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This paper considers discourses of preservation in a UNESCO World Heritage Site in a context of a country that pursues an ambitious agenda of development. It argues for a lived contradiction between Luang Prabang, marketed as a timeless, beautiful city of heritage and the rest of Laos, a desperately poor country in dire need of urgent development. It argues that this paradox is enacted by locals and visitors in Luang Prabang.

Researched through fifteen months ethnography in and around the heritage zone of central Luang Prabang, data collection included participant observation and around a dozen interviews with local residents (both domestic and international).

This research demonstrates that because the heritage centre of Luang Prabang cannot develop in the same way as the rest of Laos in view of the focus on preservation, its heritage zone will further become an island of idealised past as the country develops fast around it.

This raises important questions about agendas of preservation and development, how these intersect and conflict. This is particularly relevant in countries that are subject to fast track development, including from China.

The paper is an updated attempt to consider heritage in Luang Prabang, particularly in an emergent context.

The purpose of this paper is to explore Lai Heua Fai, Festival of Light, as a place making ritual in the world heritage town of Luang Prabang, a former royal capital of the Lao-speaking kingdom. It compares this centuries-old traditional festival with a very new place making festival, the Luang Prabang Film Festival which began only six years ago.

Sense of place theorization has developed considerably in recent decades as a number of discourses have co-mingled and as social and cultural research has embraced space/place as a crucial component of knowledge production. The study explores place making in a globalized, post-modern and post-colonial world. Fieldwork was undertaken in Luang Prabang between 2008 and 2016 including interviews, observations, photographic recording and participation, leading up to the 2013 celebration of Lai Heua Fai and the 2015 film festival.

Lai Heua Fai and the Luang Prabang Film Festival are spatial practices that represent the places they evoke. Both these events connect the past, the present and the future in place. The authors argue that separating “events” from “place” sets up a dichotomy that is problematic and unsustainable on many levels: perceptually, as a lived experience, epistemologically and analytically.

The authors suggest that these two identity forming events, in the life of Luang Prabang, herald “place” and “place making” as ongoing dynamic processes of construction and re-construction where the “traditional” and the “contemporary” are constantly re-constituted as markers, in the case of this research, of Luang Prabangan identity and place attachment.

One strategy that communities often adopt to generate tourism growth is to enhance those assets of the destination that attract visitors. For already popular destinations, locational enhancements may focus on maintenance efforts, with modest refurbishing, upgrading and expansion of existing facilities.

This paper aims to bridge the epistemological gap between heritage and tourism in understanding (and describing) the link between what is protected in heritage and what is a sustainable use of heritage as a tourism resource. This is accomplished by focusing on the socio-cultural dimension of heritage.

Three case studies involving UNESCO World Heritage sites and representing different stages of tourism development from three different developing economies are discussed. The case studies are based on the author’s extensive monitoring and evaluation of World Heritage Site management over the course of a decade, including tourism management, and they feature in-depth discussions with government heritage authorities and with heritage and tourism experts and stakeholders; observation and monitoring activities; and review of policy and project documents, heritage and tourism plans, UNESCO and other professional bodies’ reports and academic research works.

A symbiotic relationship between the environment, people and economy and the multi-sectoral nature of the tourism industry makes achieving sustainable development goals almost impossible unless there is a coordinated and integrated approach by the all parties involved, especially in culturally and naturally sensitive areas. The spirit of place is used as a conceptual framework in the application of systems. Theories seem to be the way forward for a sustainable management of tourism in such areas.

The paper addresses an important and under-researched aspect of tourism-heritage encounters: How the socio-cultural impacts of tourism affect the value of cultural heritage, especially in the context of developing economies.

The Monsoon Asian region has a much wider rainfall distribution than other regions of the world. The countries in this region are characterized mostly by floods and typhoons, which result from the interplay among the ocean, the atmosphere, and the land. Thus, many factors affect the strength of the rainfall, including sea surface temperatures in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, variations in solar output, land snow cover and soil moisture over the Asian continent, and the position and strength of prevailing winds. The links between these factors and monsoons appear to wax and wane over time, and the observational record is too short to explain this longer-term variability. Precipitation and surface wind maps of Asia during the summer months of June to August show the average spatial patterns of monsoon circulation and moisture.

