The World Heritage Alliance is an initiative of Expedia, Inc. and the United Nations Foundation to promote sustainable tourism and awareness of World Heritage sites and communities around the world. 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.

The goal of the World Heritage Alliance is 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.

Objectives include:

1. To inspire travelers to explore World Heritage sites: Trips to World Heritage sites are currently available through Expedia.com, Expedia.co.uk, Expedia.fr and Expedia.de. The profits from the designed World Heritage trips will be donated to Friends of World Heritage – an initiative with UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre – for investment in local community projects at World Heritage sites in need.

2. To promote economic development: Expedia and the UN Foundation will donate funds, as well as Expedia employee time and talent, to support locally-owned tourism enterprises in Sian Ka’an, Mexico, a large, natural World Heritage site on the eastern coast of the Yucatan peninsula. Community Tours Sian Ka’an is a locally owned tourism cooperative working to protect the area’s delicate mix of ecosystems. Expedia teams have been collaborating with CTSK on product development, relationship management, and website design, helping CTSK enrich tourists’ experiences, while still preserving the Yucatán region’s five World Heritage sites.
3. To encourage public awareness and involvement: Through Friends of World Heritage, the partnership provides a way for travelers and others to learn more about and support World Heritage conservation, sustainable tourism and local development. Expedia and the UN Foundation will match grassroots donations made online, up to $50,000 each.
4. To engage the travel industry: Through the World Heritage Alliance, Expedia and the UN Foundation are working to bring together members of the travel industry to promote World Heritage sites and communities.

To further catalyze the travel industry’s efforts to promote sustainable tourism, the World Heritage Alliance is launching its first Industry Training Program. The program is taking place in four locations in the Yucatán Peninsula: Campeche, Mérida, Cancún, and the Riviera Maya. Employees at concierge desks, activity desks or in any customer service role are participating in interactive learning seminars, online learning programs, and the distribution of educational brochures to learn how to promote World Heritage and explain the benefits of responsible tourism to travelers.