Cultural heritage, sustainable tourism and urban regeneration: capturing lessons and experience from Japan with a focus on Kyoto

The World Bank Group (WBG) has long
recognized that the restoration and preservationof cultural
heritage, urban regeneration, and sustainable tourism can
play a vital role in developing countries’ efforts to
promote local economic development, accelerate social
integration, and alleviate poverty. Against this backdrop,
this research report sheds light on lessons learned from the
development experience of Kyoto City, the imperial capital
of Japan for more than a thousand years and home to 14 well
conserved UNESCO World Heritage sites and many historic districts.