Top UN official calls to promote heritage tourism potential of Dubai

"Heritage tourism has its own pros and cons and a right balance should be kept between promotion and conservation of heritage," said Dr. Hamed Al-Hammami, UNESCO Regional Representative in the GCC.

Al Hammami, who is based in the Doha office of the UNESCO, was in Dubai to attend the 2nd International Conference and Exhibition on the Architectural Conservation: Opportunities and Challenges in the 21st Century, which was held at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre during 11 - 13 February.

He said the pros of heritage tourism is that we are teaching people about our culture and tradition. "The cons of heritage tourism is that some times the tourists damage the heritage by misusing the environment. Clear instructions should be given to the tourists regarding the importance of preserving the valuable cultural heritage," said Al Hammami.

"Dubai is a a great market economically and it also maintains its heritage. In fact economy and the tourism market go side by side here," he said.

Al Hammami called for the need for intensified marketing of Dubai's cultural heritage world wide. "You need to have a clear cut marketing strategy to help the tourists to know what is available here. For that you have to market through all means including conducting exhibitions all over the world," he said.

Praising the efforts of Dubai Municipality in the field of architectural conservation, Al Hammami said that these efforts are of relevance to the UNESCO.

He said Dubai Municipality's efforts in preserving architectural heritage reinforce the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage issued in 1972.
"We also urge all member countries to rectify the 1972 Convention, which is already rectified by 183 countries. We have clear cut rules and guidelines regarding preservation of cultural heritage," said Al Hammami.

He hoped the 2nd International Conference and Exhibition on the Architectural Conservation will promote knowledge on how to mainatin heritage and bylateral exchange of techniques used in architectural conservation work.
Al Hammami said different means of conservation methods are used in many countries.

"It depends on the local means, the capacity of the monitoring bodies and the availability of technicians and professionals in the field," he said.