Heritage–Tourism–Heritage: Prospects, Predicaments and Trepidations

This article examines the intricate relationship between heritage and tourism in India at a pivotal moment when tourism is becoming a significant driver in shaping new perspectives on the interpretation and management of heritage within historic cities, particularly those characterized by extensive religious heritage. Religious heritage sites are typically perceived through a sacred framework, associating them with the immutable nature of the divine, and thus conceptualizing these places as both immanent and transcendent. Nevertheless, such sites continually evolve, embodying an intersection of myth, religion, culture, economics, history and politics, each contributing to their unique spatial–temporal identity. Focusing on Vrindavan as a case study, this article elucidates how religious and cultural heritage is both produced and reproduced, involving complex issues of ownership, custodianship, authority, control and presentation. It further explores the growing role of religious heritage as a multifunctional space for tourism in modern society. Government agencies increasingly appropriate these spaces, prioritizing certain aspects of heritage for the development of heritage tourism—often centring efforts on iconic structures under the premise that tourism facilitates conservation. However, such state-led initiatives and governmental discourses frequently overlook the significant contributions of non-state actors—both religious and cultural—who serve as traditional custodians responsible for conserving and managing both tangible and intangible living religious heritage. Engaging these stakeholders is essential if tourism is to effectively support heritage conservation; otherwise, heritage risks being reduced to a mere economic commodity, stripped of its enduring intergenerational significance.