Unesco has committed to improving tourism management at World Heritage sites by announcing the development of a new tool for sustainability issues.

An expert panel met at Unesco’s Paris headquarters earlier this month (15-16 January) to discuss the creation of the new tourism and visitor management tool – a self-assessment process designed for tourism stakeholders to better manage World Heritage sites.

According to Unesco, the tool will allow them to rapidly and efficiently assess how well tourism is managed, using a set of sustainability indicators created by the panel.

By helping site managers establish a tourism management baseline, the tool will support proactive management of tourism, with the aim of promoting tourism strategies, planning and management frameworks that protect heritage values, engage a broad set of stakeholders and empower local communities in and around World Heritage sites.

Made up of representatives from Unesco, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the panel also welcomed site managers and professionals working in the field of sustainable development and tourism.

The tool is being developed with the support of Norway's government.