Managing Heritage Tourism in the Decapolis Sites of Jordan: Planning Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

Heritage tourism in Jordanian archeological sites experiences a wide range of problems, and current planning does not address all the difficulties in an adequate manner or in an equal depth. The primary goal of this article is to gain a better idea about present heritage tourism management in the Decapolis sites in Jordan. The article describes how heritage sites and heritage tourism are suffering chronic problems despite their valuable potential to offer heritage values within the framework of heritage tourism. In addition, the article is concerned with analyzing the main challenges that site operators have to face and how they can be overcome. The main questions that this article seeks to address are: 1) What are the proper approaches to heritage tourism planning at the site as well as its immediate surroundings? 2) What are the motives behind their nomination in the tentative list of World Heritage? In order to find answers to the research questions, the research on the three cases has focused on two main sources of evidence: on-site interviews and direct observation supported by documentation review. The article concludes that heritage tourism in the sites being investigated lacks a systematic integrated planning. Therefore, it is recommended that continuous comprehensive planning that views heritage and tourism from different perspectives be considered when developing any cultural heritage tourism project. The value of this article lies in the fact that it seeks to contribute to the sparse investigated heritage tourism management for archeological sites of the Decapolis cities.