Innovative Cultural Tourism

in European Peripheries

Cultural tourism can play an important role in social and territorial

cohesion. Focusing on European peripheral regions, this book illuminates
the importance of local communities in heritage management for sustainable
development.
This book provides insights into the use of innovative business models and
tools, such as ecosystem services contracts and digital narrative platforms,
to enhance the sustainability and economic development of peripheral
and marginal destinations. Additionally, this book addresses the value of
data collection and analysis in cultural tourism and provides insights into
participatory models and approaches that contribute to sustainable tourism
development.
With contributions from a pan‑European range of expert scholars and
practitioners, this book serves as an essential resource for researchers,
professionals, and anyone with an interest in tourism, and the cultural and
creative industries.

Karol Jan Borowiecki is Professor of Economics at the University of Southern

Denmark, and President-Elect of the Association for Cultural Economics
International.

Antonella Fresa is Director of Implementations at Promoter srl, Vice‑President

of Photoconsortium: international association and contracted professor of
Tourism Science at the University of Pisa, Italy.

José María Martín Civantos is Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology

at the University of Granada, Spain.
Routledge Research in the Creative and Cultural Industries
Series Editor: Ruth Rentschler

This series brings together book‑length original research in cultural and crea‑
tive industries from a range of perspectives. Charting developments in con‑
temporary cultural and creative industries thinking around the world, the
series aims to shape the research agenda to reflect the expanding significance
of the creative sector in a globalised world.

NFTs, Creativity and the Law

Within and Beyond Copyright
Edited by Enrico Bonadio and Caterina Sganga

Craft as a Creative Industry

Karen Patel

Researching the Creative and Cultural Industries

A Guide to Qualitative Research
Simone Wesner

Gender Equality and the Cultural Economy

Comparative Perspectives
Helmut K. Anheier and Darinka Markovic, with Sofia Todd‑Tombini

Cultural Politics of the Creative Industries

Phil Graham

Business Model Innovation in Creative and Cultural Industries

Edited by Pierre Roy and Estelle Pellegrin‑Boucher

Innovative Cultural Tourism in European Peripheries

Edited by Karol Jan Borowiecki, Antonella Fresa
and José María Martín Civantos

For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/Routledge‑

Research‑in‑the‑Creative‑and‑Cultural‑Industries/book‑series/RRCCI
Innovative Cultural Tourism
in European Peripheries

Edited by
Karol Jan Borowiecki,
Antonella Fresa and
José María Martín Civantos

LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published 2025
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Contents

List of figures ix
List of tables xiii
List of contributors xv
Acknowledgments xxiii

1 Introduction. visiting the margins: innovative cultural

tourism in European peripheries 1
KAROL JAN BOROWIECKI, JOSÉ MARÍA MARTÍN CIVANTOS
AND ANTONELLA FRESA

2 Tourism as a tool for social and territorial cohesion:

exploring the innovative solutions developed
by INCULTUM pilots 7
FLORE COPPIN AND VINCENT GUICHARD

3 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing,

and finding Campina de Faro 28
VIKTOR SMITH AND MAXIMILIAN BLOCK

4 Innovative business models for cultural tourism: advancing

development in peripheral locations 54
CARSTEN JACOB HUMLEBÆK AND ESBEN RAHBEK GJERDRUM
PEDERSEN

5 Navigating landscapes: approaches to data collection

and analysis in tourism 68
KAROL JAN BOROWIECKI, MAJA UHRE PEDERSEN,
SARA BETH MITCHELL AND SHAHEDUL ALAM KHAN
vi Contents

6 Participatory models and approaches in sustainable

cultural tourism 92
KAMILA BORSEKOVÁ AND KATARÍNA VITÁLIŠOVÁ

7 Tourism and reception of visitors as a lever for inclusiveness

and resiliency of heritage communities: two case studies in
Hungarian peripheries 114
ESZTER GYÖRGY, GÁBOR OLÁH AND GÁBOR SONKOLY

8 Participatory platform for sustainable cultural tourism:

the case of Central Slovakia 132
DARINA ROJÍKOVÁ, KAMILA BORSEKOVÁ
AND ALEXANDRA BITUŠÍKOVÁ

9 Water heritage and community‑based cultural tourism.

The case of the Algarve’s Coastal Agrarian plain, in
Southern Portugal 151
DESIDÉRIO BATISTA, MANUELA GUERREIRO, MIGUEL REIMÃO
COSTA, BERNARDETE SEQUEIRA, MARISA CESÁRIO
AND DORA AGAPITO

10 Historical water management systems and sustainable

tourism: the case study of Altiplano de Granada (Spain) 170
JOSÉ MARÍA MARTÍN CIVANTOS, ELENA CORREA JIMÉNEZ AND
MARÍA TERESA BONET GARCÍA

11 Ancient paths to the future: an integrated approach to

territorial communities and entrepreneurship 185
FLORE COPPIN AND VINCENT GUICHARD

12 Measuring rural tourist behaviour and engagement: inside

the mind of the visitor 200
SABINE GEBERT PERSSON, JOHN ÖSTH, MIKAEL GIDHAGEN,
MARINA TOGER AND ANNA‑CARIN NORDVALL

13 Cultural tourism, cutting‑edge technologies and

participatory planning in the context of worth‑living
integrated development 216
VAIOS KOTSIOS AND SOTIRIS TSOUKARELIS
 Contents vii

14 Experimental reconstruction, cultural memory and cultural

tourism: Vlach minority heritage in the Upper Vjosa Valley,
Southern Albania 225
EGLANTINA SERJANI AND ARDIT MITI

15 Community genealogy as a tool for heritage tourism 242

JOHN TIERNEY, MAURIZIO TOSCANO AND AMANDA SLATTERY

Index259
Figures

2.1 Mapping the stakeholders in a common territory 12

2.2 INCULTUM’s sustainable tourism wheel 13
3.1 The four dimensions of naming and framing visualized 34
3.2 The low‑budget route as implemented in packaging design.
Images used with kind permission from Cavi‑Art and
Smartbox Group 36
3.3 Innovative low‑budget online campaign for visiting the
Faroe Islands 37
3.4 Distribution of respondents by gender 41
3.5 Distribution of respondents by age 41
3.6 Distribution of respondents by home country 42
3.7 Responses on ever having heard the name “Campina de Faro” 43
3.8 Top five of spontaneous interpretation of “Campina de
Faro” by participants who had not heard the name before,
expressed as percentage of responses that contained
elements matching the respective meta‑categories 44
3.9 Respondents’ intentions to visit Campina de Faro after
having read a short description of the area 46
4.1 Payment‑for‑service contracts for historical irrigation
systems in Granada 60
5.1 Phases in project planning 70
5.2 Selected data sources 78
5.3 Eurostat domestic and foreign arrivals over time 79
5.4 Validity tests of Tripadvisor data 80
5.5 Tourism trends using Tripadvisor data 81
5.6 Results from on‑site visitor surveys conducted in Campina
de Faro (Portugal) 83
6.1 Main features of sustainable cultural tourism 95
6.2 Characteristics of cultural participation, participation in
cultural tourism, and participation in sustainable
cultural tourism 99
6.3 Essentials of sustainable cultural tourism 102
x Figures

6.4 Proposal of participatory framework for sustainable

cultural tourism 104
7.1 The location of the two case studies in Hungary 115
8.1 Overnight stay in accommodation facilities in the districts
of Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica 137
8.2 Turnover in accommodation facilities in the districts of
Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica 137
8.3 Final form of the logo of the platform “Mining Treasures
of Central Slovakia” 144
9.1 Algarve’s map with the location of pilot case 153
9.2 Proposed cultural routes on water heritage based on
project’s results 164
10.1 Example of the Acequiero’s Path (acequia in Lugros, a
municipality in the Guadix region, Granada) 171
10.2 Location of the Geopark territory and the different
municipalities in which the INCULTUM proposal has been
implemented174
10.3 Example of official signposting (official trail number: SL A
389) on the Acequia de Alcázar (Jérez del Marquesado.
Granada)178
10.4 Mapping of acequias in Benamaurel (Granada) 178
11.1 Conceptual diagram of the territorial experimentation
project into which the Ancient Paths to the Future pilot
project fits 186
11.2 Restoration work on an abandoned path on the
Bibracte – Morvan des Sommets Grand Site de France 190
12.1 Examples of the three studied sites: (a) Gotland (view from
wall over the town); (b) The harbour area of Öregrund,
Roslagen; (c) Drone photo of parts of the Torsö archipelago
(west of Brommö) 206
12.2 GPS logger 208
12.3 GPS trajectories and like‑clicks in Visby (Gotland) 209
12.4 GPS trajectories and like‑clicks on the island of Brommö in
the Torsö archipelago 210
12.5 Difference in population density between July 2020
and July 2019, in the central parts of Sweden
(from Osth et al., 2023) 211
13.1 Arrivals of residents and foreigners 217
13.2 Area online searches 218
13.3 Major assets of the region 219
13.4 Major problems of the region 220
13.5 Unused infrastructure in the region 220
13.6 Traditional products of the region 221
13.7 Possibility and preconditions for reoccupation of the region 221
 Figures xi

13.8 Possibility of cooperation between the Associations

of the region 222
14.1 Map of settlements with Vlach presence in the Upper Vjosa
Valley229
14.2 Construction of the kalive dwelling site 235
14.3 Map of the transhumant routes and the main centres with
Vlach presence in the region 237
15.1 Local community and Eacthra team surveying the Old
Graveyard in Kilbehenny, as part of the Ballyhoura PRAE
Project251
15.2 A pocket‑sized trail for eight POIs in Ardmore roundtower
graveyard253
Tables

5.1 Content of tourism and visitor profiles 73

8.1 Indicators of tourist potential in the Banská Bystrica region,
Banská Bystrica, and Banská Štiavnica districts 136
8.2 Results of participatory creation of the interactive platform
“Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia” 146
9.1 Summary of the aspects revealed by the interviews.
Elaborated by the authors 161
12.1 Classification of dimensions of engagements 205
12.2 Classification of dimensions of engagement and temporal
subdivisions of the tourist experience 208
12.3 Survey responses from Torsö 2021 to the question about
how and when they have changed their tourism/recreation
behaviour because of the COVID‑19 pandemic 209
15.1 Example of number and percentage of scans/clicks of
the QR codes, according to the provenance, for Point of
Interest 02 (an Early Medieval Ogham stone) in Ardmore
graveyard, Co. Waterford 254
Contributors

Dora Agapito holds a PhD in Tourism. She is Assistant Professor at the

­Faculty of Economics, University of Algarve, Portugal. She is Director of
the PhD in Tourism and the MSc in Tourism Organizations Management,
and Researcher at CinTurs—Research Center for Tourism, Sustainability
and Well‑Being.
Shahedul Alam Khan is a postgraduate student from Bangladesh pursuing his
MSc in Economics and Business Administration at the University of South‑
ern Denmark. Besides, he is working as a student research assistant at the
Department of Economics. Before his academic pursuits in ­Denmark, he
held the position of Assistant Professor at Leading University in Bang‑
ladesh. His research interests span governance, international trade, and
business regulation, and he has several publications to his credit.
Desidério Batista holds a PhD in Landscape Arts and Techniques. He is Pro‑
fessor at the University of Algarve on the MSc in Landscape Architecture
and the PhD in Heritage Studies. He is a researcher at the Centre for Stud‑
ies in Archaeology, Arts and Heritage Sciences (CEAACP).
Alexandra Bitušíková is Head of the University Centre for International Pro‑
jects and Full Professor in Social Anthropology at Matej Bel University in
Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. She was Visiting Scholar at Cambridge Univer‑
sity, University College London, and Boston University (Fulbright). She
participated in numerous FP, H2020, and HEU projects and is an author
of more than 100 publications on urban change, diversity, identity, herit‑
age, and gender. From 2001 to 2008, she worked in the European Com‑
mission and the European University Association in Brussels.
Maximilian Block holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Tourism Man‑
agement and a Master’s degree in African Studies. He is currently about
to graduate with a Master of Science in Sustainable Entrepreneurship
from the University of Groningen and is concurrently working as Student
Research Assistant for Copenhagen Business School. His research inter‑
ests involve interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development with
a key focus on Sub‑Saharan Africa, cultural tourism development, and
nature‑based carbon offsetting.
xvi Contributors

María Teresa Bonet García, Professional Archaeologist since 2010, has

­participated in several research projects in collaboration with the University
of Granada, mostly related to studies linked to Landscape Archaeology. She
has actively participated as a partner in the development and execution of
the Mediterranean Mountainous Landscapes project (MEMOLA Project,
FP7, European Commission, coordinated by the University of Granada). She
is currently part of the management and support team of the I­NCULTUM
project. She is specialized in Hydraulic and Territorial Archaeology, with a
good command of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Kamila Borseková is Coordinator of Research at Matej Bel University with a
profound interest in urban and regional topics. She is Associate Professor
and Head of the Research and Innovation Centre at the Faculty of Eco‑
nomics. Her primary scientific research focuses on competitiveness, resil‑
ience, and sustainable urban and regional development and related policy.
She has extensive experience from participating in dozens of national and
international research projects. Currently, she is Coordinator of the Hori‑
zon Europe project BRRIDGE. She has authored and co‑authored more
than 100 scientific publications, including articles, chapters, studies, and
books.
Karol Jan Borowiecki is Professor of Economics at the University of Southern
Denmark, renowned for his innovative research methodologies and soci‑
etal impact. He published more than 40 items, including in the Journal
of Political Economy, a textbook with Cambridge University Press, and
a co‑edited volume on cultural heritage. He sits on the editorial boards of
Tourism Economics and the Journal of Cultural Economics. He serves as
President‑Elect of the Association for Cultural Economics International
and collaborates with premier European institutions, shaping policy and
advancing cultural and tourism economics.
Marisa Cesário holds a PhD in Economics. She is Professor at the Faculty
of Economics, UALG (Portugal). She is Director of the MSc in Tourism
Economics and Regional Development. She is an integrated member of
CinTurs—Research Center for Tourism, Sustainability and Well‑Being.
Flore Coppin is Head of communications at Bibracte and Coordinator of
the INCULTUM pilot project. She graduated from the National Institute
for Oriental Languages and Civilizations and the Sorbonne School of
Communication.
Elena Correa Jiménez, archaeologist, graduated in Archaeology from the Uni‑
versity of Granada in 2020 and Master’s degree in Archaeology from the
University of Granada in 2021. She is specialized in Historical Irrigation
Systems in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. She is in charge of the
volunteer activities of the Biocultural Archaeology Laboratory (MEMO‑
Lab) such as the recovery of irrigation ditches and historical cultivation
 Contributors xvii

areas. She has also participated in numerous archeological excavations in

the province of Granada and Almería. She is currently Researcher on the
project, Visiting the Margins: INnovative CULtural ToUrisM in European
peripheries (INCULTUM).
Miguel Reimão Costa is an architect and professor at the University of the
Algarve, a researcher at the Centre for Studies in Archaeology, Arts and
Heritage Sciences (CEAACP), and a member of the board of the Mértola
Archaeological Site (CAM).
Antonella Fresa is Director of implementations at Promoter srl, Contracted
Professor of Tourism Science at the University of Pisa, and Vice‑President
of Photoconsortium: international association for valuing photographic
heritage and accredited aggregator of Europeana.eu. She holds a Master’s
degree in Computer Science.
Mikael Gidhagen is Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the Department of Busi‑
ness Studies at Uppsala University, Sweden. His research concerns aspects
of service logic, including actor engagement and value creation in service
ecosystems. Focal interests are relationship dynamics, engagement, expe‑
rienced value, and resource becoming.
Manuela Guerreiro holds a PhD in Economic and Management Sciences.
She is Programme Leader of the Master of Marketing Management and
Co‑Coordinator of the Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and
Well‑Being (CinTurs). Her research interests include Marketing and Con‑
sumer Behavior, Destination Branding, and Image.
Vincent Guichard is General Manager of Bibracte Public Establishment for
Cultural Cooperation. He is an archaeologist specializing in European
protohistory. His work and responsibilities are focused on preserving and
developing the Bibracte archeological site, while maintaining the estab‑
lishment as a key public player in the fields of archeological research and
integrated management of landscapes and cultural heritage.
Eszter György received her MA at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in
Budapest, at the EHESS, Paris, and her PhD in History at ELTE, in 2013.
Since 2012, she has been involved in several EU projects (Erasmus Mun‑
dus and Horizon 2020 projects), focusing on cultural heritage, cultural
participation, and minority heritage. She is a senior lecturer at the Atel‑
ier Department for Interdisciplinary History, ELTE. Her fields of research
and publications cover Roma cultural history, Roma heritage in Hungary,
and urban inequalities.
Carsten Jacob Humlebæk is Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business
School, Denmark. His research focuses particularly on questions related
to collective identity formation as a social and narrative phenomenon
and on the dialectical relationship between place branding and collective
xviii Contributors

identity building both at national, regional, and local levels. His research
has been published in numerous academic journals and books. He has
been involved in several international research projects and is presently
CBS‑lead of the EU‑funded “INCULTUM” and “SECreTour” projects.
Vaios Kotsios (Greek), PhD (2016) in Environmental and Development Sci‑
ences from the National Technical University of Athens, specializes in
Business Intelligence, GIS, and Data Analysis. Since 2018, he’s lectured in
NTUA’s “Environment and Development” program, previously research‑
ing there since 2009. As a chief researcher and data analyst, he contributed
to the Mechanism of Labour Market Diagnosis by the Greek Ministry of
Labour. From 2018 to 2020, he served as a national expert in the E ­ uropean
Social Fund’s Transnational Network for Employment. He’s collaborated
with various institutions nationally and internationally, including the UN,
EU, and Greek ministries.
José María Martín Civantos is Full Professor in the Department of Medieval
History and CCTTHH at the University of Granada, Coordinator of Bio‑
cultural Archaeology Laboratory (MEMOLab)—coordinator and IP of
the successful and highly awarded European project MEMOLA (MEditer‑
ranean MOntainous LAndscapes: an historical approach to cultural herit‑
age based on traditional agrosystems), funded by the EU, under FP7/SSH.
Also, he is Coordinator of INCULTUM Project (financed by the H2020
program of the European Union under Grant Agreement no. 101004552).
He is an archaeologist specializing in landscape studies, local community
relations, and archaeology of Architecture.
Sara Beth Mitchell specializes in urban, labor, and cultural economics, focus‑
ing on creative worker migration, agglomeration effects, and cultural
tourism. Her work leverages often historical datasets, shedding light on
economic patterns. Holding a PhD from Trinity College Dublin, where
she was a Grattan Scholar and Irish Research Council Fellow, her career
spans roles at the University of Southern Denmark, TU Dortmund, and
the Institute of Public Administration, reflecting her diverse expertise and
contributions to economics.
Ardit Miti is a researcher at the Centre for the Research and Promotion of
Historical‑Archaeological Albanian Landscapes, based in Tirana, Albania.
He is also a PhD candidate at the University of Granada, Spain, focusing
his research on landscape archaeology and rural settlement dynamics and
patterns during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.
Anna‑Carin Nordvall is Associate Professor at the Department of business
studies, Uppsala University. Her research focuses on individual aspects of
the decision‑making process in different contexts, for example consum‑
ers, visitors, and organizational strategists. In her work, she consolidates
 Contributors xix

empirical quantitative and qualitative data modeling human cognition and

perception for sustainable development.
Gábor Oláh holds a PhD in Urban Studies and History and is Postdoctoral
Researcher at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest and Paris 1
­Panthéon‑Sorbonne University. In 2023, he defended his PhD dissertation
in the framework of ELTE‑EHESS joint supervision program. His research
is focused on urban heritage discourse, the concepts of urban landscape
and neighborhood, as well as issues related to culture‑led urban regenera‑
tion. He has been involved in several EU‑funded and other international
research projects: REACH (2017–2020), UNCHARTED (2020–2024),
SECreTour (2024–2027), and HerEntrep (2024–2027).
John Östh is Swedish Professor and Geographer with a special interest in
studies of human mobility, urban and regional planning, and methods
development. With a descent from one of the larger Swedish archipelagos,
he has an interest in regional development of rural and coastal areas. Using
data from GPS, mobile phones, and map repositories, he has c­ ontributed
to knowledge generation from the more quantitative perspective. John
holds a chair in urban planning at Oslomet University, Norway and a
guest professorship at Uppsala University.
Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen (ERGP) is Professor at Copenhagen Busi‑
ness School, Denmark. His research focuses on business model innovation
and the operationalization of new management ideas, including corporate
sustainability, non‑financial performance measurement, and lean manage‑
ment. His research has been published in numerous academic journals and
received international recognition, including Emerald Outstanding Paper
Award and Emerald Social Impact Award. ERGP has also co‑developed
two massive open online courses (MOOCs) on Sustainable Fashion and
Business Models for Sustainability (available on Coursera).
Maja Uhre Pedersen holds a PhD degree in Economics, is currently Assis‑
tant Professor of Economics at the University of Southern Denmark, has
specialized in Economic History and Growth with an emphasis on data
analysis, and has published six items on different topics, including eco‑
nomic growth, financial history, and globalization—all published in vari‑
ous peer‑reviewed journals.
Sabine Gebert Persson is Associate Professor in Marketing at the Department
of Business Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden. Her current research
explores complexities in actor engagement in a spatiotemporal context,
contributing to knowledge of how interactions between the visitor, the
visited, and the place, shape sustainable destination development. With a
special interest in how interactions form behavior, her research includes
network organizations and legitimacy formation.
xx Contributors

Darina Rojíková is a researcher at the Research and Innovation Centre,

­Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University, in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
She has an interest in urban and regional topics. Her primary scientific
research encompasses urban and regional development, the territorial
development of peripheral areas, strategic planning of territorial develop‑
ment, democracy, and public policy. Rojíková obtained her professional
qualifications through subsequent studies at the Faculty of Economics at
Matej Bel University. She has been involved in several research projects
and has authored and co‑authored more than 25 scientific publications.
Bernardete Sequeira holds a PhD in Sociology. She is Professor in the Faculty
of Economics, University of Algarve. She is a researcher of the Interdis‑
ciplinary Centre of Social Sciences—CICS.NOVA. Her research interests
include Sociology of Organizations and Work, Knowledge Management,
and Tourism.
Eglantina Serjani is a researcher at the Centre for the Research and Promo‑
tion of Historical‑Archaeological Albanian Landscapes, based in Tirana,
Albania. She is an archaeologist specializing in the Late Roman arche‑
ology and in the digital management and mapping of archeological and
heritage data.
Amanda Slattery is Development Manager with Ballyhoura Development.
Amanda focuses on the development, coordination, and implementation
of broad‑based community and locally led economic development strate‑
gies and initiatives across all of Ballyhoura Development’s programs and
projects. Amanda has been instrumental in the growth of tourism and
recreation across the Ballyhoura area and the increase in visitor num‑
bers over time in her role as Tourism and Heritage Officer. Key to the
approach has been the generation of innovative and creative content for
visitors to engage with online and innovative community‑led heritage and
tourism‑based initiatives. Amanda has led initiatives such as place‑based
living and learning, audio visual content generation program that has
built capacity for people across the Ballyhoura area to share their sto‑
ries; Ballyhoura Reaching out; Community‑led genealogy programs and
Awareness‑Raising Initiatives for Social Enterprises within the Ballyhoura
Region of North Cork and East Limerick. Amanda has expertise in project
management and in leading and facilitating multi‑agency projects.
Viktor Smith is a PhD in International Business Communication and an
Associate Professor at the Department of Management, Society and Com‑
munication, Copenhagen Business School. His key research interests are
innovative naming and framing processes and multimodal communica‑
tion applied to fields such as product packaging design, communicative
fairness, sensory presentation of foods, sustainable tourism development,
and place branding. He has led and participated in a number of cross‑­
institutional R&D projects and published a number of scientific studies
and popular science works.
 Contributors xxi

Gábor Sonkoly (PhD EHESS, Paris, 2000; Doctor of the Hungarian A ­ cademy
of Sciences, 2017) is a Professor of History at the Atelier Department for
Interdisciplinary History and Head of the History PhD School at ELTE
University, Budapest. He published/edited 20 books in English, French,
Hungarian, Japanese, and Portuguese, as well as 100 articles/chapters on
urban history, urban heritage, and critical history of cultural heritage.
He presented at 120+ international colloquia and was a guest professor
in 15 countries. He is Chair of the Panel for European Heritage Label
since 2020 and an EU expert since 2013.
John Tierney is a field archeologist based in Ireland. As Senior Archaeologist
from 1999, he focused on excavation and publication. Since 2010, he has
been Director of the Historic Graves Project combining community grave‑
yard surveys with the use of non‑invasive methods of unmarked grave
identification and recording.
Marina Toger is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Human Geography
at Uppsala University, Sweden. Her research focuses on quantitative spa‑
tiotemporal analysis using geocomputation, GIS, and agent‑based mod‑
eling, particularly concerning urban and regional mobility and social
inequality, and applying the complex systems approach. Her work inte‑
grates empirical data analysis and theoretical modeling, fostering interna‑
tional collaborations, and interdisciplinary projects aimed at sustainable
regional futures.
Maurizio Toscano (PhD) is an ICT, Web Information Systems, and Data Man‑
agement specialist, based in Spain. As a researcher, he works in the field
of Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage, and he has over a decade of
experience as a project manager in international collaborative projects.
Sotiris Tsoukarelis (Greek) is Founder and President of The High Mountains
Social Cooperative Enterprise. With a background in political science, spe‑
cializing in political philosophy and local development, he studied at the
Metsovio Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in 2012. Since then, he’s
been an advocate for uplands, decentralization, and the agri‑food sector.
Tsoukarelis actively farms vegetables at 1000 meters altitude in Demati
Zagori. He’s trained in Tourism Experience Creation and Agrotourism
by the American Farm School and is a Dairy School of Ioannina gradu‑
ate. Additionally, he heads the Union of Social and Solidarity Economy
Organizations of Epirus.
Katarína Vitálišová is Associate Professor at the Department of Public Eco‑
nomics and Regional Development, Faculty of Economics, at Matej Bel
University. Her research focuses on public and participatory governance,
strategic planning in spatial development, and the implementation of inno‑
vative approaches, such as those pertaining to creative and smart cities.
Acknowledgments

The editors would like to thank Naomi Round Cahalin for her help with
editing the manuscript and Maria Teresa Bonet for efficiently managing the
editorial process.
This book was developed as part of the innovation action under the pro‑
ject INCULTUM—Visiting the Margins: Innovative Cultural Tourism in
European peripheries, funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 program (grant
agreement no 101004552). We are thankful to Rodrigo Martin Galan, Pro‑
ject Officer, for his advice and support. More information about INCULTUM
can be found on the project’s website at www.incultum.eu.
1 Introduction
Visiting the margins: innovative
cultural tourism in European
peripheries

Karol Jan Borowiecki, José María Martín

Civantos and Antonella Fresa

Peripheral and marginalized areas possess untapped potential for developing

sustainable tourism. Often overshadowed by more prominent destinations,
these regions are rich in unique cultural and natural heritage that can sig‑
nificantly contribute to social and territorial cohesion. Sustainable cultural
tourism emerges as a strategic avenue to harness these assets, not merely for
economic benefits but as a means to reinforce cultural identity, community
engagement, and environmental conservation (Richards, 2018).
Moving away from traditional, consumption‑driven models, the develop‑
ment of cultural tourism in these regions advocates for an inclusion and sus‑
tainable paradigm. This shift emphasizes cultural tourism’s role as a driving
force behind local development, improving the recognition of marginalized
areas, and ensuring a more equitable share of tourism’s socioeconomic bene‑
fits. These perspectives align with the discussions in Borowiecki et al. (2016),
which recalibrates the relationship between institutional and individual cul‑
tural heritage practices in the face of 21st‑century changes.
Building upon this premise, this book delves into sustainable cultural tour‑
ism and its significant role in social and territorial cohesion. It showcases
innovative solutions and strategies developed by the EU‑funded Horizon 2020
project, INCULTUM, an Innovation Action aimed at promoting sustainable
cultural tourism in Europe’s remote and marginal areas through collabora‑
tive and participatory approaches. The project, titled “Visiting the Margins:
Innovative Cultural Tourism in European Peripheries,” spanned three years,
from May 2020 to April 2024, displaying a commitment to transforming the
landscape of cultural tourism through innovative practices.
The initiative brought together 15 partners from across ten European
countries, including Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slo‑
vakia, Spain, Sweden, and Albania. The large consortium was designed to
cover a broad spectrum of skills, expertise, and the entire value chain neces‑
sary to achieve the project’s primary goals effectively, thus maximizing its
impact across the EU. Furthermore, it embraced a diverse array of European
peripheries, showcasing the vast and varied cultural landscape of the con‑
tinent’s lesser‑known regions. It aimed to engage a comprehensive array of

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-1
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2 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

stakeholders, including cultural tourism organizations, local interest groups,

communities, parks, municipalities, associations, universities, small‑ and
medium‑sized enterprises, data managers, developers, and networks among
EU cities, as well as development and consulting firms. Several consortium
partners initiated pilot studies, integrating innovation efforts with experi‑
mental adjustments at selected locations to evaluate and enhance sustainable
tourism practices. Within the scope of the pilots and beyond, the consortium
undertook both practical and theoretical work, exploring participation mod‑
els, mapping out stakeholders, and experimenting with data usage.
The ambition of INCULTUM was to transform the concept of cultural
tourism from merely a consumer product into a social tool. INCULTUM’s
innovation lies in unlocking the potential of cultural tourism to benefit
local communities and stakeholders, aiming to enhance social, cultural, and
economic development sustainability. Tourism should be much more than
consuming, and the project aimed to demonstrate that visitors, recipient ter‑
ritories, and communities can benefit from this activity. Throughout the dura‑
tion of the project, three key strategies were explored: enhancing governance
through public participation, diversifying and implementing solutions based
on the circular economy, and conducting ongoing monitoring and evalua‑
tion to improve the adaptability and effectiveness of the actions proposed.
This innovative approach to cultural tourism is designed to empower host
territories with strategies to manage, reduce, or redistribute tourist flows
more effectively. INCULTUM has showcased this through a blend of activi‑
ties, including the implementation of digital tools, fostering networks among
stakeholders with shared interests, and demonstrating ways to meet expec‑
tations. Importantly, this novel approach to cultural tourism also critically
considers the impacts of current global changes.
This book highlights the importance of local communities in the manage‑
ment of heritage resources and their significant contribution to the devel‑
opment of cultural and sustainable tourism initiatives. It also examines the
creation of innovative itineraries that highlight shared heritage resources and
incorporate local involvement. The text emphasizes the adoption of innova‑
tive business models and tools, such as contracts for ecosystem services and
platforms for digital storytelling, to improve both sustainability and economic
growth in peripheral and marginal destinations. Additionally, it explores
the critical role of data collection and analysis in cultural tourism, offer‑
ing insights into participatory models and methods that support sustainable
tourism development. This book also delves into territorial entrepreneurship
and the comprehensive approach necessary to foster socio‑economic growth
while preserving the quality of the landscape and heritage.
Readers will gain insight into innovative strategies and practices for
sustainable cultural tourism; they will understand the crucial role of local
communities in heritage management; discover business models and tools
designed to foster economic development in peripheral and marginal destina‑
tions; acquire techniques for effective data collection and analysis aimed at
 Introduction 3

cultural tourism planning and assessment; become familiar with ­participatory

models and methods that promote sustainable tourism while aligning with
community values; and comprehend the role of territorial entrepreneurship
in socio‑economic development and the preservation of heritage.
This book is structured into two distinct yet complementary parts, span‑
ning 15 chapters, including this Introduction. The first part delves into theo‑
retical approaches and cross‑cutting themes such as innovation, economics
and business models, data collection and analysis, participatory models, and
the interplay between identity and cultural model. The second part focuses
on eight pilot cases, illustrating applied research and innovation efforts.
The first part of the book lays the foundation with its initial focus on the
project’s central vision in Chapter 2, titled “Tourism as a Tool for Social
and Territorial Cohesion – Exploring the Innovative Solutions Developed
by INCULTUM Pilots”. This chapter highlights the innovative approaches
pursued by the INCULTUM pilots to promote sustainable cultural tourism,
underscoring the importance of community involvement and the application
of business intelligence tools to create visitor itineraries that enhance project
sustainability.
Chapter 3, “Place Branding from Scratch: Naming, Framing, and Find‑
ing”, shifts the perspective to economic and entrepreneurial aspects. It exam‑
ines the intricacies of bottom‑up place branding, discussing the pivotal role
of local engagement and cost‑effective branding strategies in attracting tour‑
ists while preserving local identity and cultural heritage.
In Chapter 4, titled “Innovative Business Models for Cultural Tourism:
Advancing Development in Peripheral Locations”, the narrative continues
with an analysis of peripheral and marginal destinations. It investigates col‑
laborative business models that support economic, social, and cultural devel‑
opment in cultural tourism. This chapter reviews existing alternative models
and proposes payment‑for‑service contracts as a means to alleviate negative
impacts and redistribute benefits equitably.
Chapter 5 expands on the theme of “Data Collection and Analysis in Cul‑
tural Tourism”. Highlighting the crucial role of data within cultural heritage
institutions, it offers insights into effective data collection methods, including
visitor surveys and data scraping algorithms. Additionally, it explores the
concept of data‑driven storytelling and provides practical tools for data man‑
agement, monitoring, and evaluation in cultural tourism.
The discussion then progresses to participatory approaches in Chapter 6,
“Participatory Models and Approaches in Sustainable Cultural Tourism”,
emphasizing their significance in sustainable tourism and culture develop‑
ment. This chapter explores the overlap between participation, innovation,
and digitalization, proposing a novel participatory framework for sustain‑
able cultural tourism initiatives.
Concluding the first part, Chapter 7, “Identity and Cultural Impact of Sus‑
tainable Cultural Tourism”, explores the importance of preserving cultural
heritage and encouraging the promotion of local traditions. This chapter
4 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

illustrates the transformative power of cultural tourism in fostering a sense

of identity and pride within communities and among visitors, thereby enrich‑
ing the cultural tourism experience and fostering deeper connections to place.
The second part of the book presents eight pilot projects developed across
Europe, outlined in Chapters 8–15. These projects involve partners, stake‑
holders, and communities from eight different countries, encompassing a
diverse range of geographical settings. Emphasis has been placed on remote
areas along with their cultural and natural heritage. The pilots have focused
on various types of resources: industrial heritage in Slovakia’s mining regions;
agrarian heritage in Portugal and Spain; archaeological sites in France, Spain;
the natural landscapes of Albania, Greece, France, Spain, and in the Swedish
archipelagos; the cultural practices of minorities in Albania and Greece; and
the local identities found in Ireland’s historic graveyards and the mountain
villages of Western Greece. These diverse locations narrate the rich histo‑
ries of their inhabitants, and their ongoing efforts to leverage their regional
potential, drawing visitors with the allure of authentic traditions.
Chapter 8 introduces the first pilot, “The Mining Treasures of Central
­Slovakia,” detailing the development of a participatory platform for sustain‑
able cultural tourism in the region. This platform connects the Barbora Route
with the European Fogger Route, highlighting the area’s rich mining herit‑
age. The narrative emphasizes a gap in marketing and digital resources for
promoting the Banská Bystrica region’s mining history. Designed, tested, and
marketed through a participatory approach involving researchers, students,
stakeholders, and the public, the platform’s potential impact on cultural tour‑
ism, supported by data analysis and community involvement, is thoroughly
explored.
In Chapter 9, the focus turns to agrarian heritage in the Coastal Plain of
the Algarve in Portugal, discussing its potential for community‑based cul‑
tural tourism. This chapter features the cultural landscape shaped by water
management in the Campina de Faro region, discussing the historical and
cultural value of abandoned hydraulic structures and traditional irrigation
practices. It demonstrates innovative strategies to promote sustainable cul‑
tural tourism based on water heritage.
Continuing the focus on agricultural heritage, Chapter 10 explores the
rural traditions of the Altiplano de Granada in Spain. The pilot aims to
revalue historical water management systems and promote their conserva‑
tion. This chapter discusses the transdisciplinary approach to appreciating
the cultural and environmental values of these irrigation systems and their
traditional ecological knowledge, highlighting tourism’s role in recognizing
and diversifying economic activities linked to these systems’ cultural and
environmental benefits.
Chapter 11 shifts the focus to France for an integrated approach to ter‑
ritorial entrepreneurship in the Bibracte – Morvan des Sommets region. It
emphasizes the involvement of local communities and elected representatives
in shaping the project’s territory and strategic planning. This chapter discusses
 Introduction 5

the role of the management team in facilitating territorial ­entrepreneurship,

fostering cooperation between different sectors, and promoting the sustain‑
able socio‑economic development of the region.
The geographical and thematic focus changes in Chapter 12, which focuses
on rural tourist behaviour and engagement in Sweden. It discusses the chal‑
lenge of attracting tourists while preserving cultural heritage in rural settings,
presenting a method that combines GPS data, open street maps, and surveys
to capture tourists’ spatiotemporal engagement and its impact on perceived
value.
In Chapter 13, the Greek pilot case explores tourism as a vehicle for learn‑
ing and cross‑cultural communication through the “Aoos, the Shared River”
initiative. It focuses on the Worth‑Living Integrated Development, highlight‑
ing innovative methods and technologies to understand the area’s cultural
context and the importance of community collaboration in cultural tour‑
ism development, including the use of Commons‑Based Peer Production and
Social Economy models to foster innovative cultural products and services.
The narrative then explores in Chapter 14 the Vlach minority heritage in
the Upper Vjosa Valley, Southeast Albania. This chapter examines the his‑
torical significance of the Vlach ethnic group and their seasonal migrations,
stressing the importance of preserving and showcasing the Vlach minority’s
cultural values through experimental archaeology, cultural memory, and
tourism.
Finally, Chapter 15 transitions to a different setting and subject, present‑
ing a grassroots‑led tourism case study through the lens of community gene‑
alogy in Ireland’s Historic Graves Project. This project’s approach to creating
a grassroots tourism product using geolocated surveys of historic graveyards
demonstrates the impact on tourism, particularly among the Irish diaspora,
and demonstrates the potential of genealogical tourism to extend the tourism
season.
The pilots promoted communities of practice and had a beneficial impact
on local communities socially, culturally, environmentally, and economi‑
cally. By focusing on cultural tourism that leverages the unique aspects of liv‑
ing territories and communities, these initiatives helped mitigate the negative
impacts of tourism through targeted training and by reinforcing local identi‑
ties and social connections. Bottom‑up local strategies aimed at sustainable
cultural tourism focused on hidden potentials in remote, peripheral, or dein‑
dustrialized areas that traditional tourism often overlooks. The outcomes of
these participatory approaches laid the groundwork for the co‑creation of
innovative tools, assessing the prerequisites for their broader application and
expansion beyond the timeframe of the EU’s funding period.
The pilots carried out place‑based participatory approaches and specific
strategies across diverse geographical, social, and cultural landscapes to
enhance cultural tourism with fresh perspectives, social innovation, and col‑
laboration among a broad and varied network of stakeholders. Local commu‑
nities took centre stage, encompassing various sectors and giving particular
6 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

emphasis to women, youth, and minorities. These initiatives provided deeper

insights into the trends and potential of sustainable tourism, leveraging local
strengths and capacities. Innovative solutions were explored and validated,
ensuring that the knowledge gained could be replicated and adapted in future
endeavours. Consequently, the potential for development extends beyond the
project’s pilots, since the insights and networks formed are accessible to other
stakeholders and regions as well.
This book captivates with its array of geographical, disciplinary, and the‑
matic perspectives, diverging to varying degrees from the mainstream, com‑
mercialized form of tourism. It redefines the notion of periphery, not just
in terms of geography, but as a concept encompassing social and heritage
aspects – revealing areas and sectors often overlooked or negatively impacted
by tourism, rather than benefiting from it. The discussion on the relative
nature of touristification and mass tourism, emphasizing that it is not only
about high visitor numbers, adds depth to the understanding of these issues.
The journey of exploration and innovation does not conclude with the
project’s end. The real challenge lies in preserving the mobilized expertise
beyond the lifecycle of INCULTUM’s funding. The realms of data analysis,
business models, participatory engagement, heritage and territorial protec‑
tion, community dynamics, equitable distribution of tourism benefits, local
cohesion, and governance require continued attention. These efforts aim to
mitigate the negative effects of tourism and foster a European dialogue on
these critical themes, sharing best practices and learned lessons.
This book concludes with reflective thoughts on viewing tourism as a tool
rather than the ultimate goal, underscoring the importance of developing
inclusive and sustainable tourism projects. This involves establishing a herit‑
age community united by common values, as inspired by Elinor Ostrom’s
pioneering work, and supported by the Council of Europe‘s Framework
Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro Convention,
2005), advocating for heritage to be seen as a collective good managed by
communities for its enduring preservations.

Bibliography
Borowiecki, K. J., Forbes, N., & Fresa, A. (Eds.) (2016). Cultural Heritage in a
Changing World. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978‑3‑319‑29544‑2
Council of Europe. (2005). Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value
of Cultural Heritage for Society. Faro, Portugal: Council of Europe Treaty Series ‑
No. 199.
Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Col‑
lective Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, G. (2018). Cultural tourism: A review of recent research and trends. Jour‑
nal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 36, 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jhtm.2018.03.005
2 Tourism as a tool for social and
territorial cohesion
Exploring the innovative solutions
developed by INCULTUM pilots

Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

2.1 Introduction
What do a rural path in Burgundy, a historic irrigation system in Andalusia,
an old Irish cemetery or a forgotten transhumance track in the mountains of
Albania have in common? These are heritage resources that are highly valued
by local communities.
This chapter summarises the solutions and methods explored by the
INCULTUM pilot projects to develop sustainable cultural tourism based
on cooperation and participatory approaches, using the attachment of local
communities to their heritage as a lever. The perspective shared by these
experiments is to consider tourism as a tool of strengthening the resilience
of local communities and their living environment. The focus on the living
environment, with all its biotic (or “natural”) components, is of utmost pri‑
ority as each passing year reveals the increasing impact of climate change,
marking the onset of the Anthropocene. This change is not characterised by a
momentary crisis but rather signifies the beginning of a new era of permanent
tensions, necessitating a state of “prolonged urgency” (Kunstler, 2005).
The pilot projects encompass various complementary approaches that can
be implemented sequentially and cyclically through an “innovation wheel”
designed to initiate a virtuous circle. This innovation framework is based on
the concepts of territorial common goods and heritage communities, the defi‑
nition of which should be briefly recalled. The characteristics of the ten pilot
projects will then be summarised, from the point of view of the commons to
which they refer. The four stages of the process will then be discussed, with
details of the tools used by INCULTUM to get through each stage.

2.2 A few reminders about territorial common goods

and territorial heritage communities
The hypothesis developed in this chapter is that an essential condition for
developing an inclusive and sustainable territorial tourism project is the estab‑
lishment of a heritage community based on shared attachment reasons. To
this end, heritage is considered in terms of its capacity to become a common

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-2
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8 Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

good, in the sense in which it has been understood since the pioneering work
of Elinor Ostrom (1990), i.e. a resource that arouses a shared attachment
among a group of people who manage it jointly by means of shared rules
with a view to guaranteeing its long‑term survival. This group of people thus
constitutes a heritage community. This point of view on heritage is the one
defended by the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on the Value of
Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro Convention, 2005), which recognises the
right of every person to benefit from cultural heritage and to contribute to
its enrichment, in other words the right to designate what constitutes one’s
heritage, to take part in the choices for its enhancement or to give one’s opin‑
ion on the use that is made of it – even though this convention does not refer
explicitly to the concept of the common good. In this respect, INCULTUM’s
conception of the territorial tourism project is perfectly in line with the spirit
of the Faro Convention action plan.
The rules for managing the commons are generally based on the know‑how
of the communities concerned, and on sharing principles that are neither
those of public property nor those of private property. In her work on water,
Sandrine Simon (2021) explains that the rediscovery of traditional know‑how
and community‑based management methods for the commons, which are
“intangible” components of the commons in their own right, “enriches and
concretises the practice of the commons insofar as it emphasises the central‑
ity of the actors concerned, and conveys the experiences, modes of govern‑
ance and values that help to build the collective associated with it”. In the
spirit of the Faro Convention, heritage communities are often seen as the
“behind‑the‑scenes driving forces [that] are autonomously formed groups
that act independently to create their own narratives, claim sites and prac‑
tices, and take responsibility for a particular heritage” (Joannette and Mace,
2019), but the point of view defended here is that, as soon as the political
conditions allow, it is highly beneficial to establish close consultation with
the public sphere, through appropriate governance, to sustainably manage
the commons.
We speak of a territorial common when the common is circumscribed
within a defined territory, whose uniqueness it helps to affirm. In this case,
the associated heritage community will also be referred to as a territorial
heritage community. This community may include permanent residents, sec‑
ondary residents, occasional visitors and often also members of the diaspora,
i.e. people who have emigrated from the territory in question and settled in
other places; its members may have a variety of skills and social, economic
and political roles, which is what makes it so rich.
The question of the territorial commons has been explored in depth
by the Italian Territorialist School. It defines attachment to the commons
as “an awareness, acquired through a process of cultural transformation
by the inhabitants, of the heritage value of the territorial commons, both
material and relational, as essential elements for the reproduction of indi‑
vidual and collective, biological and cultural life” (Magnaghi, 2010, p. 108).
 Tourism as a tool for social and territorial cohesion 9

This awareness and the transition from the individual to the collective are
conceived through the collective recognition of elements of community in
open, relational and supportive terms: “representing the different specialised
knowledge of territorial heritage is the first step towards knowing, managing
and socially reproducing territorial heritage” (Poli, 2018, p. 117). Beyond
this, it is a question of relearning how to live in places by drawing on their
specific features, as advocates of bioregionalism have been claiming since the
1970s (Berg and Dasman, 2019), a concept that is making a strong comeback
as climate change accelerates. From another point of view, the aim today is
to restore a ‘landscape thinking’ that was erased throughout the 20th century
by the standardisation of spatial planning practices (Berque, 2015).

2.3 INCULTUM pilot projects: a range of territorial scenarios

Eight out of ten pilots concern rural areas that have become marginalised
over the course of the 20th century from the point of view of economic activ‑
ity, resulting notably in a significant demographic decline (80% for no. 6).
In all cases, this marginalisation is correlated with a mountainous geog‑
raphy (or insular, for pilot no. 10) that has kept these areas away from both
automobile communication routes and the technical revolution in agriculture.
The latter experienced accelerated development from the mid‑20th century,
resulting in the industrialisation of production systems. This industrialisation
found more favourable conditions in the plains due to the absence of topo‑
graphical constraints that could impede its implementation.
The result of these shared geographical and historical conditions today is
a socio‑economic situation that has many points in common: low p ­ opulation
density, an economy that is not very dynamic, particularly in the services
sector, and, conversely, landscapes that have been preserved in the sense
that they have escaped the trivialisation associated elsewhere with the eco‑
nomic development of the 20th century (standardised housing and farming
practices, omnipresent road infrastructure, etc.). The fact that the techni‑
cal revolution in agriculture has not been completed in these areas has also
resulted, to varying degrees, in a form of resilience linked to the preservation
of ­traditional know‑how.
The areas where the pilots are based are also marginal from the point of
view of tourist attractiveness, in the sense that they do not have an emblem‑
atic point of attraction (monument, grandiose landscape). Nevertheless, this
has spared them the consequences of tourist overexploitation, which many
areas in the European continent are currently experiencing. In any case, the
presence of highly active tourist attraction poles in close proximity (a coast‑
line developed for beach tourism, a museum city, etc.) has not been sufficient
to spontaneously trigger the development of tourism in these territories.
Two pilots do not fit this pattern. Pilot no. 2 (Campina de Faro, Portugal)
concerns a densely populated coastal plain that has remained untouched by
seaside tourism. Its uniqueness takes the form of the omnipresent material
10 Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

remains of an age‑old agrarian system based on irrigation, which was also

undermined by the new technical processes developed in the second half of
the 20th century. Pilot no. 9 (Historic Graves of Ireland) focuses on a par‑
ticular heritage motif, ancient cemeteries (particularly those associated with
the great famine of the mid‑19th century), on a country‑wide scale, but it
should be noted that the inventory focuses in most cases on sites located in
rural areas that present the same characteristics as those studied by the other
pilots.
Each pilot is also characterised by the emphasis placed on heritage fea‑
tures likely to serve as a basis for the tourist appeal of the area concerned. In
most of these cases, the aim is to highlight a feature of the area, physically
marked in space and more or less closely associated with traditional skills or
practices that are now being undermined by modernity, or even threatened
by the disappearance of human memory. It is probably no coincidence that
most of these motifs take the form of networks, whether they be paths of
local interest (no. 6: Bibracte ‑ Morvan, F), transhumance paths (no. 7 and 8:
Aoos/Vjosa river valley, AL/GR) or of trans‑regional interest (no. 5: Tuscan‑­
Emilian Apennines, I), or irrigation systems (no. 1: Altiplano de Granada,
ES; no. 2: Campina de Faro, P; no. 4: Monti di Trapani, I). These networks
of routes for people, animals and water were assets used and managed col‑
lectively by rural communities, usually according to rules that were not codi‑
fied but were the result of usage. In this respect, they were real commons, the
reactivation of which is conducive to the development of collective projects,
as well as being ideal routes for exploring the area on foot or by bike. The
pilots concerned are therefore placing the development of tourism on these
routes at the heart of their action.
For the pilots where the heritage theme is not a network (mining heritage
for no. 3: Central Slovakia; ancient cemeteries for no. 9: Ireland), the design
of discovery itineraries nevertheless remains central to the projects, since it
is the organisation and, one might say, the staging of visitor movements that
are considered crucial for the development of tourism in the areas, according
to a strategy quite different from that of “hot spots”, which consists of keep‑
ing tourists in an emblematic place as long as possible in order to increase
their consumption there.
This chapter therefore looks in particular at the ways in which the net‑
works linking the members of rural communities are being enhanced, and
how discovery itineraries are being set up as levers in the project to enhance
the area.
From the perspective of the human resources and collaboration imple‑
mented in the pilots, another shared characteristic should be noted – the
significant involvement of the academic world in the projects, often taking
a leading role. This can be attributed to the funding modalities, which are
channelled through a targeted call for proposals specifically addressing this
category of stakeholders. This characteristic can be seen as a bias in relation
to the usual conditions under which regional tourism projects are developed,
 Tourism as a tool for social and territorial cohesion 11

but this bias is conducive to innovation insofar as it makes it possible to

mobilise skills that are not generally present in the field, usually through a
strong multidisciplinary approach. The downside, however, is the obvious
fragility of the experimental projects, which run the risk of collapsing as
soon as the scientist‑animators have left the field, when the European public
funding comes to an end. The solidity of the governance put in place, thanks
to the mobilisation of local players, is therefore a criterion for assessing the
performance of projects that is at least as important as the ingenuity of the
systems deployed. The innovation brought about by the pilots must therefore
be assessed from two angles: technical innovation and innovation in use, if by
innovation in use we mean the establishment of an organisation that ensures
the initiative’s sustainability.

2.4 Stakeholders and their involvement

The INCULTUM consortium shared the vision of the “quintuple helix”
model proposed to describe desirable innovation at a time of socio‑­
ecological transition, with a view to fostering “the formation of a win‑win
situation between ecology, knowledge and innovation, creating synergies
between economy, society, and democracy” (Carayannis et al., 2012). This
model envisages five sub‑systems that need to be considered in a concerted
manner to ensure the future of a social organisation: the political system,
the education system, the economic system, civil society and the natural
environment. The way to coordinate the “sustainable” evolution of the five
systems is through the circulation of knowledge, seen from an interdiscipli‑
nary perspective, where knowledge brought to a sub‑system has the ability
to stimulate that sub‑system to produce and inject new knowledge into the
system.
This model therefore articulates three approaches: (1) a mapping of the
stakeholders in the system under consideration, (2) the need for an exchange
of knowledge between the stakeholders and (3) the iterative nature of the
system, based on the permanent circulation of knowledge from one system
to another. Its transposition to a regional or local scale can clearly inspire
management systems for rural areas.
In the situations studied by INCULTUM, stakeholders can be mapped
by classifying them according to two criteria: the geographical scale of their
field of intervention and their nature (see Figure 2.1). We distinguish three
geographical scales: the local scale, which is also that of the territorial com‑
munity under consideration; the regional (or intermediate) scale, which
is that at which tourist destinations are usually managed; and finally the
upper scale, at which policies on tourism, territorial development and the
protection of heritage (cultural and natural) are decided and controlled,
this being also the scale at which research policies and media that may have
an impact on tourist flows are organised. As for the nature of the stake‑
holders, we have distinguished three categories: civil society, the economic
12 Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

Intermediate / National level &

Local level regional level external players
= =
Territorial common Tourist destination
Diaspora

Heritage resource Daily visitors Tourists

custodians
Inhabitants

Professional Professional
Farmers & foresters organisations networks

Touristic & services Tourist destination Media

actors management authority

Intermediary territorial Experts

Municipalities authorities

Higher education Funding authorities

Schools

Civil society Policy makers

Economic sector Supervisors

of the common
Public sector

Figure 2.1 Mapping the stakeholders in a common territory. Copyright: Bibracte

(Flore Coppin et Vincent Guichard).

sector and the public sector. The public sector brings together stakeholders
with a variety of profiles: political decision‑makers, managers of sectoral
policies such as tourism, heritage management authorities, education and
research players. The economic sector largely overlaps with that of civil
society, since, for example, a local player in the tourist industry is also a
local resident who may be involved to varying degrees in social activities
(often in associations).
Civil society operates on three geographical scales, with permanent resi‑
dents on the local scale, day trippers on the intermediate scale, and tourists
and members of the diaspora on the upper scale. The category of residents is
the most difficult to define: ideally, they should all consider themselves custo‑
dians of the territorial commons, but in practice, a large part of the popula‑
tion is difficult to involve, including the “invisible” members of the territory,
among whom are all the “little hands” in the service sector, without whom
it would be impossible to organise a tourism offer. An important criterion
for assessing the performance of a regional project is therefore its ability to
involve the entire population.

2.5 The sustainable tourism wheel

The conceptual model developed as part of INCULTUM (see Figure 2.2)
meets the iterative requirement expressed by the innovation helix models:
one turn of the wheel strengthens the involvement, skills and contribution
 Tourism as a tool for social and territorial cohesion 13

Figure 2.2 
INCULTUM’s sustainable tourism wheel. Copyright: Bibracte (Flore
­Coppin and Vincent Guichard).

of the stakeholders, which, in a virtuous process, enables the next turn to be

approached with more favourable initial conditions.
Each turn of the wheel involves a logical sequence of four stages, each of
which responds to a specific strategic objective:

• Stage 1: reveal the common ground and build the community

• Stage 2: organise the management of the common ground and develop the
community
• Stage 3: building the tourism offer
• Stage 4: marketing the tourism offer

Each stage can itself be divided into two operational sub‑objectives. The
pilot projects were committed to testing actions that contribute to these sub‑­
objectives. These actions are listed at the periphery of the wheel in the logical
order in which they are to be implemented, together with the tools and skills
that underpin them. These actions have a more or less marked experimental
character, and it is rather through their concerted and coordinated mobilisa‑
tion that an innovative approach to the management of a tourist destination
is expressed.
14 Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

2.6 Step 1: unveiling the territorial commons and forming

the community
The pilot projects of INCULTUM share a common foundation: the identifi‑
cation of the constituent elements of each lived territory that evoke shared
attachment among its inhabitants. Far from being limited to elements of the
“grand heritage” with national protection, it turns out that multiple elements
of our daily environment contribute to the attachment we have to our place
of residence and, consequently, to the well‑being we feel there.
Often, this object of attachment is linked to the natural resources of the
territory: water, forests, or to a rural heritage, whether tangible or intangi‑
ble, closely tied to these resources – traditional agricultural systems, mines,
transhumance or pilgrimage routes, depopulated ancient villages, traditional
craftsmanship, and more.
In all cases, these heritage resources have been subject to abusive extrac‑
tion (forests, mining resources), unwise use (water), or even to forgetfulness
or memorial neglect (abandoned cemeteries and graves, transhumance routes
used by minorities, depopulated villages).
However, these resources generate various types of ecosystem services and
contribute to what some landscape‑oriented development actors refer to as
“territories of well‑being”: protection and generation of fertile soils, aquifer
recharge, ecological corridors, carbon sinks, pride and self‑esteem of local
communities, and more.
These resources can be considered as commons to be reclaimed, especially
when their management has been neglected in the recent past. The pilot pro‑
jects aimed to initiate concrete actions in their favour: how to inventory and
qualify their uses? What actions can be implemented to bring them out of
oblivion by reactivating people’s memories and identifying the traditional
know‑how necessary for their maintenance? How to quickly initiate restora‑
tion work, even modest ones, to start a dynamic process? And above all, how
to promote the reappropriation of these resources?

2.6.1 Setting up a project management team

INCULTUM’s experience has shown that the project management team plays
a fundamental role at every stage of the process. The pilot projects have put in
place project leaders who are positioned as coaches, responsible for the emer‑
gence, leadership and structuring of heritage communities. This role involves
acting as referee, analysing complex situations and mobilising the expertise
needed to overcome stumbling blocks, persuading both the local community
and the external bodies on which the success of the approach depends, start‑
ing with the authorities in their role as guarantor of compliance with the law
and guardian of public funding, and last but not least, empathy with the local
project and its stakeholders. To all these conditions must be added the need
for long‑term investment on the ground, which is undoubtedly the greatest
 Tourism as a tool for social and territorial cohesion 15

challenge for this type of project, because the funding required is very difficult
to mobilise, especially as the current trend, at both European and national
level, is to favour the mobilisation of expertise from outside the area in the
form of short‑term missions rather than its long‑term implementation. This
approach, which is now widespread, does not make it possible to capitalise
on the expertise in the regions or, in other words, to create the conditions for
a sustainable movement on the sustainable tourism wheel.

2.6.2 Mobilising experts and building the capacity of local players

When it comes to setting up holistic regional projects, of which tourism is

only one component, it is essential to mobilise multidisciplinary expertise
over the long term and to create the conditions for strengthening expertise
that is firmly rooted in the region.
On the first point, all the pilot projects have involved university teams in the
front line, as has already been mentioned. The challenge is therefore to ensure
that the expertise mobilised does not disappear when European public fund‑
ing comes to an end. One solution, which is being implemented to a greater or
lesser extent by the various pilot projects, is to set up project areas as labora‑
tories for territorial experimentation, able to host teams of scientists over the
long term for research‑action projects that capitalise on their results over the
years, making these areas showcases for good practice and privileged spaces
for consultation, able to attract public support over the long term.
On the second point, we need to put in place action‑training systems that
give learners an active role, enabling them to participate in the development
of questions and methods adapted to their local context, in the spirit of “Sci‑
ence with and for Society”. While it is not possible to train the whole popu‑
lation, it is more realistic to identify resource people in the local ecosystem
and to rely on their ability to pass on knowledge. Making the most of the
expertise of these people is a key factor in the success of this type of project.

2.6.3 Conducting participatory inventories

One of the priority tasks of the INCULTUM pilots was to mobilise and con‑
nect people who are attached to their common heritage. To do this, con‑
ducting participatory heritage inventories proved to be an excellent way of
revealing shared reasons for attachment and initiating the establishment of a
heritage community.
Typically, these inventories were conducted in the form of days during
which a collective – often a municipality – was asked to show the group the
places it considered most interesting in its living environment. In the case of
the French pilot (no. 6), it turned out that the field trip organised by the village
community benefited from being supplemented by a collegial examination of
the oldest cadastral maps, dating from the first half of the 19th century and
an original copy of which is still kept in the town halls (something that many
16 Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

residents are unaware of). These very precise maps, drawn up at a time when
the rural population was at its peak, are an excellent tool for deepening discus‑
sions within the group and raising awareness of the importance of the herit‑
age represented by the landscape. The effectiveness of these inventories has
always been enhanced by the presence of experts (historians, archaeologists,
geographers, etc.) in the group and by the use of technological tools to help
with reading the landscape (such as LIDAR surveys) or locating and recording
heritage features (such as overflights by drone or the use of a web GIS on a
tablet). For example, in the case of the Spanish pilot (no. 1), the digitisation of
the traditional Castril irrigation system and the use of the QField webGIS to
locate points of interest in the area contributed to scientific knowledge of the
hydraulic heritage and the drafting of a discovery route. In Ireland (no. 9), the
identification of burial sites using drones, GIS mapping and photogrammetric
modelling produced the planimetric documents needed to identify conserva‑
tion tasks in consultation with professionals and local communities. In Albania
(no. 8), following the heritage inventories, local meetings provided a forum for
discussion with members of the Vlach community. They helped to reactivate
the memory and open a debate on the future of Vlach culture, which led to
local institutions taking this heritage into account. In Ireland (no. 9), a digital
platform has been created to improve the quality of volunteers’ involvement
with local heritage communities. “Passers‑on” can find the tools they need to
pass on the components of the heritage commons and the ways in which it is
managed, while the work done by local communities is promoted.

2.6.4 Involving artists

In a rural context with a sociologically fragmented population, ­artistic medi‑

ation is a relevant tool for establishing dialogue, renewing the perspective of
residents on their living environment, and assisting in a shared narrative of
the territorial project (see below). In France (no. 6), a member of the anima‑
tion team dedicated efforts to mobilising artists and implementing interven‑
tions, following the concept of “Political Arts” developed by the sociologist
and philosopher Bruno Latour (2021, 2023). This work aims to showcase the
natural and cultural heritage of the territory by envisioning it as an artistic
stage, a multifaceted agora where different audiences come together. Artists
in residence propose encounters, listen to the residents and embrace memo‑
ries and stories. Others, who live in the area, are engaged to offer workshops
for children and the elderly.

2.7 Stage 2: organising communal management and developing

the community

2.7.1 Organising governance

If the community project is to be sustainable, a system of governance must

be put in place and spelled out, giving each stakeholder an appropriate place,
 Tourism as a tool for social and territorial cohesion 17

according to the adage “a place for each stakeholder and each stakeholder in
his or her place”. The governance plan is in fact the expression of the rules
that the heritage community adopts. Putting it in place is a long‑term and
largely empirical process. It is in fact necessary to create a shared vision, not
only of what constitutes a common heritage, but also of the legitimate ways
in which it is used, the consequences of the actions of some on the uses of
others, and the perimeter of the people authorised to claim access to these
uses. And as it is not enough to establish rules “once and for all”, but to bring
them to life as successive generations and new visitors or residents enter the
area, it is important to establish permanent forums for dialogue to ensure
that these standards evolve and, above all, that the desire of the members of
the community to work together is maintained.
The diversity of local situations makes it impossible to propose a stand‑
ard model that can be adapted to all circumstances, unless it is reduced to
an over‑simplistic scheme: in all cases, there must be a plenary assembly of
stakeholders, a steering committee and an operational mechanism.
In the governance arrangements for pilot no. 6, the positioning of the
operational team at the interface between the world of research and the other
stakeholders makes it possible to meet the requirement for the circulation of
knowledge set out in the five‑blade propeller model. In this task, the team is
mobilising a particular category of stakeholders: players from the worlds of
culture and education, as well as artists.
Generally speaking, the collectives mobilised by the pilot projects are not
necessarily recognised organisations or organisations with official status.
More or less structured depending on the case, they bring together people
who have decided to take on the interpretation and management of a particu‑
lar form of their heritage, sometimes of their own accord or as a result of the
impetus provided by the pilot projects.
For example, at Bibracte (no. 6), the activation of the community is based
primarily on the Rural Paths working group. The group is led by a member of
the operational team mentioned above – in this case, the INCULTUM project
manager for the start‑up phase of the action; it meets on a regular basis and
is involved in a number of tasks: taking stock of the network of paths and its
uses, drawing up a shared management plan, identifying discovery routes to
be developed, promoting tourism. This group has proved to be an effective
vehicle for strengthening the community, thanks to the widely shared interest
in the paths and, in so doing, the diversity of its members’ profiles and the
interest shown in it by the local councils.

2.7.2 Organising participative workcamps

To get local residents involved over time, it is important to anchor the project
in history and over time, in particular through annual events and rituals such
as participatory heritage maintenance projects (France, Spain) or long‑term
educational initiatives in schools to raise the awareness of different genera‑
tions (Slovakia).
18 Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

2.7.3 Setting up contracts to pay for ecosystem services

As part of the Spanish project (no. 1), the irrigation communities made a
commitment to the municipalities to maintain the traditional irrigation sys‑
tems and the new associated cultural itineraries within the framework of
agreements. It is interesting to note that these agreements are favourably
received by the communities, even though they do not provide for payment in
cash, but only for support in kind from the municipalities, such as the loan of
equipment or the provision of labour. It seems that the decisive factor is more
of a symbolic nature: through such agreements, the local authority and the
residents it represents recognise the know‑how and usefulness of the work of
the members of the irrigation communities.

2.7.4 Using participatory techniques

In France (no. 6) and Italy (no. 5), artistic residencies have been organised
in collaboration with the heritage community to create links between local
people, gather their perceptions of the evolution of the area’s landscapes and
collect local stories. In Italy, these residencies led to the creation of a play and
in France to the publication of a collection of illustrated booklets, which are
a poetic and sensitive way of strengthening the attachment of local people to
the area, attracting new visitors and stimulating dialogue and training oppor‑
tunities for local players.

