Cultural Heritage Conservation and the Rise of the Private Sector: Hopes and Concerns Mahmoud Abdou1

In a world dominated by commercialisation and globalisation, it has become quite common to witness an intersection between the activities of the private sector and numerable significant heritage sites worldwide. While some of these sites are active recipients of philanthropic assistance that is strongly needed for conservation activities, others remain passive players, constrained in the private sector´s dealings. The multi-faceted socio-economic value of heritage properties indicates that they – in different cases – are identified as commercial assets, and therefore their potential ultimate use for commercial purposes would be largely mismatched with principles of heritage conservation. 2 Managing processes of built heritage conservation highlights the participation of various key players such as public, private, and voluntary sectors, and at different levels including local, national, and regional3.  A number of global threats have a key role concerning how the private sector intertwines with heritage management, including the recession of the role of public bodies for most of their traditional responsibilities of heritage conservation, the increasing relevance of managing and conserving heritage sites, and the increasing pressure of global market forces. These threats have formalised underlying tenets for privatising heritage conservation and exert more pressure on national and international private entities to provide support through partnering with public bodies. Moreover, the ongoing increase in poverty and population size adds another dimension for the community to utilise the economic values of