run heritage business and promote conservation messages. Such promotion of local involvement in the heritage management issues with business ethics incorporations justifies the claim of Keating and Constantinescu (2012) that it is a key to provide a competitive advantage for the heritage operators.
Since local involvement is effective to preserve the authenticity of the heritage, business ethics blend well into the heritage management issues with social capital, performing as an assisting force of aligning business ethics codes with emphasis on equal access in participation in tourists’ sites as well as cultural heritage spots.
Moreover, Steven (2014) claims that international recognition of indigenous people roles is also considered as a new paradigm linking conservation, culture and rights.
Such ethical business practices create mutual benefit to the community and the heritage itself that protect heritages will also increase the cohesion of national identities associated with heritages in the long run. 3.3) Business ethics perpetuate transnational fair-trade practices in heritage management issues Since in the neoliberalism era, schools of thought related to institutionalization and social greens produced gradual divergent perceptions towards the interpretations of the relationships between human activities and environments. While the former part illustrates the local involvement aligning with the ideologies of social green, this part will present the argument of transnational organization upholding fairness trade is aligning with business ethical practices in the heritage management.
Awareness rise among global citizens that tourism is damaging the environment due to the quick profit earning and the urgency of business ethics emerged. The global community where United Nations of World Tourism Organisation as the head, following the principle of sustainability, proposed 10 principles “global codes of ethics for tourism” in 1999, performing as guidance of transnational key-players in the tourism industries (Khan, 2014). Multiple stakeholders by the inclusion of transnational actors like NGOs and business associations performed in a responsible and ethical manner, particularly more focused on heritage tourism in the priority by strictly following the codes of conducts.
It is argued that fairness in trade is included into the ethical practices that such transnational organization, conferences and treaties provide a playing ground for the developing countries by financial and technological access, to strengthen their capabilities of refining the heritage management policies. McNulty and Wafer (1990) that openness of communication network and the provision of loans and information system access can be guaranteed that heritage management’s qualities can be met. Ashely and Boyd (2000) further claim that helps form transnational entities can further support countries where tourism is their economic pillar, with the facilitation of the capital flows and managerial expertise and promote “Pro-poor tourism”.
Baird (2015) also argue that excluding corporate intents, global pressures are also important for linking up with powerful international networks, by leveraging the blaming on the industrial actors who failed to recognize indigenous collective rights. In related to such conflicts and disputes, transnational efforts of settling disputes among the approach of heritage management can be observed, acting as the third party during the process of conflict mediation, with ethical fairness embedded in the arbitration.
For instance, J.M. Taylor (2015) argues that illegal acquisition and export of cultural property has emerged as a global problem, where Mackenzie (2014) illustrates in regions of less developed countries like Cambodia, Angkor Wat is suffering looting of artefacts of tourists and militants, threatening the effectiveness of regional heritage law. Therefore, transnational efforts of safeguarding heritage integrity rely heavily upon world societies that established codes of conduct contribute to high legal effectiveness. Parkhomenko (2011) even points out that multi-lateral agreements by transnational efforts can secure national interests in artefacts of its cultural significance. Though disputes are hard to mitigate, treaties are considered as a feasible way to deter impacts resulted from such conflicts.
By using international treaties, it will provide more security by cultural property protection and prevent it from pillage or vandalism against it. UNESCO Convention, property implementation act and treaties are also the ideal ways to promote the integrity of heritage tourism. The Business ethical behaviour of fairness embedded with different stakeholders equal participation in the discussion of heritage management, contributing legitimate collective actions in confronting unfair treatment or threatening of cultural heritage under commonly established norms.
4.) Conclusions
Heritage tourism has been considered as the fast-growing interests of global tourism, which Bowitz and Ibenholt (2009) appreciated that in regions with economic problems, cultural heritage tourism activities are an effective means to stimulate economic activity. But with uncontrollable tourists’ inflow to the heritage spots and disregard of indigenous social needs and cultural awareness, the risks of cultural homogenization and destruction on heritage will grow rapidly.
By taking considerations in over-tourism will lead to structural and surficial destruction, while commercialization will lead to cultural degradation that it will leave scars od intentional replication on the heritage. Over-tourism will even threaten the existence of heritage area due to the official planning of urban areas are more tilting to accommodate mass amount of tourists, therefore, I argue that over-tourism will bring severe threatening on global heritage and the promotion of heritage tourism have limited helps on reversing such destructions.
The lessons learnt from the over-tourism is business ethics in the tourism industry should be upheld by balancing heritage conservation, communities’ benefits consideration and sustainable economic return within the cultural heritage management issues.
It is also proposed that a high level of ethical conducts should be incorporated into the management policies, including a combination of CSR and Triple Bottom Lines’ principle by safeguarding the authenticity of heritages. Business ethics also include local and indigenous participation in heritage conservation in tourism by respecting their concerns and opinions. The principle of fairness is also put further to a transnational level that conventions and arbitrations are the affiliates to promote fair trade in tourism industries, protecting heritage under the trend of globalization or abuse by tourists and governments
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