2.8 Stage 3: building the tourism offer

2.8.1 Telling the story of the region

Storytelling is a classic – and effective – tool in tourism marketing, when it is

used to encourage people to discover a destination by highlighting, often in
a somewhat insincere way, the uniqueness and “authenticity” of its heritage
and landscapes, or the quality of the welcome offered by its inhabitants. We
take a different approach here. The target audience for the stories is first and
foremost the area’s inhabitants, with the aim of sharing with them a positive
vision of their region, based on themes and values linked to the manage‑
ment of the community and the way the area is inhabited, past and present
(­Scheyder et al., 2022).
It is only when such stories are shared within the community that it
becomes legitimate to share them with visitors. It is not only a way of res‑
onating with the area, but also of renewing collective representations and
imaginations. By conveying to visitors their attachment to their territory,
heritage communities encourage them to consider the relevance of histori‑
cally sustainable skills and lifestyles. They raise visitors’ awareness as “tem‑
porary residents” of the threats posed by climate change and inspire them to
take action to care for and protect heritage resources. “Understanding the
changing nature of heritage can help mitigate the general fear of change and
 Tourism as a tool for social and territorial cohesion 19

loss of rights that sometimes arise from conflicting local‑global narratives”

(Horizon 2020, 2023). What’s more,

Stories about bioregions or the territorial commons […] can also nur‑
ture an imagination of the right balance of needs, balanced resource
management and co‑existence with other living things. Finally, alliances
of players can nurture an imagination linked to symbioses, systems and
ecosystems, networks and territorial solidarity; and neighbourhoods
(districts, urban or rural villages, collaborative housing, street squares,
shared gardens) an imagination linked to proximity, short supply chains
and mutual aid. In this way, these performative narratives contribute to
the emergence of a new collective imagination that involves and unites
citizens around the challenges of transition.
(Scheyder et al., 2022)

In this perspective, discovery routes serve as an effective narrative framework

for storytelling about the territory, as one progresses through walking. By
encouraging encounters with members of the local community, these routes
add depth to the territories. The paths taken (re)claim their traditional role as
“third places” and spaces of sociability where both visitors and residents can
geographically anchor themselves through the emotions and affective feelings
experienced during their journey. This allows for the cultivation of a “pres‑
ence ecology” that resocialises and rehumanises us, through performative
narratives that convey an imaginary and provoke a desire to take action.
For instance, in Portugal (no. 2), narratives collected through interviews
with former farmers, considered as guardians of memory, serve as the foun‑
dation for the story map of new routes that evoke the natural and cultural
history of the coastal plain of Algarve, the traditions of solidarity, frugality,
and adaptation within its farming community and more.
An article published in The New York Times (Méheut, 2023) about the
Spanish project (no. 1) is an excellent example of media receptivity to these
new narratives, as evidenced by its title: “Facing a Future of Drought, Spain
Turns to Medieval Solutions and Ancient Wisdom”.

2.8.2 Creating discovery routes

Most of the pilot projects have set themselves the operational objective of
creating new cultural tourism routes to discover local heritage resources.
Three years after the initiative was launched, some are well on the way to
being homologated by official bodies.
The creation of these routes has proved to be an effective way of bringing
stakeholders together, thanks to the diversity of the people and organisations
involved: local councils, tourism stakeholders and users of the paths in all
their diversity (farmers, foresters, hunters, sports enthusiasts, walkers). In
this specific case, the tourism project is a lever for designing, maintaining and
20 Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

developing new discovery routes, which strengthens the heritage community,

provided that the approach is carried out in partnership.

2.8.3 Co‑designing tourism products

Enrico Bertacchini (2021) sees in the concept of the commons the possibility
of enriching the economic analysis of cultural heritage and overcoming the
problems posed by its conservation and management. To this end, he pro‑
poses an integrated approach to defining the role of heritage in sustainable
development, based on three key concepts that combine and interact:

– Cultural capital – heritage is a fixed asset that produces other goods and
services, so the cultural values it embodies are put on the same footing as
the economic values it can generate;
– The cultural district, which emphasises the entrepreneurial, organisational
and territorial dimension of the production of goods and services linked to
heritage assets;
– The cultural commons, which opens the door to the consideration of local
communities and questions the governance of the various dimensions of
heritage as a shared resource.

Collaborative economy is a preferred avenue to successfully carry out this

project. It brings together economic activities based on the sharing or pooling
of goods, knowledge, services or spaces, and on use rather than possession.
It is based on networks or communities of users and aims to pool resources,
both tangible and intangible. It is based on horizontal exchanges and gener‑
ally relies on digital platforms as intermediaries between users.

The various theories of the commons have notably contributed to the

emergence of the collaborative economy by formalising the notion of
peer‑to‑peer exchange and community projects, but also by renewing
the approach to governance within collective projects … by drawing
inspiration from the principles of social utility, democratic governance
and controlled profitability of the social and solidarity economy, [the
collaborative economy] is a major lever for transforming society, par‑
ticularly in terms of the ecological transition and the development of
social ties and territorial dynamics.
(Avise, 2020)

Some pilots have thus devised economic systems based on the collaborative
economy to manage the heritage commons: peer‑to‑peer exchange via “pay‑
ment for services” agreements (no. 1) (see above), participatory finance via
crowdsourcing (no. 9), voluntary work via heritage restoration sites (no. 1
and 6), contributory production of open source 3D technologies, free col‑
laborative platform (no. 9), etc. On a different theme, the Greek pilot (no. 7)
 Tourism as a tool for social and territorial cohesion 21

uses open source technology to deliver a solution for monitoring the sensitive
ecosystem of a lake located on the Discovery Route.
In Ireland (no. 9), the Historic Graves initiative began as a collabora‑
tive project based on crowdsourcing. Over time, this initiative has revealed
its strong tourism potential, as demonstrated by the many comments the
­platform constantly receives from users from all over the world in the dias‑
pora who are planning to visit Ireland because they have found the exact
location and state of preservation of a family member’s grave.
For some projects, volunteers are key players in the management of the
resource. The volunteer work camps organised by some of the pilots for the
restoration and enhancement of certain elements of their heritage are an
opportunity for young volunteers to participate in the enhancement of rural
heritage and to be made aware of the issues involved in the ecological transi‑
tion of territories in the context of climate change.
These initiatives maintain control and autonomy over the management of
the commons, and the benefits accrue directly and in a circular fashion to the
heritage communities, generating positive impacts. They involve a participa‑
tory approach, giving the heritage community a leading role. The collabora‑
tion between the scientists and experts coordinating the project and the local
communities also serves to encourage and empower them.

2.8.4 Developing territorial entrepreneurship

The new cultural discovery routes are federative initiatives for the local econ‑
omy. The pilots have modelled an integrated approach to the tourism econ‑
omy, using the concept of “tourism as a tool” to encourage the development
of territorial entrepreneurship and create a local dynamic with a positive
social and environmental impact through cooperation between stakeholders.
Territorial entrepreneurship is defined as “an entrepreneurial movement
that reinvents new, more collective ways of doing business, with the aim of
generating responses in favour of a more rooted, sustainable and inclusive eco‑
nomic development” (Baudet, 2017, p. 72). It can cover a wide range of areas:
safeguarding traditional activities, maintaining the rural socio‑­economic fab‑
ric, promoting local products, developing new activities, etc. It is an alternative
to public action and private entrepreneurial projects. It can take the form of a
traditional business or a legal form derived from the social economy.
Tourism is therefore a real lever for sustainable economic development
in the region, and the creation of tourist offers and services should be seen
as a resource for the tourist destination, entrepreneurs and local residents.
Encouraging tourism is an integral part of INCULTUM’s territorial initiatives.
The aim is to inject the added value of the collective entrepreneurial pro‑
ject into the region, to fuel circular and social‑economic flows.
In INCULTUM project, farming communities and local producers are key
players in the management of resources, the upkeep of the agrarian landscape
and a basis for the development of sustainable tourism, as they contribute to
22 Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

the development of farm‑to‑fork circuits and agro‑tourism (with farm visits,

for example).
In Portugal (no. 2), the involvement of the farming community in agro‑­
ecology and tourism has revealed a “technological unit” (traditional hydrau‑
lic infrastructure) and a “social unit” (local community, farmers’ association)
through the study, rehabilitation and dissemination of its importance and
added value for society and the environment.
Similarly, in France (no. 6), a collective of local farmers has been set up to
work together to take over farms, create links with the service economy, par‑
ticularly tourism, and strengthen solidarity within farming communities. The
collective is organised as an association and is recognised as an Economic
and Environmental Interest Group (GIEE), a label awarded by the French
Ministry of Agriculture, which gives visibility to its actions.
The communities that organise themselves on the scale of a territorial
common can thus be seen as cooperative territorial “enterprises” in which
all the players contribute to shared objectives with a view to a “return to the
territory as a common good” (Magnaghi, 2014). Here, the territory is seen as
a system of relationships and actors defined not by administrative and politi‑
cal boundaries, but by the density of the relationships that develop within it.
From this perspective, the commons management model goes further
than the participatory mechanisms derived from the delegative model of
representative democracy, by including a stage of co‑decision with citizens
through bottom‑up processes of social innovation. The aim is to co‑organise
and engage in dialogue with communities that are not content with the del‑
egative space, but act.
The role of the public authorities is to detect these initiatives, support them
and help them to spread. In this configuration, the local councillor takes on the
role of catalyst, provided that he or she has a culture of supporting bottom‑up
and social innovations. The heritage community, for its part, becomes a place
where social innovation can be identified and public policies inspired.
Support for entrepreneurial social innovation encourages the creation of
new projects and new economic activities based on local development issues
and local players and resources. An important aspect of innovation is the
hybridisation of economic sectors, which today suffer from having been spe‑
cialised since the middle of the 20th century as part of the establishment
of the Common Agricultural Policy, resulting in increased vulnerability to
the vagaries of the market and the climate. This hybridisation amounts to a
return to an old situation where “you don’t put all your eggs in one basket”
by having one foot in agriculture and another in another activity (forestry,
building trades, industry, etc.). In the context of INCULTUM, the priority is
to enable farmers (and foresters), who are the “workers of the landscape”,
to enjoy a decent standard of living over the long term. To achieve this, the
services and visitor reception sector offer a whole range of agritourism pos‑
sibilities: food production to be sold in a short circuit on the local market,
reception on the farm, development of a guiding or concierge activity.
 Tourism as a tool for social and territorial cohesion 23

2.9 Stage 4: marketing the tourism offering

2.9.1 Training tourism professionals

Considering tourism as a tool for integrated heritage management and as a

component of rural territorial strategies means that we need to think about
adapting the academic courses that lead to professional qualifications.
Considering shared heritage as an area for local development, integrating
the tourism, agricultural, craft, scientific and educational dimensions, means
strengthening the skills of those involved in the subjects of ecological and
social transition and rural development policies.
As mediators in direct contact with the public, tourist guides play an
important role in raising visitor awareness of the principles of sustainable
tourism, heritage preservation, the environment and biodiversity. The train‑
ing of guides, including their acquisition of expertise in the specific charac‑
teristics of the areas in which they work, is therefore a cornerstone in the
creation of new tourist offers for the pilots.

2.9.2 Developing digital media

The new digital commons are co‑produced and open citizen resources that
are recognised for their sobriety, resilience and collaborative virtues. As part
of their actions, some pilot projects (no. 1, 6, 9) have experimented with par‑
ticipatory digital mapping tools for their heritage commons. These platforms
are sometimes used as collaborative management and awareness‑raising tools
for territorial commons (Ireland, France).
However, they are costly to develop and are not optimised for destina‑
tion marketing. To make their new tourist itineraries visible, designers are
forced to use proprietary digital platforms in a highly fragmented market.
The experiments carried out as part of INCULTUM have therefore convinced
us of the benefits of developing tools that fully meet the criteria of the new
digital commons, not only for sharing tourist itineraries more effectively, but
also for inventorying and managing them by mobilising the user community,
whose role could be to assess the relevance of the proposals.

2.9.3 Using new narratives

If a tourist destination corresponds to a territory experienced and managed

as a common, then discovering it can become a new, empowering way of
learning and being inspired by stories about the ecological transition, local
resilience or heritage in all its meanings.
Some pilots have created digital storytelling platforms that are proving
to be effective tools for promoting new tourist destinations (see pilot no. 3,
for example). The narratives conveyed on these platforms, in which the her‑
itage character of the place is expressed by local people, contrast with the
24 Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

dominant tourist imaginary of the “conventional” tourism industry, which

is defined in terms of the attractiveness of the destination and the rhetoric of
tourism promotion.
Finally, some pilots have chosen to develop their own regional brand
(no. 2, no. 6), which brings together local players around a common project
and shared values, in order to cooperate and raise their profile with different
audiences. The aim is to promote activities with a strong social impact or
existing local industries that are involved in local supply chains to the local
population and tourists. These brands respond to the need for traceability of
products or services sold, particularly in the food sector. They help to enhance
local identities and to associate the terroir, heritage or local know‑how with
the quality of the products or services associated with them, as well as with
economic dynamism, sustainable development and social, environmental and
economic impact. They also help to generate a strong identity for the area,
attracting local entrepreneurs, new residents and financial partners.

2.9.4 Creating territorial intelligence

The use of strategic intelligence tools is essential for getting to know visi‑
tors, analysing their behaviour and understanding the impact of tourism
on heritage resources. What’s more, the shared construction of an objective
and informed diagnosis combining quantification and perception of tourism
makes it possible to create territorial intelligence, particularly in the tourism
economy sector.
In a development model for territorial projects where the creation of value
is dissociated from the use of common resources, where economic models are
based on positive impacts and not on volume and quantity, and where play‑
ers rely on cooperation rather than competition, sharing this knowledge with
stakeholders guarantees the sustainability of the territorial project.
In this way, in response to local mistrust of the tourism project, the
French pilot (pilot no. 6) used a mechanism designed to create a form of
territorial tourism intelligence. Through a local tourism observatory, the
aim is to overcome preconceived ideas and objectify knowledge of tourist
activity by means of in‑depth surveys produced and analysed with visitors,
local residents, economic players and local decision‑makers. By repeating
the survey over the years, it is possible to monitor changes in the behaviour
of both visitors and local stakeholders and to redirect the area’s tourism
strategy.
The Swedish pilot project (no. 10) has developed a system for understand‑
ing visitors and their spatio‑temporal behaviour, using a mobile phone data
collection system to provide information about visitors and GPS loggers to
geolocate visitors’ positions. Netnography completes this system by examin‑
ing visitor discourse on social media. This system provides decision‑makers
and players in the tourism industry with concrete, up‑to‑date data on visi‑
tors’ perceptions of the region, to inspire and guide tourism strategies.
 Tourism as a tool for social and territorial cohesion 25

2.10 Conclusion: tourism as a factor in the cohesion

and resilience of rural areas
The uncontrolled development of tourism in rural areas has undesirable
effects that are well known and threaten the European area more than ever
at a time when it is becoming increasingly attractive in the context of grow‑
ing insecurity on a global scale and the need for sobriety if we want to keep
the planet liveable, which in the field of tourism means choosing destinations
that are less remote and explored more frugally.
This is the context in which INCULTUM’s thinking and experimentation
were developed, in the conviction that, properly managed, the tourism sector
can have a positive impact on the areas concerned and their inhabitants. In
our case, the areas concerned were marginal – in terms of their demographic
and economic decline – and rural, which in return meant that they could
maintain tangible and intangible heritage features that had disappeared in
more active areas, and that tourism currently played a very small part in their
economy.
It so happens that the pilot projects have all made the choice – initially
uncoordinated – to create new visitor itineraries, making them the p ­ referred
means of discovering the heritage resources of the territories. These itinerar‑
ies are based on communication or water distribution networks that were
once managed as common property, and which are proving to continue to
arouse a strong attachment among the populations concerned.
All the pilot projects have therefore based their action on the attachment
of local communities to elements of the heritage of their territory. These
heritage elements (tangible or intangible) can be described as territorial com‑
mons. The involvement of associated heritage communities is an essential
lever for the development of sustainable tourism initiatives. In turn, the
hypothesis defended by INCULTUM is that building a tourism offer based
on such commons can strengthen the heritage community and, in so doing,
help to preserve the commons and community cohesion.
Putting such an offer into tourism requires a suitable narrative. It can use‑
fully mobilise the region’s human resources to support visitors, as well as a
range of digital tools – which are still far from perfected – to inventory, man‑
age and share heritage resources, or analyse visitor behaviour.
If a tourist destination can be identified with a territorial common that is
experienced as such by its inhabitants, the trip can become an inspiring expe‑
rience, made up of genuine encounters and a concrete confrontation with the
challenges of the ecological transition.
By considering tourism as a tool at the service of territories, INCULTUM
has modelled an integrated approach to the tourism economy with a view
to developing a form of territorial entrepreneurship that encompasses the
different sectors of activity and promotes their hybridisation, by ensuring
that as many players as possible are pluriactive and involved in both the
primary sector of the economy (agriculture) and the secondary and tertiary
26 Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

sectors, in contrast to the organisation into compartmentalised sectors that

was ­promoted throughout the 20th century.
The use of strategic intelligence tools is essential for creating knowledge
about visitors and understanding the impact of tourism on heritage resources.
Sharing this knowledge with stakeholders creates a “territorial tourism intel‑
ligence” that guarantees the sustainability of the territorial project. More
broadly, the success of the regional project requires the long‑term implemen‑
tation of a suitable coordination and governance system, which is undoubt‑
edly the most difficult condition to meet at a time when public action is seeing
its resources reduced and more often than not limited to short‑term expertise
missions that do not allow this expertise to be capitalised on in the regions
where it is essential. In this context, the best we can hope for is that local
entrepreneurship will be effective enough to generate the subsidies needed to
pay for expertise.
Taking a step back, the tourism approach promoted by INCULTUM
aligns with a

Self‑governance culture: mindful of the territory, which does not

entrust the sustainability of development to machines or external
­decision‑making centers. Instead, in a world inhabited by a multiplicity
of development styles, it relies on a rediscovered environmental wisdom
and on inhabitants capable of once again producing territory.
(Magnaghi, 2010, p. 36)

The challenge now is to create conditions for this “self‑governance” to fully

assume itself, particularly in terms of economic self‑sustainability.

