Tourism nowadays represents the largest form of temporary migration in the world, tourism can be seen as the world's largest industry. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) has recognised that heritage and culture have become a component in almost 40% of all international trips undetaken. * Heritage tourism is defined as; 'an immersion in the natural history, human heritage, arts, philosophy and institutions of another region or country'.
The meaning of heritage and heritage tourism
Most researcher accept that heritage is linked to the past, that it represents some sort of inheritance to be passed down to current and future generations, both in terms of cultural traditions and physical artefacts. It is what elements of the past a society wishes to keep. It can be said that heritage is selective, not all heritages are highly valued, what is desirable to keep are only selections of the past.
Heritage can be found in different contexts, things that are of personal value are labelled as personal or family heritage, whereas those values dictated by nations or communities become 'our' heritage.
Heritage can be classified as tangible immovable resources (buildings, rivers, natural areas), tangible movable resources (objects in museums, documents in archives), or intangibles such as values, customs, ceremonies, lifestyles and including experiences such as festivals, arts and cultural events. Heritage may be classified according to the type of attraction, some examples; * Natural heritage (protected areas like national parks) * Living cultural heritage (fashions, foods, customs) * Built heritage (historic cities, cathedrals, monuments, castles) * Industrial heritage (elements of a region's past that where influential in its growth and development, e.g. coal, lumber activity, textiles) * Personal heritage (aspects of regions that have value and significance to individuals or groups of people, e.g. cemeteries,