2015 UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture: Building A New Partnership in Siem Reap, Cambodia

The first UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture: Building a New Partnership held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from February 4-6, 2015, broke new ground in bringing together over 600 delegates including over 40 ministers and vice-ministers of tourism and/or culture from around the world to jointly discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by both the tourism and culture sectors.

The participants endorsed the Siem Reap Declaration on Tourism and Culture and committed to encourage and facilitate effective partnerships between government, private and community organizations in both tourism and cultural heritage sectors.

ICOMOS Philippines was represented by the following members: Ivan Man Dy, Claudia Isabelle Montero, Richard Daenos, Jeremy Balagat, Kat Correa, Rene Luis S. Mata, Tracey Santiago, Ivan Henares, and Marianne Claire Vitug.

They witnessed the Signing Ceremony of the ST-EP (Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty) and met up with the Mexican Patrimonio Mundial and Jordi Tresserras Juan of the Universitat de Barcelona.

ICOMOS ICTC President Susan M. Millar arrives in Manila

ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee (ICTC) President Susan M. Millar arrived in Manila last night for the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Conference and 2012 ICTC Annual Meeting that will be held next week in the Historic Town of Vigan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She was met at the airport by ICOMOS Conference Chair Ivan Anthony S. Henares (right) and Co-Chair Ivan Homer U. Man Dy (left).

International Cultural Tourism Committee holds its 2012 Annual Meeting and Conference in the Philippines

(by Murray Brown, ICTC Secretary General)

An international conference on cultural tourism was held on November 7/8 2012 in the World Heritage city of Vigan, capital of the province of Ilocos Sur on the west coast of the Philippines island of Luzon. The event demonstrated both the rising influence of the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee (ICTC) and the energy and sophistication of the ICOMOS Philippines organising team.

Billed as ‘cultural tourism for community development’ and part of the 40 year celebration of the World Heritage Convention, the two day conference attracted more than 200 delegates from around the world, including a large contingent of students from local universities.

Continue reading “International Cultural Tourism Committee holds its 2012 Annual Meeting and Conference in the Philippines”

List of papers at International Conference on Cultural Tourism as of 27 August 2012

November 7, 2012 (Wednesday)
08:00-09:00     Registration
09:00-09:05     Philippine National Anthem
09:05-09:10     Welcome Message – Augusto F. Villalon, President, ICOMOS Philippines
09:10-09:20     Opening Address – Susan Millar, President, ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee (ICTC)
09:20-10:00     Keynote Address – Hon. Felipe de Leon, Chairman, National Commission for Culture and the Arts
10:00-10:30     Cultural Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities for  Community Development / A Destination Approach to Protecting Heritage Values and Enhancing the Visitor Experience – Policy, Planning and Management – Susan Millar, ICTC President
10:30-11:00     Coffee Break
11:00-11:30     Tourism and Community Development through Successful Cultural Heritage Merchandising – Graham Brooks
11:30-12:00     Shared Built Heritage in Asia – Sue Jackson-Stepowski, ISC SBH Vice President
12:00-13:00     Lunch
13:00-13:30     Economic and Social Impact of Heritage – Michele Prats, Vice President, ICOMOS France
13:30-14:00     Community Based Tourism in the Philippines: National Tourism Development Plan and Intramuros Master Plan – Augusto Villalon, ICOMOS Philippines President
14:00-14:30     Cultural Heritage Tourism Development Framework for Enhancing Heritage for Tourism: Case Study, The Grand Trunk Road in Punjab, India – Gurmeet S Rai, Director, CRCI New Delhi
14:30-15:00     Gabii sa Kabilin – Joy Gerra, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation
15:00-15:30     Coffee Break
15:30-16:00     Heritage Site Visitation Management – Randy Durband, USA
16:00-16:30     Cultural Tourism in a Multi-Ethnic Traumatized Community – Pali Wijeratne, Sri Lanka
16:30-17:00     The Role of Cultural Heritage in Peacemaking and Rebuilding Post-Conflict Communities – Suzanne Bott, PhD
17:30-18:00     War and Peace in Tourism – Mark Torres, MSU Iligan
18:00-18:15     Announcements

