NEW YORK, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- American Express and the World
Monuments Fund today announced a new initiative that rewards and
encourages the responsible stewardship of historic sites by supporting
projects that address the issue of sustainable tourism. This initiative,
which is part of the American Express Partners in Preservation
initiative launched in 2006, is focused on sustaining historic sites in
the face of increased visitor activities and environmental impacts, and
preserving them for future generations to enjoy.
As part of the initiative, $4 million will be granted over four years to
support a variety of projects that integrate historic preservation,
sustainable tourism management and visitor education. The initial four
projects to receive grant funding are Route 66, the historic corridor
that runs between Chicago and Los Angeles in the United States; St
Paul's Cathedral, London, England; Mexico City Historic Center, Mexico;
and Delhi Heritage City, India.
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Delhi Heritage City -- $200,000 grant to support a project led by the
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage that will pilot a
new heritage route that connects some of Delhi's most extraordinary
monuments. The heritage route will begin at the monumental Humayun's
Tomb and end at the Red Fort, a Mughal palace that was inscribed on the
World Heritage list in 2007. This heritage route project, which
eventually will be expanded to include a number of heritage districts
and sites in Delhi, will feature clean- energy shuttle buses with hop
on/hop off service to ease the flow of visitors and reduce congestion,
educational centers, and other visitor amenities such as sidewalk
furniture and environmentally-friendly lighting.
More information about the Partners in Preservation initiative and the
four global sites can be found at
http://www.americanexpress.com/corp/philanthropy.