Global Journal of Management and Business Research, F: Real Estate, Event and Tourism Management, Volume 23 Issue 3

For this reason, tourism is very sensitive to the political environment, more specifically as regards the safety of tourists. Cameroon is confronted with violence and attacks that are reducing the number of tourist arrivals. Unfortunately, Cameroon's image as a tourist destination is suffering. Some tourist areas are described as high-risk destination, prone to violent events, disease and asymmetric conflicts (Neumayer, 2004; Yap & Saha, 2013). In fact, the tourism sector remains diversified, with a heritage linked to a legacy to be handed down from more or less ancient times. It has a collective dimension of a general nature, with a value as a resource likely to contribute to the development of the territory that generated it. In Cameroon, cultural heritage can be understood in material terms and is characterised by housing, crafts, pottery, weaving, sculpture, archaeology and architecture. Intangible cultural heritage, which takes into account certain aspects of human creativity, such as the ability to invent original cultural forms that are not necessarily material (for instance, the manufacture of precious objets d'art) (Brillet, 2000). In essence, heritage represents the identity of an entire people. It is any form of cultural expression inherited from the past by a society. It includes the spoken language, national anthems, songs, handicrafts, gastronomy, dances, festivals, events, folklore celebrations, accounts, legends, poems, the works of great writers, architectural and artistic works and much more. Preserving this vitality in the face of the demands of modernity is becoming an arduous task. Thus, the use of certain strategies in response to modernity is based on conservative practices in the light of a traditional perspective, such as the use of architectural elements that have been salvaged and reused in the construction of new buildings. In other words, architectural fragments from another era are incorporated into existing buildings. This combination of the traditional and the modern aims to adapt to modernity without undermining its cultural heritage by making it more attractive to the world (the example of conical-roofed dwellings made of mud bricks or bamboo is becoming rarer in the face of modernisation and is now made of hard or semi-hard materials). Along the same lines, in the past on Mount Cameroon, trees were felled around mountain refuges to heat the refuges and prepare meals for tourists, but it was realised that this practice was destroying bird habitats and causing erosion, which is why tourists now have their own private portable gas cookers (Sumelong, 2012). Cities are becoming more cosmopolitan, prompting people to change their habits, which is having an impact on cultural heritage in general. However, efforts are being made to preserve heritage. For example, in Bafoussam, a town in the west of Cameroon, there are still museums in Bafoussam 1er, such as the Ecological Museum of Biodiversity, which conserves and exhibits the medicinal plants of the Bafoussam community. Moreover, modernity remains a difficult factor to combine with cultural heritage, which is under threat in the Cameroonian context, as several biosphere reserves have not escaped the impetus of modernisation. For example, the pygmy peoples living around the Lobé Falls have seen not only their territory confined, but also their camps transformed into crude villages with the surge of modernity in the area (Tchindjang & Etoga, 2014). b) What Kind of Tourism Governance is Needed to Meet the Challenges of Modernity ? As the years go by, tourism practices evolve, constrained by numerous crises but also driven by constantly changing demand, forcing regions to rethink their strategy, but also to demonstrate permanent flexibility in a world that is constantly changing. Governance applied to tourism therefore appears to be an attempt to respond to this need for permanent adaptability, with clear lines to be defined and precise objectives to be built, starting by emphasising the stability of political institutions through the creation of trustworthy institutions focused on collective national interests. Tourism governance is a complex system which requires a better understanding of the processes involved, since each player influences the system and is influenced by the system (Butler & Waldbrook, 1991). As a result, each element that comes into play in the tourism industry is essential and must be taken into account within the framework of the interrelationships that can exist in this sector. This inseparability stems from an awareness that integrates in a global way the observational data linked to any problem, however independent it may seem. The system in these characteristics is not only made up of relationships and roles, but also has an organisational and structural dimension that can help to bring a new perspective to the improvement of tourism, which is already suffocated by the lack of infrastructure and the conditions that make its management laborious. In this way, managing the system means developing processes based on open dialogue with all the stakeholders, on the understanding that all the ministries concerned have a role to play, leading to coordinated government action. This approach needs to involve many parts of government across national ministries, as well as partnerships with industry and the private sector, whose representatives are often best placed to identify areas where government intervention would be most useful. This will make it possible to invest in the development of tourist sites and build Tourism Governance in Cameroon and the Challenges of Modernity : An Overview Global Journal of Management and Business Research ( F ) XXIII Issue III Version I Year 2023 19 © 2023 Global Journals