November 8, 2012 (Thursday)
08:00-08:30     Arrival of Participants
08:30-09:00     High-Impact Tour Packages for Sustainable Community Development: The Case of Kularts Tribal Tours and Cultureight Travel – Carlo Ebeo and Charisse Aquino-Tugade
09:00-09:30     Liternature: Cultural Tourism Destination and Opportunity for Community – Kwangsik Kim, Senior Member, ICOMOS Korea
09:30-10:00     Cultural Tourists of the Future for the Asia-Pacific Region – Hilary du Cros
10:00-10:30     Coffee Break
10:30-11:00     Cultural Heritage and Local Development: A Case Study of District Mansehra KP, Pakistan – Sattar Fazli Durrani, Assistant Professor, Hazara University
11:00-11:30     Communicating Heritage Values – Creative Conversations – Peter Ross and Susan Millar, ICTC President
11:30-12:00     “Telling the Stories of The Rocks”:  Place Based Interpretation (Ian Kelly, Director, The Rocks and Circular Quay, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority)
12:00-13:00     Lunch
13:00-13:30     The Heritage River Island, Assam – Dilip K. Medhi, Gauhati University, Guwahati Department of Anthropology
13:30-14:00     Developing Values-Based and Participatory Tourism: A Need for “River Island of Majuli Cultural Landscape in the Midstream of Brahmaputra River, Assam, India” for a Prospective World Heritage Site in North East India – GSV Suryanarayana Murthy, Conservation Architect, Hyderabad, India; and Syed Iftikar Hussain, CEO, Majuli Cultural Landscape Management Authority, Assam, India
14:00-14:30     Sustainable Tourism on World Heritage Properties Linked to Agricultural and Livestock Rearing Practices: Enhancing the Role of Communities – Celia Martínez, University of Granada, Spain
14:30-15:00     Small Town Heritage Tourism and the International Cultural Tourism Charter – Jim Donovan, FASLA
15:00-15:30     “The Castle and the Community” – The Key Role of Hillsborough Castle Northern Ireland in Cultural Tourism for Community Development – Sharon Brown and Alan Oliver, ICOMOS UK
15:30-16:00     Coffee Break
16:00-16:30     Limunsudan Falls, Northern Mindanao Heritage Tourism – Rosario Dizon
16:30-17:00     Argao Youth for Heritage Society – AYHS: Empowerment through Community-Based Cultural Education – Ruel Javier Rigor, AYHS Founder and Adviser
17:00-17:20     Open Forum
17:20-17:30     Conclusions and Announcements

For registration to the conference, send an e-mail to vigan2012@icomosphilippines.com. Note that seats are limited. We will accept participants on a first come, first served basis. Payment of conference fee confirms your slot.

Participation fees are Php3500 for professionals (inclusive of lunch on both days, conference kits) and Php600 for undergraduate students with ID (inclusive of packed lunch on both days, conference kits)

Note that the fees do not include transportation to/from Vigan and accommodation there. The City Tourism Office of Vigan, Ilocos Sur can assist you in looking for accommodation. You may contact the office at (077) 7228776 or admin@vigancity.gov.ph. Registration begins at 8 a.m. of Wednesday, November 7, 2012. Conference will end at 5:30 p.m. of Thursday, November 8, 2012.

For cash and check payments, you may deposit to:
International Council on Monuments & Sites Philippines, Inc.
Bank of the Philippine Islands S/A No. 3083 7113 95 (Loyola Katipunan Branch)

Scan and e-mail a copy of the deposit slip to vigan2012@icomosphilippines.com. Keep the original slip and present it when you register during the conference. You will need the deposit slip to claim your conference ID, kit and official receipt.

Call for Papers: ICOMOS ICTC Vigan Conference on Cultural Tourism & 2012 Annual Meeting

ICOMOS ICTC VIGAN CONFERENCE ON CULTURAL TOURISM

Cultural Tourism for Community Development

Vigan, Philippines November 5-10, 2012

The international seminar/workshop on cultural tourism organized by the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Cultural Tourism (ICTC) will be held at the City of Vigan, Philippines on November 5-10, 2012. The event is organized by ICOMOS Philippines. Vigan is a historic city and World Heritage site located in the northern part of Luzon, Philippines. The city as venue for the seminar/workshop is most apt as it is an example of a WH site as an emerging tourism destination.

