Attracting tourists to a specific location is not always an easy task. One believed way to increase tourism demand is for the site to become inscribed on the World Heritage List, a list of places considered by the World Heritage Committee to have "outstanding universal value".
The challenge is who decide which places are to be put forward for listing on the heritage register? Is there a broad societal support for such a project?
This paper is exploring the Tamil coastal city of Puducherry, a popular touristic enclave where some civic groups desire to put the French colonial quarter of the town on the UNESCO list. Promoted as the "French Riviera of India", Puducherry is known for its multiculturalism with the remaining of French cultural institutions and the renowned Sri Aurobindo Ashram which attracts Indians from various parts of India as well as foreigners, for instance.
The research is based on interviews of members of heritage organizations, state officials, urbanists and inhabitants. The aim of the study is to understand which groups support this initiative and why most of the local Tamil population seems disengaged from such an UNESCO project. One tentative answer might be the unequal economic benefits engendered by tourism and the nuisances brought by this industry.

Authors:
Anner Raffin, National University of Singapore, Singapore

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Anner Raffin is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at National University of Singapore in Singapore

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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