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3 Place branding from scratch
Naming, framing, and finding
Campina de Faro

Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

3.1 Introduction

3.1.1 Background, aims, and scope: challenges of the “below zero”

scenario

Promoting cultural tourism in marginal (and any) places requires that at least
some potential visitors know about the place and have some idea of what
it is. This is what some scholars would call the existence of a place brand
(Vuignier, 2017; Kaefer, 2021).
The concept of brands, whether relating to places or (more classically)
companies, products, or services, has been subject to several, partially over‑
lapping, definitions (cf. Maurya & Mishra, 2012; Oh et al., 2020). An essen‑
tial common core shared by most of them is captured by ISO 20671–1:2021
(3.1) which defines a brand as an

[...] intangible asset, including but not limited to, names, terms, signs,
symbols, logos and designs, or a combination of these, intended to
identify goods, services or entities, or a combination of these, creating
distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders […].

Transposed to semiotic terms (e.g. Bussmann, Kazzazi, & Trauth, 2006: 397),
a brand thus comprises an expression side (or “plane”), i.e. the outer cues by
which it is recognized, including its name, and a content side (or “plane”),
i.e. the images and associations that these evoke. In branding theory, the
latter are often further divided into a brand image, i.e., the way the brand is
conceived by its surroundings, and a brand identity, i.e., the way representa‑
tives of the branded entity itself conceive it and/or would like others to con‑
ceive it (cf. Kotler et al., 2016: 426). Aligning the two is a major concern in
most place‑branding efforts (cf. Stock, 2009; Rugaard, 2022: 30–31).
However, branding a place is in many ways different from branding a
company, an organization, or a consumer good. The specifics include
the absence of a single brand owner; the need to navigate across the
­often‑conflicting objectives, interests, and actions of a plethora of stakehold‑
ers; and the complexity of what makes up a “place” in terms of geography,

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-3
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 29

culture, administrative‑political organization, and so on (cf. Smith, 2015;

­Peighambari et al., 2016; Boisen et al., 2018; Kaefer 2021).
In addition to these challenges, which are all well recognized and much
debated, the INCULTUM work has foregrounded certain additional com‑
plexities that seem to deserve more systematic attention in their own right
(for public results, cf. INCULTUM, n.d.). This includes what some INCUL‑
TUM colleagues have so far informally, yet aptly, dubbed the “below zero”
scenario found in many, though not all, marginal places targeted by the
10 INCULTUM pilots. What characterizes this scenario is (a) that visitors
and locals alike are yet to recognize the place as something that tourists might
consider visiting, (b) that reliable data indicating any baseline in that regard
are scarce or absent, (c) that local stakeholders who might be interested in
creating new tourism opportunities first need to be identified and brought
together, and (d) that limited financial resources are available for any such
initiatives.
The INCULTUM team at Copenhagen Business School (WP7) has dug
somewhat deeper into the opportunities, obstacles, and dynamics of devel‑
oping cultural tourism in precisely such a “below zero” context, taking the
Portuguese pilot as an exemplar case. A first empirical inquiry to that end is
reported in the following. It centres around an observation that may not be
new as such, but which becomes particularly prominent in a “below zero”
context: the need to have (and for people to know) a “name for it” as a first
and crucial precondition for any more far‑reaching branding endeavours. In
this case: the name Campina de Faro.
The following key research questions are pursued:

RQ1: What is the status and future potential of the name ‘Campina de
Faro’ as a fixpoint for developing a more salient place‑brand image of
that area among potential visitors and elevating sustainable cultural
tourism there?
RQ2: Which name‑intrinsic and name‑extrinsic parameters could be
operated on to support this objective better in the future while keeping
costs at a moderate level?
RQ3: Could any learnings from Campina de Faro be put to use also in
territories covered by other INCULTUM pilots and could any initia‑
tives taken in some of these be a source of inspiration in the case of
Campina de Faro?

However, first, we need to consider a few specifics of Campina de Faro as

a potential target for cultural tourism. Having done that, we will intro‑
duce a conceptual framework suited for supporting a clearer understand‑
ing of the linguistic‑semiotic, cognitive, and commercial variables in focus,
including the specifics of naming and framing a place‑brand on a budget.
We then report a questionnaire survey conducted among visitors to the
Faro‑­Albufeira area, supplemented by observations made by us during
30 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

field research on the spot. On this background, we discuss the implications

of the findings gained for RQ1 and RQ2 while also providing some tenta‑
tive answers to RQ3.

3.1.2 The case of Campina de Faro

The Algarve Region is known for its sandy beaches, picturesque cliffs, and
mild climate, stretching across the southernmost parts of Portugal and
attracting millions of tourists annually (Luz, 2023). While cities like Faro
and Albufeira are flooded with tourists, other places experience almost zero
tourist visits. This disbalance can be immediately observed within the area
known as Campina de Faro. Located in the hinterland of Faro between the
historical cities of Faro, Olhão, and Loulé, Campina de Faro is a coastal plain
rich in natural beauty and cultural heritage. It boasts a historical irrigation
system dating back to Islamic times, flourishing gardens, orchards preserving
traditional food production methods, and a distinctive local cuisine. It would
thus appear to combine many attributes that could make it an attractive tour‑
ism destination, for instance, for daytrips made by sun‑and‑beach tourists at
the Algarve coast. Yet, this is not reflected in the pre‑INCULTUM situation.
Characteristically of the “below zero” scenario, exact data on tourism
activity in this area are scarce. However, some tangible indications support‑
ing the overall impression just described do exist. An exploratory study by
Rugaard (2022) with a special focus on Danish visitors to Portugal (N=117)
showed that among recent visitors to the Algarve (N=40), only five persons
(12.5%) had ever heard of Campina de Faro and only three had been there.
A survey conducted by the Portuguese pilot in which the majority of respond‑
ents were Algarve residents (88% of 134 respondents) showed that only
31.9% had heard about the place, and just 16.3% declared to have visited
Campina de Faro (UAlg, 2023; Batista, 2023). Another indication, while not
so far quantified in exact figures, is the limited online presence of the place
which makes it challenging to find information on its exact boundaries, spots
to visit, or even pictures.
The survey and field observations reported in the following add more
nuances to this overall picture. As a background for the empirical work, we
will first outline a conceptual framework suited for pinpointing the mecha‑
nisms through which a name can contribute (or not so) to shaping a brand
image since this constitutes a pivotal element of the survey.

3.2 Conceptual framework

3.2.1 Four perspectives on naming and framing

At the heart of any branding effort lies the crucial task of naming and fram‑
ing. A brand cannot be identified without having a name to connect it with
and the exact conceptual content and associations that key audiences will
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 31

come to connect with that name depend on how the name is framed by
­surrounding verbal and visual cues and people’s real‑life experiences with the
branded entity itself.
Following Smith (2021), we here propose a four‑layered analysis of the
naming and framing processes involved in most goal‑driven efforts to facili‑
tate people’s understanding of something by picking and shaping “the right
words” for it, places included. The four perspectives summarized below are
all well recognized in existing research, yet they are rarely viewed in integra‑
tion. Many findings of mutual interest are scattered across multiple disciplines
that only occasionally engage with each other: from linguistics, semiotics,
and discourse analysis, through cognitive and perceptual psychology, to
practice‑oriented fields such as terminology management, public health pro‑
motion, marketing, branding, Public Relations (PR), and political communi‑
cation; see also Entman’s (1993) polemics on the scattered nature of framing
research that largely remain valid today. More details on the underlying
cross‑disciplinary positioning and linkages are given in Smith (2021: 1–10,
77–79), yet here we will concentrate is on the resultant framework itself.

• Perspective 1: Having a name for it.

“If you don’t have a name for something, then as far as people are
concerned, you don’t have it at all”, says an old wisdom here echoed in
an ad for Tracey Communications (Smith, 2021: 11). As for places: It
is impossible for potential visitors to become aware of the place’s exist‑
ence, seek more information about it, decide to go there, be delighted or
disappointed, and to share their experiences with others, without hav‑
ing or learning a name for the place. Notably, the place may well have a
name already (that can furthermore be harder to change than, say, when
(re)naming a company or a product), but this is of no consequence to
potential visitors if they do not know it.
Moreover, for a place‑brand image to emerge (whether consistent
with the place identity experienced by the locals or not, cf. Kaefer, 2021;
Rugaard, 2022; Kotler et al., 2016: 426), some degree of consensus is
required across potential visitors’ ideas of what the place is like. That is,
there must be at least some common elements in the concepts that different
individuals connect with the name. To begin with, these may well be sheer
ad‑hoc concepts (e.g., “it’s probably some kind of historical monument”)
that people generate in an attempt to make some sense of the name. How‑
ever, these may gradually develop into more elaborate, stable, and inter‑
subjectively valid ones (cf. Smith, 2021: 21–25; see also Barsalou, 1987,
2016; Murphy, 2010).
Two sorts of influences jointly determine the final outcome of these
processes, here summarized under Perspectives 2 and 3.

• Perspective 2: The name’s intrinsic communicative potential (The Joyce

Principle).
32 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

Some names are just names, while others (indeed, the most) give the
recipient a certain hint, but nothing more, about what they could be refer‑
ring to. In linguistic‑semiotic terms, such names are referred to as non‑­
arbitrary or motivated (Nöth, 1995: 240–256). In the marketing literature,
the phenomenon is also known as the Joyce Principle (suggested by Collins,
1977) referring to the extensive use of suggestive (in that case non‑existent)
words like smallfox and tattarrattat in the literary work of James Joyce.
Following Smith’s (2021: 28–29) further elaboration on Ullmann
(1962), we will here distinguish between (a) phonetic motivation emerging
from the way the name sounds (e.g., crash boom, Wahooo! (a waterpark
in Bahrein)), (b) graphic motivation where the choice of fonts, colours, and
surrounding imagery adds to the expressive potential (e.g., the brand name
Bake & Freeze half in red and half in blue or the Spanish nation‑brand
logo España incorporating characteristic red, yellow, and black orna‑
ments), (c) semantic motivation where a new meaning is assigned to an
existing word through metaphoric or other semantic transfer (e.g. house
(the music style), (computer) mouse, The Big Apple (for New York City)),
and (d) morphological (structural) motivation which emerges when a
name is composed of smaller units which jointly hint at the meaning of
the whole name (e.g., greenwashing, dark tourism, Cold Hawaii (a surf‑
ing spot in northern Denmark) … and Campina de Faro). More than one
type of motivation may well be in play for the same name, for instance,
emerging from different stages of its formation, e.g., Baby Boomers or, for
Campina de Faro: because it is not only composite but also sounds in a
way that suggests a certain geographical and lingua‑cultural origin.

• Perspective 3: The formation of the name’s full meaning in running com‑

munication (The Juliet Principle).
While the Joyce Principe is crucial when a new name is launched or
heard by somebody for the first time (green tax rings a different bell than
fuel tax), its significance tends to fade over time. One may well use an
Apple laptop or find a monkey wrench in one’s toolbox without having
any idea about why they are called so.
On that background, some scholars and practitioners argue that the
presence of any “built‑in” information hinting at what a name means only
has a historical interest once the name has become established. This is
also referred to as the Juliet Principle (once again following Collins, 1977)
by virtue of Juliet Capulet’s much‑quoted line “What’s in a name?” in
William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet (2010 [1597]). What Juliet
essentially says is that the name does not matter, the important thing is
what it denotes and what people think and say about it.
There is definitely an important truth to this. To figure out the full mean‑
ing of an unfamiliar word, children and adults alike need to rely on a wide
range of surrounding cues spanning from oral explanations and written
descriptions or definitions to first‑hand visual and other sensory experiences
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 33

and physical action (e.g., Bloom, 2002; Graves, August, & Mancilla‑­
Martinez, 2013). Places are no exception: we hear about a place, we see
pictures from it, and we may ultimately decide to go there to see (smell, feel,
etc.) it for ourselves – thereby gaining a still better idea of what that place is.
However (as also noted by Collins, 1977, while neglected by some
scholars), this does not mean that the Joyce Principle cannot still have a
decisive bearing on the final outcome. What a name says literally can both
guide and misguide a recipient when interpreting other (name‑extrinsic)
cues and this may result in both adequate and less adequate perceptions
of the referent, in our case: a place (for experimental evidence from the
related domain of place‑related food names, cf. Smith et al., 2022; Smith,
Barratt, & Zlatev, 2014). Moreover, such misconception may sometimes
become permanent. For example, until told otherwise a research colleague
of ours solemnly believed that the Danish regional specialty called kålpølse
(‘cabbage sausage’) actually contained cabbage where the truth is that it is
traditionally served with stewed cabbage in Sothern Jutland.
Instead of seeing the Joyce Principle and the Juliet Principle as opposi‑
tions, it is more informative to see them as complementary mechanisms
that jointly influence the formation of (in our case) the understanding of a
place name and a corresponding brand.

• Perspective 4: The full ecosystem of naming and framing processes.

When it comes to wider topic, such as climate change, immigration, or
sustainable tourism development, the goal‑driven use of naming and fram‑
ing rarely comes down to the use of a single name. Whole “sets” of names
will typically come into play when interested stakeholders address a given
topic, often presenting it in a very different light. When discussing tour‑
ism development, for example, some will speak of new job opportunities,
improved infrastructure, and preservation of local culture and heritage.
Others, however, will speak of overcrowding, seasonal unemployment,
and environmental and cultural damage.
When in play together, such words will mutually influence the under‑
standing of each other and may well push it in opposite directions (take
climate change which can be framed both as an urgent problem and as an
entirely natural phenomenon). Some names are tailored from the outset to
support a particular position which is sometimes encoded directly into the
structure of the name, i.e. the Joyce Principle based part of its semantics,
e.g., ecotourism versus overtourism. Others are subject to constant semantic
negotiation driven by name‑extrinsic cues, i.e. what we here call the Juliet
Principle, say, about what exactly qualifies something as sustainable tour‑
ism when applying existing normative definitions to concrete instances; see
also Collier, Hidalgo, and Maciuceanu (2006) for comparable examples
viewed as instances of so‑called essentially contested concepts.
In sum, what we are dealing with is a whole ecosystem of naming and
framing processes where the mechanisms described under Perspective 1–3
34 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

Naming & Framing: Perspectives 1-3 Naming & Framing: Perspective 4

Presence of
name

Verbal and perceptual cues framing name

¨Name framing ”it” it”

”it”

Stakeholders. Stakeholders.
Group A Group B

Built-in semantic potential of

non-arbitrary name

Figure 3.1 The four dimensions of naming and framing visualized (figure created by
the first author, slightly modified after Smith, 2021: 6).

also operate across the individual nodes of the system (see Smith, 2021:
62–65, for further discussion). Figure 3.1 illustrates the four perspectives
and their interconnections in visual form.

However, even if Perspective 4 is clearly relevant to the INCULTUM agenda

as a whole, in the present chapter, we will focus mainly on a single name,
namely Campina de Faro, and its perception by visitors to the Algarve coast.
For that reason, the analyses to follow will centre around the mutual dynam‑
ics between Perspectives 1and 3.

3.2.2 Low‑ versus high‑budget route brand development

Some branding consultants, especially at the high end of the price range, tend
to foreground (what we here call) the Juliet Principle at the expense of the
Joyce Principle. The classic sales talk goes: “You can call your brand what‑
ever you like! It can still be a great success if you have a great product, a solid
marketing budget, and a top‑tuned branding team behind you”.
Needless to say, the situation is directly opposite for most INCULTUM
pilots. The same is true for many other commercial and non‑commercial
endeavours, which means that the reverse challenge, branding on a budget,
is also a central focus for some branding advisors (e.g., Mankoo, 2023; Tai‑
lor Brands, n.d.). However, the theoretical motivation for the advice given
is often rather heterogeneous, if present at all, and only rarely encompasses
factors of special relevance to place branding (such as an active role of the
locals, cf. Freire, 2009; San Eugenio et al., 2019).
Taking the theorizing a step further, we here introduce a distinction
between a high‑budget route and a low‑budget route of brand and product‑­
name development originally suggested by Riezebos, Kist, and Koostra
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 35

(2003: 80–103) and taken further in certain respects by Smith (2021: 43–53).
It incorporates Collin’s (1977) distinction between the Joyce Principle and
the Juliet Principle with a particular focus on how the corresponding varia‑
bles engage in different mutual dynamics depending on the size of the brand‑
ing budget.

