VMAST

In principle can everyone sign up for a VMAST account. For the time being onboarding sites inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List is the priority, but also individuals such as heritage professionals and practitioners including consultants, researchers and students, can sign up for an account. 

As site manager you can use VMAST to asses achievements towards the most essential governance and visitor management indicators and how efforts contributes towards sustainability and development indicators. VMAST can also be used to develop a visitor management strategy. VMAST help you recognise the many different efforts that can be considered good visitor management.

VMAST is a great tool for bringing stakeholders around the table to discuss World Heritage and destination development.

All World Heritage sites can at no cost sign up for a VMAST management account through the UNESCO World Heritage Sustainable Tourism Programme. Individuals and non-World Heritage will need to sing up with World Heritage Catalysis and pay an initial setup and onboarding fee with a hosting fee billed annually.

Teams and collaboration plans are quoted separately. So will relevant resources and supporting material developed outside of UNESCO.

You need a computer or mobile and internet access.

VMAST is quite extensive so it is recommended filling it in on a computer (PC / Mac). 

You can also work offline and sync your work for cloud saving when you have internet access.

As VMAST accountholder can contact World Heritage Catalysis who in partnership with Zegeba provide basic technical troubleshooting. 

World Heritage Catalysis provides supplementary support including

1. Relevant resources (online products and services)

2. Forums and community including VMAST Forum - a closed forum for VMAST users, and Club Forum - a closed forum for peer support

3. General and specific expertise 

4. Library of compiled resources

VMAST Terms of Use 

1. Data generated using VMAST is the property of the VMAST account holder.

2. It is the responsibility of the VMAST account holder to: a) ensure that data submitted reflect the current management situation; b) ensure that forms are synced (which is necessary in order to benefit from VMAST improvements and updates), and to correctly save work/data; c) ensure that the VMAST account is registered with the appropriate organisation and/or team members, and that contact information is correct and up to date.

3. In the case where VMAST is set up through UNESCO, registered for a World Heritage site, World Heritage site management authorities and/or a Tentative World Heritage, use is based on the understanding that UNESCO may use data for reporting services. This may be global/ regional/ national/ thematic reporting. No individual VMAST account or site will be exposed unless directly or indirectly approved by the account holder.

4. It is the responsibility of the VMAST account holder to be aware and manage the potential indirect and/or implicit use of VMAST generated data. Indirect or implicit approval may find place where VMAST is used as a collaborative tool or in a collaborative effort (for example in a workshop), when VMAST is used as a research data collection tool, or where VMAST data is submitted in a third party tool or framework.

5. A VMAST account holder can at any point request the VMAST account to be deleted.

6. Access to the VMAST account and/or forms can be suspended or deleted according to the agreement under which it was set up.

7. All use of VMAST may inform its further improvement.

8. As host and service providers of VMAST, Zegeba and World Heritage Catalysis may contact VMAST accountholders using the email registered in the system.

9. VMAST account holder details may be shared with UNESCO in order to manage accounts.

10. UNESCO, Zegeba and/or World Heritage Catalysis shall not be held liable for any special, incidental, indirect, reliance or consequential damages, whether foreseeable of not, including, but not limited to, loss of data or information, claims for services, interruptions or transmission problems, occasioned by any defect in the site, the tool, its content, the inability to user services provided hereunder or any other cause whatsoever with respect thereto, regardless of theory of liability.

11. These Terms of Use may be revised from time to time by updating this posting. VMAST users are bound by any such revisions and should therefore periodically review the then current Terms of Use.

12. Additional services provided by Zegeba and/or World Heritage Catalysis will be governed under aligning but extended ToU.