Gauging site sensitivity for sustainable archaeotourism in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

This paper addresses the managed use of pre-colonial archaeological sites in the Western Cape Province by the tourism industry. An Internet survey reveals a relatively low but significant number of pre-colonial sites advertised as tourism attractions. Rock art sites in the Clanwilliam and Ceres districts are the most popular attractions. The sensitivity of archaeological sites necessitates extensive involvement of the heritage sector in the budding archaeotourism sector. We introduce a Heritage Asset Sensitivity Gauge that indexes market appeal, cultural significance and asset vulnerability to assess the suitability of archaeological sites being considered as tourism attractions. Such an audit instrument is an essential touchstone for the construction of partnerships between cultural heritage tourism and cultural heritage conservation. These industries currently operate in near isolation from each other in the Western Cape. Using an auditing instrument that takes into account the interests of both sectors is one of the ways to promote a partnership between the sectors, which,forms the basis for sustainable archaeotourism.