(Him: Charlie)
When UNESCO first started
designating heritage sites in 1978, I wonder if they thought about the
designations being used as a marketing tool. Indeed, being a UNESCO designated
site definitely has a better draw on travelers, at least when the number of designated
sites was still relatively low.
However, the UNESCO
designation seems to have lost its silver lining these days, as more and more
sites receive their designations. In fact, as of 2012, 962 sites are listed:
745 cultural, 188 natural, and 29 mixed properties, in 157 States Parties. With
this large number of designated sites, how much draw does the designation have
on tourists? Probably not a lot left.
During our trip to South
America 3 years ago, Chung and I realized it’s ok not to visit all the UNESCO
sites because there are too many of them. This time around, I don’t even
remember how many UNESCO sites Jo and I have been to – Warsaw, Piran, Split,
Dubrovnik, Mostar, Kotor, Ohrid, etc. Some of these sites are more impressive
than other, but one thing is certain, we went there not because of the UNESCO
designation.
I can understand the
importance of a UNESCO site in the sense of heritage protection, but
unfortunately, though the designation is being widely used as a tourist
promotion tool, it can no longer be used as travel guidance.
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