Authentic, tangible, intangible: tourist vs. heritage? Reflections on the impacts of tourism on the conservation of sites

Cultural tourism is a way of use heritage from the past facing a strong development in last decades. “Valorisation” of Heritage is relying over this dynamic too often without considering the consequences it may bring. If on the one hand an increasing flow of tourists might contribute to the economical relaunch of marginal areas, on the other negative effects could affect the preservation of Heritage and harm local communities. Besides well-known consequences related to the impact of great number of tourists concerning physical conservation of cultural heritage, the issue of “iper-restoration” is present. This phenomenon is given by the willingness to provide an “ideal monument” to the tourist, together with the concentration of resources on selected heritages, causing the abandonment of others. There is a sort of competition between tourists and local communities for natural resources, which are by definition scarce, to achieve an economic benefit that is mainly prerogative of international companies. Tourism in great presences can cause the loss of functional mixitè of places. Furthermore, it could compromise the transmission of local communities’ traditions, knowledges and experiences, harming their intangible heritage. The contribution proposed reflects over these dynamics starting from some experiences conducted in emerging Countries, where the aforementioned effects have severe consequences over preservation of Heritage that might influence the European context also. The case studies of Haghpat and Sanahin in Armenia and Luxor in Egypt (research experiences conducted in 2015 and 2009 respectively) will represent an occasion to questioning about the role of tourism and local communities in preservation and use of Heritage, considering also the intangible aspects strongly related to it.