‘Anything You Want It to Mean’? Scotland’s Changing Heritage Landscape

Abstract

This chapter examines some features of Scotland’s diverse heritage, tangible and intangible, and which are vital to the tourist industry and the national economy. First, it looks at those who run Scotland’s heritage; traditional agencies, the changes that they have experienced, and their respective roles in defining strategies. Second, it examines natural heritage, highly significant in tourism, but strangely detached from the mainstream. Third, it identifies other heritage interests, notably the influential National Trust for Scotland. Fourth, it looks at funding and collaboration within the sector. Fifth, it examines the ‘new’ industrial heritage which formed the basis of Robert Hewison’s classic critique. Sixth, it reviews World Heritage in Scotland, what it has achieved and its benefits, especially to tourism. Lastly it examines some heritage issues and strategies for the future. More questions arise, but the most central is this: while heritage plays an enormous role in the tourist industry and economy, what ethos and ideology does it present to the world at large, are these appropriate to the country’s past, and what does the future hold for the heritage industry?