Sustainable tourism and World Heritage site
A case study of the historic centre of Porto
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6428301 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jing Jiang (0000-0002-8912-3896, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | In Situ Au regard des sciences sociales (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2680-4972 • E-ISSN: 2680-4972 |
| Publisher | OpenEdition (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.4000/13uwy |
| OpenAlex | W4410026097 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 11 |
After being listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996, the city of Porto (Portugal) faces significant pressure from rising tourism and real estate speculation, followed by massive interventions on its urban heritage. Visitors have profoundly altered both the physical and social landscapes of this historic city. On one hand, new constructions aiming to transform Porto from a devalued area into a prominent tourism destination were achieved through the complete destruction of buildings, leaving only their facades intact. The detached façade violates the integrity of the heritage but becomes a point of memory for visitors to the city. On the other hand, the “golden visa” program allows foreigners to invest in real estate in Porto, resulting in many buildings becoming short-term accommodations rather than primary residences with daily use. The shift has transformed the social fabric of the historic centre, with majority of inhabitants being temporary visitors and some locals expressed feelings of insecurity living in a neighbourhood full of strangers.While the government considers the visitors are “not enough”, experts argue that the visitors are already “too many” and have negative impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value of this World Heritage site. Drawing from data gathered through on-field interviews and social surveys with local inhabitants, craftsmen, agencies and experts, together with roundtable discussions with scholars and governmental representatives, this article aims to explore the means of sustainable tourism in the World Heritage site of Porto. It examines how visitors can contribute positively to local heritage through their unique on-site experience. By re-evaluating the role of visitors in the meaning-making process, this article seeks to raise public awareness of the importance of sustainable tourism
Archaeology · Cultural heritage · Cultural heritage management · Environmental planning · Geography · Heritage tourism · Historic site · Industrial heritage · Sustainable tourism · Tourism · Tourism geography · World heritage · Cruise Tourism Development and Management · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research
Living like a local
Cultural Heritage and Urban Tourism
An epistemological view of consumer experiences
Impacts of Peer-to-Peer Accommodation Use on Travel Patterns
Drivers and barriers of peer-to-peer accommodation stay – an exploratory study with American and Finnish travellers
The Society of the Spectacle
City Centre Regeneration in the Context of the 2001 European Capital of Culture in Porto, Portugal
Culture and Tourism in Porto City Centre
Area-based initiatives and urban dynamics. The case of the Porto city centre
Gentrification in Porto
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |