Global hospitality leader Accor and the World Monuments Fund (WMF) have announced a collaborative initiative to safeguard four iconic heritage sites featured on the 2025 World Monuments Watch, reinforcing the link between responsible tourism and cultural preservation.
The partnership, launched in September 2024, brings together Accor’s expansive global hospitality network and WMF’s expertise in cultural heritage to deliver preservation projects that promote community engagement, balanced tourism, and climate resilience.
The four selected sites, spanning four continents, include:
- Chapel of the Sorbonne, Paris, France
- Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru)
- Serifos Historic Mining Landscape, Greece
- Historic Water Systems of Bhuj, India
The World Monuments Watch, WMF’s biennial flagship programme, identifies and advocates for 25 cultural heritage sites in urgent need of protection. The 2025 Watch aims to galvanise global attention and drive sustainable solutions for sites affected by environmental, tourism, and socio-economic challenges.
Under this new initiative, Accor will support projects at these four sites to promote long-term resilience and improve local community outcomes through preservation, education, and sustainable tourism strategies.
The partnership builds on WMF’s legacy of impact, with more than $120 million invested across 350 Watch-listed sites, leveraging a further $310 million in public and private funding.
Accor’s involvement will focus on:
- Distributing tourism more equitably to lesser-known but culturally significant sites
- Training and empowering local communities in site stewardship and tourism benefits
- Integrating heritage into community development and climate adaptation goals
Sophie Hulgard, Chief Commercial Officer at Accor, said: “Through this partnership with the World Monuments Fund, we aim to set a new standard for how global tourism companies can support cultural heritage. These sites are not only treasures of the past—they are also pillars of community identity, education, and sustainable economic opportunity.”
Bénédicte de Montlaur, President and CEO of WMF, added: “This collaboration with Accor is a blueprint for what heritage preservation should look like in the 21st century—locally grounded, globally supported, and future-facing. By strengthening local resilience and building tourism strategies around sustainability, we can ensure these sites endure for generations to come.”
As part of the three-year agreement, each site will be assessed against Accor’s climate and sustainability criteria, ensuring that interventions align with the company’s broader ESG commitments and contribute to the global conversation on climate-smart tourism.
This strategic alliance signals a growing awareness within the hospitality sector of its role in protecting heritage, empowering communities, and driving responsible tourism models—especially as travellers increasingly seek meaningful and sustainable cultural experiences.
For more information about the World Monuments Watch and Accor’s sustainability initiatives, visit wmf.org and accor.com.