The Role of Visitor Centers in Heritage Management: The Example of the Archaeological Site of Umm Qais, Jordan

Abstract This study explores the part that visitor centers at archaeological sites play in heritage and tourism management. A case study was conducted in Umm Qais-Jordan, to investigate how a visitor center performs its functions. According to the findings of the fieldwork, the visitor center at Umm Qais primarily operates in an administrative capacity and thus primarily performs clerical functions related to tourism rather than undertaking interpretation and heritage management.