Investigating the Impact of World Heritage Site Tourism on the Intangible Heritage of a Community : Tsodilo Hills World Heritage Site, Botswana

In places that are not World Heritage sites, communities produce material culture continuously as a form of interaction between themselves and their environments. In the Okavango Delta region, crafts are a good example of such material culture. Today, the concept of ‘World Heritage’ is led by socio-economic needs – through tourism – rather than socio-cultural interactions. In this process, the indigenous systems of knowledge that create intangible heritage are modified, usually in a negative way, and this affects the social networks that sustain the practices of craft production. The results of research projects conducted in June-August 2003 and June-July 2007 are used to illuminate this discussion. The paper concludes that while in the developing world, giving a site World Heritage status is likely to encourage tourism, the impact on the resident community’s intangible heritage must be considered and safeguarded