The Western Front has become, once again, and after 100 years, an
important and increasingly popular tourist destination. The Centenary is
already encouraging large numbers of visitors to engage with this highly
poignant landscape of war and to commemorate the sacrifice and loss of a
previous generation. Interest is also being sharpened in the 'places of
war' as battle-sites, trench-systems, bunkers and mine craters gain a
clearer identity as war heritage.
For the first time this book brings together the three strands of
heritage, landscape and tourism to provide a fresh understanding of the
multilayered nature of the Western Front. The book approaches the area
as a rich dynamic landscape which can be viewed in a startling variety
of ways: historically, materially, culturally, and perceptually. To
illustrate these two dominant interpretations of the region's
landscape - commemorative and heritage - are highlighted and their
relationship to tourism explored. Tourism is a lens through which these
layers can be peeled away, and each understood and interacted with
according to the individual's own knowledge, motivation, and degree of
emotional engagement. Tourism is not regarded here as a passive
phenomenon, but as an active agent that can determine, dictate and
inscribe this evocative landscape.
The Western Front: Heritage, Landscape and Tourism is a timely addition
to our increasing interest in the First World War and the places where
it was fought. It will be indispensable to those who seek a deeper
understanding of the conflict from previously undervalued perspectives.