3.2.2.1 The high‑budget route

The high‑budget route presupposes that the framing of a brand and/or prod‑
uct (e.g. place) name is backed up by extensive and costly communication
efforts drawing on an elaborate mix of paid advertising, free media cover‑
age (yet generated by spending substantial resources on promotion and PR,
events etc.), active social‑media presence intended to accelerate and shape
seemingly self‑driven communication processes, and the use of self‑owned
media platforms offering brand‑supporting content. For an overview of pos‑
sible mixes of such paid, earned, shared, and owned media strategies and
the still more blurring lines between them, see Macnamara, Lwin, Adi, and
Zerfass (2016).
Clear examples of the high‑budget route are a corporate brand like Apple,
including branded product lines like iPhone or Mac, or a major place brand
like Copenhagen, along with branded attractions such as Royal Arena. Here,
the Juliet Principle plays a predominant role from the outset in the shape of
multiple verbal, visual, and experiential cues surrounding the name at multi‑
ple touchpoints across public space and cyberspace. In so far as the choice of
name has been part of the branding effort (which is, of course, not the case
with a historically given name like Copenhagen), the name’s intrinsic seman‑
tic potential, i.e., the Joyce Principle, may add some freshness (“apple”) or
prestige (“royal”), but such contributions remain optional.

3.2.2.2 The low‑budget route

In the low‑budget route, by contrast, the brand image is crafted without

significant advertising or other costly communication efforts. In this case,
the immediate communicative potential of the brand or product name will
often play a more active role in combination with such cues that can be
directly extracted from the branded item itself and/or from its immediate
surroundings.
An example is the use of product packaging design as the primary brand‑
ing tool, as illustrated in Figure 3.2 (see also Riezebos et al., 2003: 85–89;
Rundh, 2009; Klimchuk, & Krasovec, 2013).
The product on the left, a seaweed‑based caviar substitute, has become a
worldwide sales success with a minimum of resources spent on advertising
or other cost‑intensive marketing efforts. The built‑in morphological motiva‑
tions of the brand name Cavi‑art and the product name Seaweed Caviar have
thus been sufficient to intrigue recipients in a relevant way and the rest of
36 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

Figure 3.2 The low‑budget route as implemented in packaging design. Images used

with kind permission from Cavi‑Art and Smartbox Group.

the story is told by the familiar shape of the jar and the surrounding visuals
(along with the product facts declared on the back, for those consumers who
take the examination that far).
Here, the outcome thus relies on a subtle interplay between the Joyce
Principle and the Juliet Principle unfolding in a “micro‑cosmos” displayed
before the very eyes of the viewer, with no need for any complementary cues
offered at other touchpoints. A comparable dynamics can be found on the
packaging to the right with the additional twist of illustrating the still more
widespread trend to present services as “packages” (LaPlante‑Dube, 2017;
Flash‑Hub, 2022).
As for marginal cultural tourism destinations, simply “boxing them” is,
of course, not a viable path, at least not as an isolated measure (though
“boxed” holiday packages are indeed among the services offered to tourists).
However, an example of an approach conceived in a comparable vein is a
series of campaigns promoting tourism to the Faroe Islands. Opting for a
minimal budget, these campaigns rely solely on close‑to‑product (here: place)
cues made accessible to the global public in an online format. Volunteer Faro‑
ese residents invite remote viewers into their daily lives, tell stories, trans‑
late special Faroese words, and even let themselves be remote controlled to
show around their premises. Sheep, in turn, walk the landscape in their own
pace with a camera mounted on their back, thus offering Google Sheep View
for lack of Street View (supported by Google Maps). For further details, cf.
Mensch (n.d. a, b) and Visit Faroe Islands (n.d.). A taste of all this is given
in Figure 3.3.
A marked difference compared to the scenario of Campina de Faro is that
the physical distances between the majority of potential visitors and the place
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 37

Figure 3.3 Innovative low‑budget online campaign for visiting the Faroe Islands.
Photo credit: Kirstin Vang. Used with kind permission from Visit Faroe
Islands.

in question requires the sense of “being there” to be re‑created in the shape

of an interactive online universe. By contrast, with about 4.8 million tour‑
ists visiting the Algarve coast per year, relevant bottom‑up cues pertaining to
Campina de Faro could easily be presented within their immediate physical
surroundings, supplemented by direct experiences on the spot for those even‑
tually inspired to go there.
To establish a first baseline for any future initiatives to increase nearby
sun‑and‑beach visitors’ awareness of and interest in visiting Campina de
Faro, while keeping the budget moderate, an explorational pilot study was
conducted in the Faro‑Albufeira coastal area.

3.3 Pilot study

3.3.1 Methodology

The study was conceived and prepared by the WP7 team at Copenhagen Busi‑
ness School and carried out in Algarve from September 29th to October 2nd,
2023, by the authors in collaboration with the Portuguese pilot.

3.3.1.1 Purpose

The purpose was twofold: (1) to assess the extent to which visitors to the
Faro‑Albufeira area had previously encountered the name “Campina
de Faro” given that this is the first and a vital precondition for any more
elaborate place‑brand image to evolve; (2) to gain some indications of
38 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

which spontaneous expectations and associations the name was capable of

­triggering in respondents who either had or had not encountered the name
before, and of the possible sources of these. Connecting back to the theoreti‑
cal framework on naming and framing presented earlier, we thus combined
an interest in Perspective 1 (whether potential visitors had/knew a name for
the place at all) with a joint interest in Perspectives 2 and 3 (the influence
of the built‑in potential of the name and of surrounding cues, respectively, on
the understanding of it). The ultimate goal was to generate new leads about
which name‑intrinsic and name‑extrinsic parameters could be operated on
to strengthen tourists’ awareness of and interest in visiting Campina de Faro
while keeping costs moderate.
In the case of no pre‑familiarity, the only possible source of influence would
be the built‑in cues (motivation) extractable from the name itself, i.e., the Joyce
Principle. We here wanted to get an idea of the range of possible readings that
could be brought about by the name as such and hence its potential as a first
“icebreaker” for discovering and learning more about the place.
In the case of (some degree of) familiarity, the understanding of the name
could have been influenced both by the above‑mentioned, name‑intrinsic fac‑
tors and by extrinsic cues surrounding the name in such settings where it was
first encountered and (if the case) re‑encountered repeatedly later. In other
words, it would be the result of an interplay between the Joyce Principle and
the Juliet Principle, and we wanted to learn more about how that affected the
understanding of the name as compared to the understanding displayed by
participants who had never heard it before.

3.3.1.2 Target population

The intended target population was adult foreign and domestic visitors1 to the
Faro‑Algarve coast. We thus opted out local residents as respondents, even if
it might have been interesting to test out earlier indications of a low awareness
of Campina de Faro even among the locals. As it were, we did get some indica‑
tions of this through our less formalized field observations described below. For
the survey, however, we maintained a clear focus on the scenario of prompting
tourists staying by the nearby coast to explore the hinterland.
A homogeneous convenience sampling strategy was implemented (Jager,
Putnick, & Bornstein, 2017) with an emphasis on ensuring that our respond‑
ents could mainly be regarded as tourists and as non‑residents. Apart from
that, a diverse sample of visitors of various nationalities was opted for to
enrich and diversify the study’s findings. The recruitment of participants
primarily took place in the out- and indoor areas of hotels and at public
beaches, as well as on some neighbouring locations, in the Faro‑Albufeira
area. This included Hotel Faro, Eva Seuses Hotel in Faro, Hotel Alisios in
Albufeira, and beach sections in Faro and close to Albufeira. A few responses
were furthermore collected at the market in Olhão, at the gate of Faro Air‑
port, and on the aeroplane with tourists returning from Faro.
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 39

3.3.1.3 Questionnaire survey

To support the objectives outlined above, we designed a short questionnaire

(entitled a “micro‑survey”), including both quantitative and qualitative ques‑
tions, which was printed on paper and filled in by the respondents by hand.
To accommodate the multilingual target group, the questionnaire was pre‑
pared in an English version as well as a one in Spanish, Portuguese, French,
German, Swedish, and Danish to prevent potential linguistic difficulties with
understanding and answering the survey questions.2
The respondents were informed about the overall purpose and institu‑
tional context of the survey and gave their consent in advance. Responses
were confidential and anonymous, and the respondents had the autonomy to
conclude their involvement in the survey at any point. The survey design was
authorized by the Data Protection Office of the University of Algarve.
The opening question was whether the respondents had ever heard the
name “Campina de Faro”. If they answered “yes”, they would be directed to
the next page and asked to use up to three words or short phrases to describe
Campina de Faro according to their own knowledge or experience. They
were likewise asked where they had first heard the name, as far as they could
remember (open response), and whether they had ever been there (yes/no).
The respondents who answered “no” to the first question were instead asked
to use up to three words or short phrases to describe what they would image
that “Campina de Faro” could be and skip the next page.
These questions were followed by demographic questions about home
country, gender identity, and age, as well as reason for visiting the Algarve,
place of stay, and total number of visits to the region. Finally, all participants
were presented with a short description of Campina de Faro condensed from
the pilot description on the INCULTUM homepage, including the photo
depicting a waterfall featured there. They were then asked about the likeli‑
hood that they would consider visiting Campina de Faro or going hiking
there. Participants were given the time necessary to fill out the paper sheets,
and space to reflect, also aloud, on their answers which in some cases gave us
fruitful additional insights.

3.3.1.4 Field observations

In addition to the questionnaire‑based survey, less formal but valuable obser‑

vations were made by us throughout our presence at the relevant locations
(reached on foot or by car). This includes informal conversations with local
residents, particularly such who were kindly rejected for the survey but still
contributed with valuable comments and perspectives. We also gathered
some input from employees in the tourism industry, including vendors of bus
excursions, hotel staff, and the employees of a car rental company.
At the third day of our stay, we made a field trip accompanied by three
fellow researchers from the Portuguese pilot team to better identify and learn
40 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

about Campina de Faro ourselves as we had never visited that area before (or
rather: we were not aware that we partially already had, see below). During
the 3‑hour tour, we endeavoured to see the most important spots of Campina
de Faro – among them the orchards, old watermills, and aqueducts. The trip
also gave us an idea about the size and fuzzy boundaries of the whole area.
The observations made and notes taken contributed substantially to a wider
contextualization of the results gained from the questionnaire survey and will
be drawn on in the general discussion section. This also includes essential
factual and terminological details provided by our colleagues.

3.3.2 Survey results

In total, we collected 92 valid filled‑out questionnaires over the course of our

four days on‑site. Many more respondents were approached and willing to
respond but turned out to be local residents enjoying beach life etc. alongside
the tourists and were therefore kindly rejected.
The data were transposed to an excel sheet and subject to quantitative
and qualitative analyses. Given the exploratory character of the study, the
presentation of the findings below relies on descriptive statistics only. We had
no intention to filter out any potentially statistically significant correlations
across the whole data set or testing any pre‑fixed hypotheses.3 The purpose
was to provide a versatile snapshot of tourists’ perceptions (or lack of such)
of Campina de Faro, thus enhancing the knowledge base for ongoing innova‑
tion actions and possible follow‑up inquiries.

3.3.2.1 Participant characteristics

Out of the 92 respondents, 58 (63%) were female, 33 (35.9%) were male,

and one did not want to state the gender, see Figure 3.4. Given the widely
recognized tendency towards an overrepresentation of females in question‑
naire survey responses (cf. Groves et al., 2009: 183–211), we considered this
as an acceptable gender balance.
In terms of age, the participants were quite nicely distributed as well,
with at least 14 participants in every age group defined by us, as shown in
Figure 3.5.
As for home countries,4 the sample was quite varied, see Figure 3.6. The
majority of visitors recruited were from European countries, whereas 12 were
from countries outside Europe (Ecuador, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and
Canada). Among the Europeans, more than half were from either Germany,
the UK, the Netherlands, or Portugal, while the rest were distributed across
11 other European countries in both North, South, East, and West Europe.
The distribution aligns rather well with the official statistics of visitors to
the Algarve Coast where domestic travellers are accounted for the highest
number in 2022, with tourists from the UK coming in second (for details, see
Luz, 2023).
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 41

GENDER
Other
1.1% (1)
Male
35.9% (33)

Female
63% (58)

Figure 3.4 Distribution of respondents by gender.

AGE

23.9% (22)
25 20.7% (19) 20.7% (19)
19.6% (18)
20 15.2% (14)

15

10

0
18-24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+

Figure 3.5 Distribution of respondents by age.

While 50.5% of the respondents were first‑time visitors to Algarve, 37.4%

indicated that they had been in the Algarve 3 times or more. Only 12.1%
were in the Algarve on their second visit. Out of the 92 respondents, 70
(76.1%) indicated vacation/holiday as the main reason for their visit. Other
reasons included work/business, study/training, and visiting friends or rela‑
tives. However, given that the latter respondents were encountered in a tour‑
ism context (on the beach, waiting in line for a boat trip, etc.), we considered
their responses as valid input for the current purpose.
42 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

Figure 3.6 Distribution of respondents by home country.

The sample thus gave us a versatile basis for assessing how visitors of dif‑
ferent nationalities, ages, and genders with different degrees of experience of
the area perceived Campina de Faro as a place to potentially visit.

3.3.2.2 Familiarity with and comprehensions of the name

“Campina de Faro”

Our pre‑expectation was that a substantial number of the respondents

might not have heard the name “Campina de Faro” before, considering
also of the tentative indications we had from the earlier inquiries men‑
tioned initially. That expectation was more than confirmed, as shown in
Figure 3.7.
Out of the 92 respondents, only seven (7.6%) declared to have heard the
name before, which could either indicate that they knew the place or that
they had merely stumbled upon the name at some point. For the remaining
85 respondents (92.4%), however, the first and crucial precondition for any
more far‑reaching place‑branding efforts – namely people knowing a “name
for it” as further discussed under Perspective 1 in the theoretical framework
introduced earlier – was not present. Notably, the issue here is not that a
well‑consolidated name does not exists (as could be the issue, say, for a newly
established company) but that the respondents did not know it.
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 43

HEARD OF “CAMPINA DE FARO”

Yes
7.6% (7)

No
92.4% (85)

Figure 3.7 Responses on ever having heard the name “Campina de Faro”.

In turn, this means that any expectations and associations that the name
might evoke in these respondents would be due to the name’s own built‑in
communicative potential (motivation), i.e., the Joyce Principle as covered
by Perspective 2 in the present theoretical framework. To ensure this, we
abstained from offering any additional cues that could help the interpreta‑
tions along at this stage. The keywords and phrases noted down by these
respondents in an attempt to describe what they would imagine Campina de
Faro to be were therefore a valuable indication of how the intrinsic semantic
cues built into the name might actually be interpreted when first encountered
in a real‑life communicative setting, including such settings that could sup‑
port low‑budget brand building.
The free‑text responses given by the 85 respondents in question were sub‑
ject to a qualitative content analysis performed by the two authors. The aim
was to filter out characteristic lines of interpretation and forming correspond‑
ing meta‑categories which were subsequently discussed and cross‑validated
by the authors and finally consolidated. Figure 3.8 shows the top five of these
meta‑categories, i.e., those that materialized in the largest number of indi‑
vidual responses, with some variation in wording.5
The top five suggest that the intrinsic morphological motivation of the name
was relatively transparent even to non‑Portuguese speakers, implementing
44 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

KEYWORDS

49.4% (42)
camping site

14.1% (12)
some kind of place

12.9% (11)
something connected to Faro

8.2% (7)
camp

5.9% (5)
farmland, countryside

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Figure 3.8 Top five of spontaneous interpretation of “Campina de Faro” by par‑

ticipants who had not heard the name before, expressed as percentage of
responses that contained elements matching the respective meta‑categories.

the classic Romance‑language N‑de‑N (noun + preposition + noun) construc‑

tion with one word “Campina” (the head), being further specified in one
way or the other by another word “Faro” (the modifier). Most participants
dwelled at the head, drawing on cross‑nationally well‑known and compa‑
rable sub‑senses of the Latin‑origin word. The most frequent reading was
“camping (site)” found in 49.4% of the responses, possibly inspired by the
overall tourism context (though not quite adequate, at least for the area as
a whole). Others thought of a “camp” (e.g., for kids) or of “farmland” or
“countryside” which is indeed in line with what “campina” can also mean
(along with “campagna” in Italian, “campo” in Spanish, etc.). Still others
dwelled at the modifier “Faro” and suggested that it had to be “something”
connected to Faro (with more specific suggestions found at the below‑top‑five
level, e.g., the “castle of Faro” or “a campaign for Faro”). Notably, across all
suggestions there was a wide consensus that it must be some kind of place,
as captured in pure form by reading number two in the top five (found in
14.1% of the responses) which covers suggestions simply indicating “some”
place as expressed by words like “neighbourhood”, “district”, “area”, or
“landscape”. Below the top five, again, we find more precise suggestions such
as an “airport”, a “golf court”, or a “park”.
In sum, the name “Campina de Faro” indeed does seem to possess the
intrinsic qualities needed to make it a suitable pivot for building a more pre‑
cise and elaborate place‑brand image. However, some additional help from
surrounding, name‑extrinsic, cues is clearly required to push people’s inter‑
pretations of the name further in a desirable direction. Stated in the terms
introduced earlier: the Joyce Principle (covered by Perspective 2) does a fine
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 45

job, but the Juliet Principle (covered by Perspective 3) needs to get involved as
well for people to generate any more elaborate perception of what Campina
de Faro really is.
We had aimed to learn more about which kinds of name‑extrinsic cues
that had contributed such an outcome for those respondents who declared
to know the name already by asking them to indicate their perception of
“Campina de Faro” (in keywords) as well as where they had first heard the
name, as they remembered, and whether they had visited the location them‑
selves. The input on that point was, however, quite scarce, with only seven
respondents to compare. Four of these (three Portuguese and one UK citizen)
seemed to have a quite clear perception of the place, mentioning different
but all relevant keywords such as “rural”, “dry”, “flat”, “farmland”, “peas‑
ants”, “countryside”, and “food and drink”. One had heard the name as
a child, another at work, while the third didn’t remember and the fourth
skipped the question. Only two of them had actually been there. This gives at
least some indication that the name can come to be understood in a desirable
way through surrounding communicative framings alone, even without yet
having had any on‑site experiences. By contrast, the three other respondents
(three Dutch first‑time visitors) who answered “yes” to having heard the
name gave less applicable keywords (including “camping”) and no details
about how/where they heard it. They might well simply have misinterpreted
the question.

