Cultural resources: Adventure tourists are equally keen to
learn about the culture of their destination, and experiencing
local culture in an authentic way is a sought after activity.
Destinations which encourage local people to preserve their
culture—even as modern influences continue to shape and
evolve local customs—fare well with adventure travelers.
To ensure protection of cultural resources, destinations can
nominate heritage sites to UNESCO, work with heritage organizations
to safeguard patrimony, and manage carrying
capacity to avoid over-visitation. In many parts of the world,
tourism activity (and often, due to its unique characteristics,
adventure tourism) takes place in territories claimed by indigenous
peoples. The adjoining article from the World Indigenous
Tourism Alliance (WINTA) explains this in more detail.
Furthermore, respecting the rights of indigenous peoples is
an issue that UNWTO has addressed directly through its
support of international recommendations and dialogue between
all stakeholders. An outline of UNWTO’s position on
this topic is also presented in this chapter.