For many cities around the world, tourism is an opportunity to sustain local employment and economic growth. The tourism industry often builds on the unique potential of a place stemming from its natural features, sense of place, history and heritage, and ethos. Urban regions across the world are facing similar challenges when marketing themselves as tourist destinations: the need for better policies and support for heritage conservation, resources to adapt to contemporary needs without negatively impacting the existing social fabric, and a sustainable plan for tourism development nurturing the ecosystem of smaller businesses and operators in place. However, increasing dependency on tourism flows as the prevailing economy may disrupt local livelihoods in both positive and negative ways. How can urban design integrate more sustainable urban development patterns around tourism? How to overcome the negative impacts?
Sustainable urban design can help promote tourism in cities and play a key role in creating unique supplies for urban tourism to offer people experience. By showcasing two projects in the Middle Eastern cities of Oman and Muharraq, this investigation shed light on the challenges cities face to formulate urban agendas around the promotion of heritage-driven tourism. Harat Zaman, in Muscat, Oman tells the story and rich heritage of Omani life while catering high end travelers. The Bahrain Pearling Path, a cultural heritage project engraved on the UNESCO World Heritage list, relates the unique legacy of Bahrain’s pearling era through the architecture and the urban heritage of the old city of Muharraq. Both projects are excellent examples in terms of heritage conservation, economic and sustainable development.
The paper will provide valuable lessons for the other cities, especially those in developing countries, on the importance of urban tourism in proposing social sustainability, and the potential for development in the current conditions.
