ABSTRACT
First, a total global heritage overview is precluded because not every country in the world is a signatory to the World Heritage Convention. A country which has put forward its site to the World Heritage Committee for inclusion on the World Heritage List in the first instance, for very good reasons of its own, may know the Site is under stress but, for economic reasons, not care to admit it. In other instances, one part of a Site may be worn down while another may be almost deserted, possessing the capacity to bear plenty more visits: either way, local people involved in associated entrepreneurial activity may be 'crying out' for more people to visit, while other disinterested locals might want to be left in peace. The physical state of what remains of the original fabric of the relevant portion of the - immensely long overall - Great Wall of China, where YIPs tend to be taken for valuable photoopportunities, is scarcely likely to be a first concern of host or visitor. Here, looking good is the prime requirement.
