02625nas a2200349   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260001800043653001200061653001300073653001900086653002400105653001200129653001900141653001900160653001700179653001900196653001700215653001100232653001300243653002000256653001500276653001400291653002100305653002200326653001700348100001300365245001300378300001000391520182700401020004702228       2009                            d  bElsevier Inc.10aCulture10aheritage10aBuilt heritage10aintangible heritage10aTourism10aSustainability10aInterpretation10aAuthenticity10aREPRESENTATION10aConservation10amuseum10aidentity10aCommodification10agovernance10aMonuments10aNatural heritage10aNational identity10aContestation1 aC. Kelly00aHeritage  a91-973 aThis article examines the concepts, definitions, policies, and practices of heritage in a contemporary context. Within recent years, there have been significant shifts in our understandings and applications of heritage concepts and policies in the modern world.  Heritage  emerged as a buzz word in international policy arenas in the 1980s and early 1990s, and has since weathered the vagaries of turbulent definitional and governance-nomenclature storms, as traditional debates about  what it is and what it is not  reverberate around academia and state agencies alike. Policy and funding structures for heritage are determined by the classifications used to define them in various countries. Typically, reference is made to  built heritage ,  natural heritage , and  intangible heritage , loosely reflecting buildings, landscapes, and culture. Aspects of heritage are used by the cultural and tourism industries to add economic value, through heritage tourism sites, museums, and other activities. The cultural tourism product is often anchored around notions of heritage, and in postmodern, post-tourist societies, boundaries between culture, (travel) space, and identities are increasingly blurred. Issues of authenticity become important in the representation of heritage, and questions are asked about the validity of nostalgia versus realism. The role of heritage is examined in the context of identity formulation at individual and nation-state levels, and the political aspects of this are also discussed. Finally, heritage conservation is assessed through an examination of UNESCO s World Heritage Site listing and protection strategy. In a changing world, new constructs of heritage, identity, authenticity, and representation will continue to emerge as meanings are constantly renegotiated over time and space.  a9780080449104 (ISBN); 9780080449111 (ISBN)