"Heritage protection and a healthy tourism industry have much in common; when managed well, tourism contributes to site conservation and helps create the right conditions for economic development that benefits local people. The World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism, with its focus on the tourism industry, plays an important role in supporting UNESCO’s work on building site management capacity for conserving the world’s most outstanding protected places."   - Francesco Bandarin, director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre

Now in its fourth year, the World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (WHA) is an industry-led, membership-based initiative with 65 members and partners working to contribute to World Heritage site conservation in 6 countries.  The partners believe conscientious efforts by the travel industry and its customers can contribute directly to nature conservation, historic preservation, and poverty reduction through responsible tourism.

Our goal is to continue to engage new partners, especially in the travel industry, to join our initiative as a part of the World Heritage Alliance and catalyze a collective commitment to supporting World Heritage conservation, sustainable tourism, and local economic development for communities in and around World Heritage sites.

Want to become a WHA member? Click here