The Evolution of Heritage Management: Thinking Beyond Site Boundaries and Buffer Zones

Heritage and economics are increasingly intertwined as the cultural sector strives to prove the relevancy of its work to broader social issues and more researchers seek to quantify the economic impact of heritage tourism. Heritage and economics intersect in funding proposals, regional development plans, tourism management strategies, and in myriad other ways. Yet there is often a sense that conservation projects and related economic initiatives evolve on parallel tracks rather than in an integrated way from the conception of the programme. Thus when the success of conservation projects is described, there is much to say about technical achievements but little about the social impact in an equally scientific manner. The dilemma for many in the field is how to move from anecdotal storytelling to scientifi­c data.