Conflict resolution theory and practice have often neglected the contributions of women in peacebuilding. To obtain a more balanced perspective, the work of women's movements, peace movements, and other social movements have attempted to highlight the importance of women's roles in society and their active participation in peacemaking activities throughout the world. This study hopes to contribute to recognizing gender in conflict resolution by examining the rituals of conflict resolution in Laos and the legacy of women working for peace. Through this gender lens, it highlights the importance of Lao women's work in the soukhouan ceremony, a conflict resolution ritual that is integral to Lao culture. The soukhouan ritual demonstrates characteristics that are vital to any peacebuilding effort, specifically how women are actively working to repair harm, restore relationships, and organize support networks that are essential for reconciliation in communities experiencing conflict. This research adds to conflict resolution literature that validates how women are playing a vital role in all stages of peacebuilding.

This study aims to examine community participation in cultural heritage management with regard to sustainable heritage tourism management in Sukhothai Historical Park (SHP) in Sukhothai Province.

The qualitative and quantitative research approaches were applied; in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 key informants, and 104 questionnaires were distributed among stakeholders and local communities.

The results revealed that sustainable park management has made a positive impact upon local economy, social and cultural conservation of the world heritage site. The Park Authority has developed and conserved archaeological sites with local community assistance, particularly for physical management, but it has not yet used archaeological heritage in the park for more benefits of tourism development.

The results reveal that sustainable park management has made a positive impact on the local economy and social and cultural conservation of the World Heritage city. The Park Authority has developed and conserved archaeological sites with local community assistance, particularly for physical management, but it has not yet used archaeological heritage in the park for greater urban tourism development. Sustainable cultural heritage management in SHP is government-led, so community participation is based upon two-way communication in the form of “tokenism.”

Sukhothai is encouraged to find suitable mechanisms to facilitate multisectoral communication and development to jointly face the challenge of more visitors and urbanization.

Guidelines for enhancing community involvement in cultural heritage management of the park were proposed.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the Maya-descent souvenir vendors in sustaining the socio-cultural heritage of Chichen Itza, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site (WHS). The study aims to understand the souvenir vendors’ social and economic position within the diverse stakeholder groups involved in the tourist attraction and their impact on visitors.

The exploratory study applied a combination of unobtrusive participant observation and photography methods conducted throughout the site’s monuments. The data were complemented with an analysis of social media comments posted by the WHS visitors.

The findings revealed that the excessive retail presence throughout the site, coupled with the souvenir vendors’ continual harassment, have negatively impacted the patrons’ visiting experience. The vendors’ retail activity was not regarded as culturally authentic and did not contribute to the socio-cultural sustainability of the host community.

The findings may lack generalization, and consequently, additional research is necessary to test the propositions presented, both at Chichen Itza and other WHS.

The paper recommends adopting new reforms that will benefit all stakeholders involved with the site’s operation, including negotiating culture, identities and “being Maya” within the contemporary Mexican society. Re-evaluating all stakeholders’ socio-economic benefits and securing the government’s control of the site were also recommended.

This study presents a unique case study approach that reports the tactics adopted by the souvenir vendors at the WHS site. The conversion of culture and heritage into purely economic values coupled with political power might impact the long-term sustainability of the site.

Water is the source of life and civilization. However, the world is facing water crises – imminent and worse crises that demand immediate and concerted actions. Even today, around the world, nearly 1.1 billion people are living without access to safe drinking water (Shaw & Thaitakoo, 2010). This has adverse impacts on their health and livelihoods. Approximately 2.6 billion people live without access to basic sanitation. This is a threat to their dignity as well as health. Water pollution is getting worse in many places across the world. Moreover, water-related disasters are widespread. These are serious natural disasters that cause catastrophic damage to human lives. Water problems are fundamental causes of endemic diseases, hunger, gender inequality, lack of education and jobs, endangered ecosystems, and other socioeconomic and environmental problems across the world. Most of the Millennium Development Goals cannot be achieved without solving water problems (Hashimoto, 2006).