Access and hosting plans

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. 

VMAST can be used 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. Read more here.

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. Everyone else may sing up with VMAST through World Heritage Catalysis by paying an initial and once-off setup and onboarding fee with the hosting fee billed annually.

Catalyst and collaboration plans are quoted separately. So are relevant resources and supporting materials developed outside of UNESCO.

You need a computer or mobile and internet access.

VMAST contains a rather large indicator set 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. 

Technical support or requests beyond this may be billed upon approval. 

Yes. To join the global community of VMAST users sign up with World Heritage Catalysis and join the integrated community platform. Here you will be able to:

• connect and collaborate with other VMAST users and professionals on all the topics set out through VMAST;
• attend online trainings
• access resources
• host your own collaboration space
• and more...

World Heritage Catalysis provides supplementary resources:

1. Products and services available in the Hub Store

2. Library of compiled resources available in the Community platform

3. General and specific expertise

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.