UNESCO organised a landmark conference to explore how to manage threats to cultural cities and understand how these strategies can be implemented across Europe.
Historic cities face complex and increasing pressures, including the need to modernise infrastructure and services, the rapid pace of urban development, and rising climate- and disaster-related risks. Tourism, while an essential source of visibility and investment, can unsettle local communities and compromise authenticity when growth is unmanaged. These impacts are not only physical and visual; they reshape land use, affordability, and people’s access to cultural life.
Against this backdrop, UNESCO, in cooperation with the City of Mostar and the Tourism Board of the City of Mostar, organised a pioneering regional conference in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, titled ‘UNESCO Creative and World Heritage Cities: Towards Integrated Strategies for Sustainable Cultural Tourism Management.’
Held on 27 and 28 April 2026, within the regional programme ‘Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans’, funded by the European Union, the conference gathered 90 participants from 11 countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Slovenia, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom).
Cities – even historic ones – are not museums. They are living environments. They are places where people live, work, and move.
Peter DeBrine, Senior Project Officer, UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
For the first time, representatives of UNESCO Creative Cities and World Heritage Cities convened to jointly reflect on the future of historically and culturally significant urban centres.
Denise Bax, Coordinator of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, underscored the unique role of cities in shaping cultural tourism: “Cities today stand at the forefront of cultural tourism. They are vibrant ecosystems where cultural, architectural, technological, social, and natural dimensions converge, offering rich and diverse experiences rooted in both tangible heritage and creativity.”
Opening the conference, Mario Kordić, Mayor of Mostar, emphasised the city’s responsibility to safeguard its heritage – a duty that extends beyond its citizens to humanity as a whole.
Mojca Krisper Figueroa, Team Leader, Cooperation Section, Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, further stressed the UNESCO Creative Cities Programme’s central role in helping cities and countries align with European values and standards, particularly in the field of cultural entrepreneurship.
Across 6 thematic sessions, participants examined the impacts of tourism, urban change, and emerging trends. Guided by keynote speakers, discussions addressed some of the most pressing challenges facing cities today. These included the need to rethink UNESCO designations as tools for sustainable cultural tourism, the importance of balancing tourism pressures with heritage conservation and quality of life, and the urgency of aligning cultural value with long-term urban sustainability.
Exploring current challenges, participants also analysed how digital innovation and artificial intelligence can shape more inclusive and “smart” UNESCO cities, and how creativity and heritage can drive local development, urban revitalisation, and city branding. In this process, young people were recognised as key actors in transmitting cultural heritage to future generations.
Building on the need for stronger synergies between World Heritage and Creative Cities, the conference created a platform for dialogue between 2 distinct yet complementary approaches – one traditionally rooted in conservation, the other in the dynamic nature of human creativity. While acknowledging that “one size does not fit all,” participants identified solutions that could serve as positive models for inspiration and replication. A strong consensus emerged around the need to prioritise quality over quantity.
The event marked an important step towards establishing a regional dialogue on shared challenges and joint solutions for the integrated and sustainable management for the future of cultural tourism.
A shared message emerged: the most important “visitors” to a city are its citizens. Ensuring that residents are well informed, actively involved in decision-making processes, and not overwhelmed by tourism pressures remains a central challenge – one that can be addressed by safeguarding the functional, social, and economic vitality of cities. “Our responsibility is not only to protect heritage; it is to manage change,” concluded Peter DeBrine.
