This article presents a critical analysis of the actions carried out by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to safeguard what is considered to be ‘intangible cultural heritage of humanity’. These actions have been implemented under the aegis of its international convention adopted in 2003: the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. However, there have been significant difficulties in implementing the principles set out in this document and the objectives they were intended to achieve. We have examined the effectiveness of UNESCO’s policies and management by way of a qualitative and quantitative study of the functioning of the Convention’s management bodies and the intangible heritage inscribed on the Lists (number and distribution by lists, countries and economic and demographic weight). The main focus of our analysis is to assess the democratic functioning of the Convention and the universality of the intangible heritage inscribed by UNESCO.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how safeguarding intangible cultural heritage contributes to environmental conservation and favours sustainable development of natural landscapes. To do so, the authors will focus on a study of dry stone constructions, which have been recognised by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as Intangible Cultural Heritage.Design/methodology/approach: The research has been carried out through three methodologies: the search and review of archives (historical and administrative documents), ethnographic methodology (field work and interviews) and case studies.Findings: The abandonment of dry stone constructions is placing rural zones at risk, as they assume a strategic role in environmental conservation efforts. This article seeks to highlight the importance of safeguarding this cultural heritage.Research limitations/implications: The art of dry stone walling has its origins in ancient times and can be found in numerous regions around the world. The main ideas of this paper may be applied to many of the places where this vernacular architecture can be found.Practical implications: Some stakeholders may apply the results of this study to identify new uses for heritage resources that allow maintenance of ecosystems while at the same time safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.Social implications: This paper stresses the importance of raising public awareness of cultural heritage and vernacular architecture, its link with traditional activities such as farming and livestock raising, the rural landscape and reinforcement of cultural identity and historical memory.Originality/value: This study illustrates the actions taken by UNESCO to safeguard intangible cultural heritage and the effects of those actions. It also considers dry stone constructions from the perspective of environmental sustainability, an area that has been subject to limited study.

The city of Cordoba (Spain) stands out due to the fact that it has different inscriptions both in the List of World Heritage Sites and the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (LICH) of UNESCO. In 2012 the Fiesta of the Patios was inscribed on the LICH. Currently, this event held during two weeks in May involves visits by the public to traditional dwellings. This event is becoming a magnet for tourists from outside the city and has established itself as a further tourist attraction, with the risk that it may lose part of its authenticity. This paper aims to use the hedonic price methodology to examine the externalities deriving from the “Fiesta” in order to verify whether the possible benefits/disadvantages of its existence are capitalised in real estate prices and quantify these effects. The results indicate that the “Fiesta” constitutes an added value for housing properties.

This article analyzes the influence of heritage labeling on tourist flows in Andalusia (Spain). Some of the labels considered correspond to public registries whose purpose is the protection of heritage, while others correspond to specific recognitions aimed at promoting tourism and local development. A data panel of 31 tourist destinations covering the entire territory of Andalusia has been constructed for the period 2009-2022, incorporating the tourist flows of travelers as response variables and the density of the different typologies of cultural heritage elements as explanatory variables and different control variables. Different models with temporal and transversal effects have been estimated, aimed at evaluating the contribution of different typologies of cultural heritage on traveler flows. The results show that cultural heritage has a significant effect on tourist flows in Andalusia, but with a different distribution depending on the type of flow and the typology of the tourist destination.