Regional Conference Northwest Europe and North America 2018 in Amsterdam – successful meeting on the topic of “Heritage & Tourism: Local Communities and Visitors – Sharing Responsibilities”

The OWHC Regional Conference in Amsterdam/Netherlands was successfully held from November 27 to 29 2018. A total of 46 participants from 20 World Heritage cities as well as experts from other organizations met in the hosting member city Amsterdam.

The team from the Regional Secretariat in Regensburg together with the colleagues in Amsterdam organized a dense program with a full “Scientific Day” on the topic. With the support of Professor Kurt Luger from Austria as moderator as well as Prof. Greg Richards as keynote speaker, the challenges for our World Heritage Cities were laid out when it comes to coordinating heritage in a sustainable tourism on site. Special insights were given by six member cities on their experiences and best practices. In a workshop session, the participants intensively discussed possible principles and activities that can be developed for our World Heritage site management when it comes to touristic use.

During the Delegates meeting of the member cities in good standing of the region, the regional work program for the upcoming two years was agreed upon. The representatives of the General Secretariat, Denis Ricard and Lee Minaidis, presented the status of the upcoming World Congress preparations as well as the new activities of the General Secretariat on a global scale.

On the third day of the conference, Amsterdam offered insights in special areas of preservation, tourism management as well as archaeology and thus gave all guests a great chance to gain a deeper insight in the measures of practical heritage management.

Special gratitude is expressed to the City of Amsterdam for hosting this conference and especially to the team of the World Heritage Office with Inez Weyermans, Trudie de Vries and Mascha Haring.