Through this event, expert members of ICTC will establish association with ICOMOS Philippines and representatives from developing countries of Asia and the Pacific to discuss present day issues on tourism and heritage. The topic on the benefits of community participation in conservation and cultural tourism programs as an essential aspect of cultural tourism will become the underlying theme of the seminar/workshop.

It is envisioned that the event will have a training component where students and participants from the Philippines including ICOMOS Philippines members and participants from developing countries, especially in Asia and the Pacific, will draw inspiration from the different case studies and presentations for adaption to Philippine, Asian and the ICTC members countries’ cultural tourism contexts. Thus, it will be an opportunity for Philippine ICOMOS members, students of Philippine universities, participants from these developing countries as well as ICTC members to learn from the exchanges and experiences shared during the presentations.

In this line, we are inviting case studies of actual projects done by ICTC members on the theme while a few case studies of actual situations on tourism in heritage sites are expected to come from Philippine ICOMOS members. The topic of ‘destination management’ as a presently relevant topic and will become one of its important sub-themes.

As actual case studies and projects are to be presented, it is encouraged that topics focus on the issue of community participation in cultural tourism. The following are the sub-themes that maybe considered within the context of community tourism, for the presentations and case studies:

1. Social and Economic Community development through sustainable cultural tourism
a. Sustainable Community-based tourism practices
b. Benefits of community participation in conservation and cultural tourism programs
c. Can join Economics of Tourism topics here

2. Values-based tourism
a. Culture and nature Interpretation for tourism
b. Information and education development for tourism

3. Economics of Tourism
a. Honing cultural industries as tourism by-products
b. Accommodations and home-stays development for economic development
c. Communities and stakeholders involvement in tourism activities
d. Government and/or NGOs initiatives in tourism
e. Ticketing and tour packaging of heritage sites for tourism

4. Challenges and concerns of Tourism in Heritage Sites
a. Tourism in-flux and its effects on heritage sites
b. Over development and build-up outcomes in heritage sites
c. Management of tourism destinations

5. Promotions and Marketing of Heritage for tourism
a. Experiences and good practices in the marketing of heritage sites
b. Challenges in marketing and advertisement of hard to sell heritage sites
c. Enhancing heritage for tourism (facilities development, heritage information enhancement, etc)

Call for Abstracts

Abstract submission
Abstract submissions are required for the sessions and individual papers. A one-page abstract that includes a brief outline explaining the content of the presentation is encouraged.

Deadline for abstracts shall be June 30, 2012
Selected papers shall be announced through the seminar/workshop website.

To afford time for printing and incorporation into a seminar/workshop booklet/ brochure, submission of final papers shall be no later than July 31, 2012. This shall include a power point presentation that will cover no more than 20 minutes.

Abstracts should be sent to:
Ma. Joycelyn B. Mananghaya
E-mail: jbmananghaya@yahoo.com

For registration to the conference:
E-mail: info@icomosphilippines.com

For more details, visit the ICTC Meeting Vigan 2012 page.

Augusto F. Villalon receives Diwa ng Lahi Award from City of Manila


Dr. Augusto F. Villalon, President of ICOMOS Philippines, recently received the Diwa ng Lahi Award from the City of Manila, the highest distinction given by the city. They cited his continuing work in rehabilitating some Manila districts and for advocating heritage conservation. In the photos are Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Gemma Cruz-Araneta, Head of the City of Manila Tourism and Heritage Office, conferring the award on Dr. Villalon.

ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee 2010 Annual Meeting held in Douro Valley, Portugal

The 2010 Annual Meetingof the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee (ICTC) was held in Douro Valley, Portugal from June 18 to 21, 2010. Ivan Anthony HenaresICTC Expert Member and representative of the ICOMOS Philippine National Committee, was present at the said meeting.

During the said meeting, Henares invited the ICTC to Vigan, Ilocos Sur for its 2012 Annual Meeting. This invitation had been confirmed by Augusto Villalon, chairperson of the ICOMOS Philippine National Committee. The invitation was accepted by the committee. The Philippines looks forward to hosting the ICTC Annual Meeting in 2012.