The management of World Heritage Cities and sites is a challenging task. Getting visitor flows and the enormous traffic under control and implementing urban development projects in ways that preserve the integrity and authenticity of cultural heritage requires a high level of expertise, backed by the support of civil society and politics.This book is the result of the 2018 Conference of the Organization of World Heritage Cities, held by the Regional Secretariat for Northwest Europe and North America in Amsterdam, with the theme 'Heritage & Tourism: Local Communities and Visitors - Sharing Responsibilities'. The contributing expert authors - from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe - draw on a range of disciplines to offer wider perspectives, stimulating dialogue among the spheres of heritage, sustainable tourism, and spatial planning. An updated chapter offers perspectives on sustainable tourism also after the COVID-19 pandemic.

EDITORS:KURT LUGER is holder of the UNESCO Chair "Cultural Heritage and Tourism" and professor of Transcultural Communication at the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Salzburg. Recent publications: MediaCultureTourism (2018) Alpine Travels (ed. with Franz Rest, 2017) Tourism and Mobile Leisure (ed. with Roman Egger, 2015) Culture, Tourism and Development in the Himalayas (2014) The Endangered City - Strategies for Humane Building in Salzburg (ed. with Christoph Ferch, 2014) Cultural Heritage and Tourism (ed. with Karlheinz Wöhler, 2010) World Heritage and Tourism (ed. with Karlheinz Wöhler 2008).MATTHIAS RIPP holds a degree in Historical Geography from Bamberg University. Since 2007 he has been the world heritage coordinator of the "Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof" site. He is active in numerous networks such as Heritage Europe and ICOMOS. He coordinated the EU HerO (Heritage as Opportunity) project and chairs the UNESCO world heritage working group on historic city centres of the German Association of Cities. Since November 2011 he has also been regional coordinator for the North West European and North-American region of the Organisation of Heritage Heritage Cities (OWHC).