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Explore World Heritage

The Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon - some of the worlds most revered sites of natural or architectural beauty. These destinations are all World Heritage sites, picked for their significance as some of the most treasured areas on the planet.

The World Heritage Initiative is a collaboration between Expedia, Inc. and the United Nations Foundation in consultation with UNESCO's World Heritage Center. The initiative aims to raise awareness of World Heritage sites, encourage sustainable travel, and support local economic development.

What is World Heritage?

The world has recognised 812 special places - natural, cultural, historical and monumental, as World Heritage sites through a convention coordinated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Sites are nominated by host countries and confirmed by all member-nations of the convention as having value for all mankind. They include:

  • many national parks in the US. and Canada, like Yellowstone, Banff and the Everglades.
  • well known cultural attractions like Tikal, Machu Picchu and Versailles.
  • important biosphere preserves like Africa's Serengeti, Australia's Great Barrier Reef and Mexico's Sian Ka'an bird Sanctuary.
  • places of archeological, historical or evolutionary significance, including the cave paintings of Lascaux, Robben island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned) and the Galapogas Islands, which helped inspire Darwin's theory of natural selection.

World Heritage sites are sources of pride, cultural renewal and economic opportunity for their local communities and an inspiration for the worlds travellers. We hope to help protect these treasures by enabling communities to find value in preserving them.

What is Expedia doing for World Heritage?

Expedia, Inc's websites, travel services, and partners provide travellers with opportunities to visit many World Heritage sites, and our profits from designated World Heritage trips will be used to support locally-based tourism enterprises.

Working with UNESCO World Heritage Center's Sustainable Tourism program and other UN sponsored projects we are lending our employees' travel-industry expertise to help local entrepreneurs in World Heritage communities increase the economic well-being of their people through sustainable tourism.

Donations from Expedia and the profits from our World Heritage trips will provide start-up capital and operating funds for these enterprises. We also encourage our travel supplier partners to join us in this knowledge transfer - helping them build their businesses while they help sustain the local economies on which hospitality depends.

Together, the UN Foundation and Expedia are developing information and educational materials about the World Heritage program and World Heritage sites for our partnership website, www.friendsofworldheritage.org

How can you get involved?

Learn more about www.friendsofworldheritage.org, www.unfoundation.org and www.whc.unesco.org

Take a World Heritage-branded trip with Expedia.co.uk. The profits from your trip will help sponsor an economic development project that will lend hope and pride to a local community, and help protect some of the worlds greatest treasures. Click on the links on this page to read more about these trips.