Abstract
Web cartography is a potentially important means of advertising cultural World Heritage sites, defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as including monuments, groups of buildings, and sites “that are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science” (http://whc.unesco.org/en/175). The brand name World Heritage City is used to promote destinations for heritage tourism, a subcategory of cultural tourism catering to tourists interested in local history and culture. An assessment of map use on websites of member cities of the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) considers UNESCO’s designation process and the impact of heritage on tourism. The designation process involves filing a report with UNESCO that details the age and general state of buildings, degree of deterioration, and whether the cultural legacy of the city warrants preservation for future generations. A review of the OWHC’s 1,224 web sites found a total of 261 maps, 99 of which were interactive. Twenty-seven percent of the tested websites did not function properly, and 141 websites did not offer English-language versions. Not surprisingly, the majority of existing interactive Web maps had been developed for European cities. Intensive use and testing of the 99 interactive maps indicates that many are not user-friendly or do not make effective use of current technology. For example, users cannot create customized maps nor can they use clickable symbols to sample the correct local pronunciation of place names. Case studies of two interactive maps explore the usability and visual effectiveness of interactive maps and inventory the availability of interactive features such as informational layers that can be turned on individually or jointly. OWHC could significantly improve its members’ Web cartography by encouraging frequent updates of Web links and offering checklists, standard templates, and technical guidance to ensure minimum standards of usability.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Boniface, P. (2001) Touring World Heritage in AD 2000. Tourism Recreation Research 26, no. 1, 73–79.
Brown, A. (2001) Web Maps and Tourists. In Web Cartography: Developments and Prospects, edited by Kraak, M.-J. & Brown, A., 123–133. London: Taylor and Francis.
Brown, A., Emmer, N. & van den Worm, J. (2001) Cartographic Design and Production in the Internet Era: The Example of Tourist Web Maps. The Cartographic Journal 38, no. 1, 61–72.
Davidson, A. P. & Yu, Y. (2005) The Internet and the Occidental Tourist: An Analysis of Taiwan’s Tourism Websites from the Perspective of Western Tourists. Information Technology & Tourism 7, 91–102.
Doolin, B., Burgess, L., & Cooper, J. (2002) Evaluating the Use of the Web for Tourism Marketing: A Case Study from New Zealand. Tourism Management 23 (2002): 557–561.
Fraser Taylor, D. R. (2003) The Concept of Cybercartography. In Maps and the Internet, edited by Peterson, M. P. 405–420 Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
Fraser Taylor, D. R. (2006a) The Theory and Practice of Cybercartography: An Introduction. In Cybercartography: Theory and Practice, edited by Fraser Taylor, D. R., 1–12 Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Fraser Taylor, D. R. (2006b) Remaining Challenges and the Future of Cybercartography. In Cybercartography: Theory and Practice, edited by Fraser Taylor, D. R., 541–560: Elsevier, 2006.
Hall, C. M. & Zeppel. H. (1990) “Cultural and Heritage Tourism: The New Grand Tour?” Historic Environment 7, no. 3/4, 86–98.
Hanna, S. P., & V J. Del Casino Jr., (2003) ed. Mapping Tourism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Interactive Map of Bangkok, http://www.bangkoktourist.com/map.html
Interactive Map of Bath, http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=374910&y= 165193&z=l&sv=374910,165193&st=4&ar=Y&p=newmap.srf&searchp= newsearch.srf&dn=742&ax=374910&ay=165193
Interactive Map of Granada, http://www.granadamap.com
Kraak, M.-J. & Brown, A. (2001) Web Cartography: Developments and Prospects. Andover Hants: Taylor & Francis.
Lowenthal, D. (1998) The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Organization of World Heritage Cities, http://www.ovpm.org
Peterson, M. P. (1999) Elements of Multimedia Cartography. In Multimedia Cartography, edited by Cartwright, W., Peterson, M. P. & Gartner, G. 31–40, Berlin: Springer.
Peterson, M. P. (2003) Maps and the Internet: An Introduction. In Maps and the Internet, edited by Peterson, M. P., 1–16: Elsevier Science.
Richmond, E. R. & Keller, C. P. (2003) Internet Cartography and Official Tourism Destination Web Sites. In Maps and the Internet, edited by Peterson, M. P., 77–96: Elsevier Science.
Sant-Cassia, P. (1999) Tradition, Tourism and Memory in Malta. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 5, no. 2, 247–263.
UNESCO World Heritage website, http://whc.unesco.org/en
Williams, R., Rattray, R., & Stork, A. (2004) Web Site Accessibility of German and UK Tourism Information Sites. European Business Review 16, no. 6, 577–589.
World Tourism Organization, http://www.world-tourism.org
Zara, J. (2002) On the Complexity of Web-Based Presentations of Large Urban Scenes. In Proceedings of East-West-Vision, 99–108. Graz, Austria: Österreichische Computer Gesellschaft.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sawyer, C. (2008). Web Cartography for World Heritage Cities: A survey and evaluation. In: Peterson, M.P. (eds) International Perspectives on Maps and the Internet. Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-72029-4_22
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-72029-4_22
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-72028-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-72029-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)