西山 徳明
NISHIYAMA Noriaki
Professor, Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS), Hokkaido University
Born in Fukuoka City in 1961. Graduated from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University; completed the Master’s Program in the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University; and withdrew from the Doctoral Program after completion of course requirements. Ph.D. (Engineering).
He has served as Assistant, Associate Professor, and Professor at Kyushu Institute of Design; Professor at Kyushu University; Visiting Associate Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology; and Professor at the Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS), Hokkaido University. He has held his current position since 2013.
His areas of specialization are architecture, urban planning, tourism, and cultural heritage management.
If communities and societies truly seek the genuine development of tourism, they must first recognize the value and potential of their own heritage. From that recognition, they must envision distinctive and proud futures—visions that use their heritage as a source of inspiration to create new heritage for generations to come.
To achieve this, the key stakeholders—citizens, the private sector, and government—must shift their perspective and regard heritage as “assets to be passed on.” At the same time, we must foster specialists who can clearly articulate the authentic value of such diverse forms of heritage, and cultivate another level of professionals who can coordinate collaboration across citizens, industry, government, and academia.
I wish to see the emergence of such experts—those who can work across regions and beyond national borders, as well as those who remain close to local communities, supporting grassroots efforts to build a more beautiful nation.
Noriaki Nishiyama
