ANALYSING HERITAGE RESOURCES FOR URBAN TOURISM IN EUROPEAN CITIES

The development and management of urban tourism has become a major challenge in many European cities. They are cradles of history and culture, of social and cultural life, rich in heritage buildings, but in many cases also areas in which economic, social and environmental problems are concentrated (Cortie, Dekker, Dignum 1993). This ‘urban question’ now has a high priority on the political agenda, at the level of the European Union (EU) and at the level of countries, regions and cities (EC, DG Regional Policy 1992). The development of urban tourism is expected to rebalance the urban economy, by generating new activities and by regenerating rundown districts. However this ‘economic injection’ is not by definition, and surely not in all cities, a magic cure. The revitalization potential of tourism strongly depends on the presence of resources which can be developed into tourist attractions, on the financial capacity of public and private partners to do so and on political will. There are significant differences between the European cities in the way urban tourism policies are conceived and integrated in the overall urban development strategies (EC, DG Regional Policy and Cohesion 1997).