Developing a Tourism and Heritage Plan for Old Town Lunenburg

This report analyzes the tourism interpretation plan developed for Old Town Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to balance economic growth with the preservation of its unique cultural and environmental heritage. The plan addresses the challenges posed by increasing tourism, including impacts on Victorian architecture, the fishing industry, and climate change. It outlines recommendations for managing tourist movement, considering infrastructure like roads, buildings, and utilities, and zoning regulations. The report emphasizes the importance of sustainable strategies to mitigate climate change risks and ensure the long-term viability of Lunenburg's heritage, referencing digital data, on-site visits, and strategic plans developed by the local government and community. Desklib provides access to this and other student-contributed assignments.

Running Head: OLD TOWN LUNENBURG 0
Old Town Lunenburg
Tourism Heritage Plan Assignment
Names: Ahmed Ibrahim, Emanuel Harawa
Submission Date: 3/12/2019

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Introduction
The Old Town Lunenburg was declared as World Heritage site of UNESCO in 1995
because it is the best surviving example of a planned settlement by British colonial in North
America. This town covers the core area of Lunenburg town. The Old Town Lunenburg
represents a settlement pattern which is in existence from more than 240 years and has
various examples of outstanding lingo architecture (Fudge, 2017). This report presents a
tourism interpretation plan which will be beneficial in preserving town from impacts of
increasing tourism.
Interpretation and Tourism Plan
Old Town Lunenburg occupies a narrow area along a natural harbour, the side of a
hill, original parade square of the town, and a waterfront area where shipbuilding industries
and fishing are associated. However, the town remains the same since its development as not
much increment in population growth has been seen, but in recent years a lot of increase in
the number of tourists in the town has been reported. Increase in tourism in an area is causing
various worst impacts on its Victorian heritage buildings and waterfront (The Economic
Planning Group of Canada, 2017). Therefore, local government and community have
developed and initiated various programs and policies for the protection and growth of the
town. Tourism is an important source of income in this area and a large number of hotels,
inns, and shops exist to provide services to the tourists. Since tourism is important for any
heritage site for its economic growth, hence it is not a smart move to restrict tourism in the
area, and thus need better strategies for sustainability of Lunenburg town (UNESCO, 2019).
Conservation of Lunenburg started in the 1970s when the decline in fishing and
shipbuilding industries was noted. In 2014, the town developed its own strategic plan for its

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conservation and sustainability. The goal of this strategic plan was to enhance the residents’
quality of life, the operation of town effectively and efficiently, and strengthen the
environment for success in business. The tourism industry has caused threaten for the fishing
industry of the town and also put a lot of pressure on providing accommodation to the
tourists. It is an undeniable fact that as the tourism industry is a big source of income but it is
also a source of change in the area (Morley, 2016). It has been observed that tourism
increment has caused climate change issue for Lunenburg and thus danger of future storm
and sea level rise has become more. Here are the following recommendations and
interpretation plan for the tourists’ movement in the area.
Here is a discussion about the man-made environment which includes construction of
roads, infrastructure, bridges, and public and residential building to provide guidance to the
tourists. Information used here is collected through digital data and on-site visits of
Lunenburg town. Maps of the area are provided in the Appendix section which includes maps
of roads and building points, water and sewer utilities, property parcels, emergency
management office and other infrastructure, and zoning of Town.
Roads
Town consists of around 42.1 km of roads and these include major streets, highways,
and secondary streets. The pattern of Old Town is in a rectangular grid. Roads are important
as residents and tourists need paths to travel in the town and also provide an emergency
escape. Most of the roads in the town are located near the coastline (UNEP, 2016).
Buildings
Buildings are represented by points in the map as it was not possible to determine the
exact area and size of buildings. Some buildings are represented by the shape of the polygon
(Forbes & Wightman, 2012).

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Water and Sewer Utilities
Water and sewer utilities lie under major roads and are shown in the map given in the
Appendix. Water is supplied in the town from Dares Lake which is located around 4.8 km
northwest of the town (Fudge, 2017).
Zoning
The town is divided into various zones for institutional, recreational, commercial,
industrial, residential, and tourism use. The areas near the coast are mostly allowed for
recreation, open shoreline, marine industrial, and tourism purpose. The map for different
zones is given in the Appendix (UNEP, 2016).
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that climate change is the major concern in the
Lunenburg town due to the increasing number of tourists in the town. Therefore, the local
community and government have developed strategies for preserving the heritage culture and
site of the area. An interpretation plan has been developed by them which will guide the
tourists in their movement so that it will impact the area in the least possible way and provide
them a good experience of visiting in the town.

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References
Forbes, J., & Wightman, J. (2012). Planning for Climate Change in the Town of Lunenburg,
NS. Retrieved from
https://climatechange.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/2012-
2013_Bluenose_1.pdf
Fudge, A. (2017). Heritage and Sustainability in Lunenburg: Big Strategies for a Small
Town. Retrieved from
https://sustainableheritagecasestudies.ca/2017/12/11/sustainability-for-world-heritage-
site/
Lunenburgns. (2014). LunenburgMarinaGuide2015R.pdf. Retrieved from
http://www.lunenburgns.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/LunenburgMarinaGuide20
15R.pdf
Morley, F. (2016). The Importance of Tourism to Nova Scotia Communities. Retrieved from
https://tourismns.ca/sites/default/files/municipalvoicesummer2016.pdf
The Economic Planning Group of Canada. (2017). A Guide to Community Tourism Planning
in Nova Scotia. Retrieved from
https://tourismns.ca/sites/default/files/2017-01/final_a_guide_to_community_tourism
_planning_in_nova_scotia_nov_2013.pdf
UNEP. (2016). World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate. Retrieved from
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/7603/-
World_heritage_and_tourism_in_a_changing_climate-
2016World_Heritage_and_Tourism_FINAL.pdf.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

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UNESCO. (2019). Old Town Lunenburg. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/741

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Appendix
1. Old Town Lunenburg
Source: (Forbes & Wightman, 2012)
2. Context Map
1. Nova Scotia; 2. County of Lunenburg; 3. Town of Lunenburg
Source: (UNESCO, 2019)

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3. Slope
Source: (Forbes & Wightman, 2012)
4. Forest Cover
Source: (Forbes & Wightman, 2012)

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5. Brochure