3.3.2.3 Intentions to visit after the “reveal”

A very clear indication of what the Joyce Principle and the Juliet Principle
are capable of accomplishing when combined did however follow from the
responses to the concluding part of the questionnaire, the “reveal” part.
Here, the actual reference of the name “Campina de Faro” was made more
clear to the respondents via additional verbal and visual cues in the shape of a
condensed version of the description featured on the INCULTUM homepage,
including the photo.
When asked if they would consider visiting Campina de Faro based on this
short description, 78 answered “yes”, 11 answered “not sure”, and only one
answered “probably not” (while two skipped the question), see Figure 3.9.6
Moreover, a substantial number of participants got quite excited about the
idea of going to the place and asked us many questions about how to get
there, what were the most characteristic things to see, and so on.
This is a clear indication that very simple Juliet‑Principle–type cues such
as a short text and a photo can make a tremendous difference when it comes
to shaping people’s understanding of the name and creating a desire to go to
the place and find out more. That is, it lays the ground for the emergence of
a positive place‑brand image that can be subject to continued development.
Moreover, descriptions comparable to the one we used do not need to be
widely circulated through costly advertising or other mass communication.
46 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

Would visit Campina de Faro?

86.7% (78)
YES

12.2% (11)
NOT SURE

1.1% (1)
PROBABLY NOT

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Figure 3.9 Respondents’ intentions to visit Campina de Faro after having read a short
description of the area.

They could be made available, say, as leaflets, on posters, etc., in places

where tourists spend time, including relevant websites apart from INCUL‑
TUM’s own.
However, the respondents’ eager interest and questions – combined with
the additional information gained through our own field observations in
the area and especially the trip around Campina de Faro – also gave us
some new food for thought. During the first two days, we had to openly
admit that we could not guide them much further since we had not as yet
been there ourselves. When continuing the data collection after the field
trip, we additionally felt that answering the questions was less straightfor‑
ward than the participants (and we) might have expected. We now knew
that figuring out where exactly to go and what exactly to see in the exten‑
sive area named Campina de Faro could be a challenge in itself, and that
this could hardly be done in a single trip. The wider implications of this
insight lead us to the general discussion and considerations about possible
next steps.

3.4 General discussion and next steps

3.4.1 From image to identity, and back

Our survey contributed essential insights on the place‑brand image aspects,

i.e., on how potential visitors see the place, whereas our field research gave
us some additional indications of the underlying place‑brand identity, i.e.,
on how the locals see the place themselves, which also includes the physical
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 47

manifestations of this in the built environment, monuments, etc. (cf. Kaefer,

2021: 7).
Combining both perspectives, we gradually became aware of two addi‑
tional, and closely connected, challenges when it comes to strengthening the
awareness of Campina de Faro as a potential target for cultural tourism.
The first is the size, fuzzy boundaries, and heterogeneous character of the
place. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the South between the cities of
Faro and Olhão in the East and Loule and further to Albufeira in the West
and all the way up to the mountains in the North which makes it an area a
lot larger than we expected from the narratives heard earlier. The landscapes
include the litoral, the flat area close to the Algarve Coast, the campina, the
hilly and dry farmland between the ocean and the mountains (and also epo‑
nym for the whole place), the bacoral, defined as the foothills of the moun‑
tains (serra) to the North used mainly for herding. The potential tourism
attractions range from the ancient water structures from the Islamic period
which are scattered across the whole area (in varying state of maintenance
and some located in private front gardens and courtyards), a mix of tradi‑
tional and modern farmland, and ancient architecture (often encapsulated by
more modern), to a captivating waterfall. Similarly, individual towns and vil‑
lages within the area, such as Estoi, Patacão, and Conceição, each possesses
their own distinct characteristics, identities, and rich histories. Significant
portions of Campina de Faro have furthermore evolved beyond a peripheral
designation, now hosting motorways, residential areas, shopping malls, and
a large football stadium.
In sum, there seems to be grounds for arguing that Campina de Faro does
not quite constitute a destination for tourist visits in its own right, but rather
several and very different potential sub‑destinations that could hardly be cov‑
ered by a single trip. That was also mirrored in our own on‑site experiences:
During our first days of data collection, we drove through and past parts of
Campina de Faro plenty of times without being aware of it – while looking
forward to finally “get there”.
The second challenge is that not only tourists but also locals seem to
have a limited awareness of Campina de Faro understood as “one place”,
and indeed of the very name. During our many casual chats with local peo‑
ple, including potential respondents for the survey who had to be rejected
because they were local, we brought up the name Campina de Faro and
asked whether they could tell us more about it. In many cases, people
simply admitted that they had no clue, while some locals did in fact know
the name but explained that it was basically not a particular place but just
“all of this”, pointing from the beachside towards the hinterland. That
includes Portuguese working within the tourism industry such a car rental
lady and a seller of bus tours (and colleagues they consulted) who at best
also landed on something like “ahh, it’s all of this”. In addition to this,
there were no road signs, no labels, and no other haptic touchpoints that
could be attributed to Campina de Faro, at least as far as we could observe
48 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

when moving around in the area, and as later confirmed by the Portuguese
partners.
In sum, the availability of close‑to‑product (here: place) cues that could
introduce the name and further shape the understanding of it by expanding
on its intrinsic semantic potential, whether in the shape of word of mouth
from locals (which has proved to be an essential factor in other scenarios, cf.
Freire, 2009; San Eugenio et al., 2019) or on‑site written or visual cues, was
close to zero.

3.4.2 What to do?

While we are not in a position to give any definite advice or recommendation,

we will still briefly summarize some considerations that might prove useful
for ongoing and coming actions undertaken by the Portuguese pilot on the
backdrop of our findings. The most salient consideration is probably whether
Campina de Faro (and its name) should be retained as the main focus for the
promotion of cultural tourism in the hinterland of Faro, or whether a more
narrowly defined focus point, or a number of such, should be opted for in
the long run.
In so far as the status of Camina de Faro as a “master brand” is retained, it
would probably be vital to enhance that name’s visibility at key touchpoints
such as tourism offices, tour providers, hotels, restaurants, and relevant web‑
sites, in combination with easily comprehensible written and visual informa‑
tion about Campina de Faro and (not least) its many specific attractions. The
strong effect of such simple measures bringing the Joyce Principle and the
Juliet Principle into a subtle interplay with each other in a close‑to‑product
(here: place) context was clearly demonstrated by our survey results: 86.7%
of participants were ready to visit the area after taking the survey, even if
only 7.6% had ever heard of it before. Apart from printed input like that
included in the survey, vital factors could also be the spreading of compara‑
ble cues in oral form, not least by people working in the tourism industry,
and remedying the lack of road signs, info posters, etc.
However, as we saw it earlier, the challenge here is not only to provide
a name for a place but also to provide a suitable place to go to once the
name has caught peoples’ interest. In that light, narrowing down the focus
to selected spots within the Campina de Faro area, perhaps just 2–3 for a
start, could be a viable path. In that case, communicative measures similar to
those just mentioned could be applied, yet starting directly from the (names
of the) spots selected. In some cases, this might well include the need to create
a more “tourism‑friendly” (nick)name for the place or sight in terms of the
name’s built‑in communicative potential and immediate comprehensibility to
the target audiences.
Indeed, we were introduced to one suitable target spot for such an
approach during our field trip: an old historical farmhouse and a water‑
mill now located in a major traffic hub close to the relatively newly‑built
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 49

Teatro das Figuras which dominates the space visually. Yet that theatre could
­potentially also offer an excellent starting point for its visitors (and for oth‑
ers) to acquaint themselves with the nearby historical heritage, provided that
signs would point them in the right direction and posters or even human
guides on the spot could tell them more about their intriguing history. As
part of that, instead of just speaking of “an” old farmhouse and “a” water
mill, as we just did, more salient names could be (re)discovered and/or cre‑
ated for these attractions for the purpose of tourism promotion. Moreover,
guided tours to other locations in Campina de Faro could be offered from
such a spot, sold by tour operators there or even inside the theatre. A differ‑
ent option would be to focus on particular villages selected for their specific
identity, history, architecture, etc., brought to life, for instance, by storytell‑
ing offered by older‑age citizens volunteering as local guides.

3.4.3 Summing up

Returning to RQ1, the name “Campina de Faro” is evidently underexploited

as a possible fixpoint for developing a more salient place‑brand image among
potential visitors, as showcased by the near‑to‑complete unawareness of the
name (and place) among our survey respondents. However, the answer to
RQ2 is that both name‑intrinsic and name‑extrinsic parameters do in fact
exist that can be operated on to remedy the situation. The information built
into the name itself was thus capable of eliciting quite adequate expecta‑
tions in most respondents, excluding any need for re‑naming the place for
tourism purposes. In turn, a more elaborate, and predominately positive,
understanding of the name could be achieved by surrounding it by simple
close‑to‑­product (here: place) cues, as demonstrated by the short text and
photo included in our own questionnaire. What seems more challenging is to
match the area itself with the positive expectations thus evoked. That may be
easier done piece by piece, focusing on particular attractions within that area.

3.4.4 Beyond Campina Faro: cross‑pilot learnings

A major priority of INCULTUM is to facilitate a dynamic exchange of ideas,

practices, and learnings across the participating pilots and other marginal
and remote tourism destinations. This takes us further to RQ3. What our
inquiries might first and foremost contribute at a cross‑pilot level are cer‑
tain new insights into the specifics of place‑branding in what we have earlier
referred to as a “below zero” scenario. That includes the advantages and
limitations of applying a low‑budget brand development route relying on
such cues that can be directly extracted by visitors from the targeted area
itself and/or from its immediate surroundings.
While not all INCULTUM pilots display such a “below zero” scenario to
the full, other examples that do seem to qualify include the Albanian pilot
targeting the Upper Vjosa Valley bordering to Greece, and the Sicilian pilot
50 Viktor Smith and Maximilian Block

targeting the inland territories of the Trapani Mountains. In both cases, the
area in focus covers a vast geographical territory and the potential tourism
attractions are rather diverse with some also located at a substantial distance
from each other, posing challenges also of transport accessibility. Further‑
more, like in several other INCULTUM pilots, current tourism flows are lim‑
ited, the stakeholder alliances needed for developing and operationalizing
seemingly promising cultural tourism opportunities are not yet fully estab‑
lished, and the financial resources available for the purpose are scarce.
Learnings from the present inquiry which could (with some adaptations)
also be of relevance for these cases include a clearer recognition of the
schism between promoting the area as a whole and finding suitable “front‑
runners” within that area that are easier to name, frame and ultimately
“sell” to tourists. Another relevant point would be the emphasis on find‑
ing suitable touchpoints and affordable communicative tools for address‑
ing potential visitors in their immediate surroundings (and on the spot,
for those who eventually go there) rather than relying on more traditional
marketing tools. That includes recognizing how effective such low‑budget
approaches can actually be, as clearly demonstrated also by our own sur‑
vey: The vast majority of respondents were quite determined to go and visit
Campina de Faro at some point after having read a short description and
seen a photo, regardless that most of them had never even heard the name
before.
Conversely, there might be some learnings for Campina de Faro to
gain from the two other pilots just mentioned. In terms of concentrating
the focus on selected spots (among many good candidates), the Albanian
pilots opted for concentrating their resources on restoring the heritage of
the ethical minority known as the Vlachs who earlier lived as nomads in
the area. Specifically, the Albanian team came up with the idea to install an
old Vlach dwelling that could work as a centre of attraction for tourists to
learn about the Vlach way of living while also providing a good base for
further exploring the surrounding territories via activities such as camping
and hiking. In this way, more than one important aspect of the region can
be unified into one tourist attraction. As for the Trapani Mountains, it is
planned to convert an abandoned railway line crossing a beautiful land‑
scape into a hiking trail, which, in turn, can also lead the hikers to other
key sights in the area. In this case, the idea is furthermore backed up by
innovative naming and framing in that the route has been given its own
name: the Green Line.
The conceptual framework and empirical findings presented in this chap‑
ter, of course, remain minor contributions to meeting the multiple and diverse
challenges facing the development of cultural tourism in Campina de Faro,
Upper Vjosa Valley, and Trapani Mountains, as well as in the remaining
INCULTUM pilots. Nevertheless, we hope that they might have opened a
few new perspectives that can enhance future debates on how to best tackle
some of these challenges, and corresponding actions.
 Place branding from scratch: naming, framing, and finding 51

Notes
1 We consistently declined interested respondents who turned out to be residents
of Algarve and not visitors. However, borderline cases were bound to exist, such
as foreigners living (semi‑)permanently in Algarve or locally born people cur‑
rently on vacation, and a few such instances may well have slipped through. We
do not see this as a major methodological concern given that the vast major‑
ity of respondents, regardless of national background and place of permanent
residence, responded “no” to having ever heard the name Campina de Faro and
answered the follow‑up questions accordingly.
2 Qualitative responses in other languages than English were subsequently trans‑
lated to English (in being our working language) by us and colleagues with profi‑
ciency in the relevant languages.
3 We did, of course, have certain pre‑expectations, such as a limited awareness of
Campina de Faro among tourists and a high degree of variation in their spontane‑
ous understanding of the name, but these could be clearly confirmed by simply
looking at the naked data.
4 In this and a few other cases, one or two respondents accidentally skipped the
question. In such cases, any percentages are based on the number of responses
who actually responded to the question.
5 Some respondents contributed to more than one of the top‑five categories and
others to none, given that many respondents listed two, three, or even more dif‑
ferent suggestions among which some would be frequently recurring across par‑
ticipants (like “camping site”) and others more idiosyncratic.
6 When additionally asked if they would also consider going hiking in Campina
de Faro, 62 (68.9%) answered “yes”, 14 (15.6%) answered “not sure” and
14 (15.6%) answered “probably not” (while two skipped the question once
again). Some of the more reluctant participants spontaneously commented on
their response, the typical “excuse” not being a lack of interest in visiting the
place but in hiking as such, difficulty walking long distances due to old age, etc.

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4 Innovative business models
for cultural tourism
Advancing development
in peripheral locations

Carsten Jacob Humlebæk and

Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen

4.1 Business models and business model innovation

Multiple definitions of business models exist but can in general be defined
as: “the firm’s value proposition and market segments, the structure of
the value chain required for realizing the value proposition, the mecha‑
nisms of value capture that the firm deploys, and how these elements are
linked together in an architecture” (Saebi et al., 2017, p. 567). Business
models help scholars and practitioners to understand how an organiza‑
tion ­creates, delivers, and captures value from their products and services.
Over the years, scholars and practitioners have identified, and labelled, a
wide variety of business models with distinct combinations of value crea‑
tion, value delivery, and value capture. For instance, Oliver Gassman and
­colleagues presented 55 business models in their book Business Model Nav‑
igator, including peer‑to‑peer platforms (e.g. eBay), open business models
(e.g. Linux), the long tail (e.g. Amazon), and Razor & Blade (e.g. Gilette)
(Gassmann et al., 2014).
The business model terminology emerged in the 1990s and was origi‑
nally used to explain the rise of dotcom businesses which quickly replaced
traditional, bricks‑and‑mortar companies with online platforms. However,
in the 2000s, business model thinking gradually began to spread into the
strategy, management, and organization literature (Chesbrough, 2007,
2010; Teece, 2010). In 2010, Alexander Ostervalder and Yves Pigneur’s
“Business Model Generation” further contributed to the popularity of busi‑
ness model thinking and made their “business model canvas” a commonly
used tool in business schools, companies, and management consulting.
The book was inspired by Alexander Osterwalder’s (2004) doctoral thesis,
which analysed digital business models. Today, the business model thinking
is fully integrated into mainstream management theory and practice. More‑
over, where business model theory and practice originally focused on com‑
mercial enterprises, the perspective is now used to analyse a wide range of
organizations, including public agencies, non‑profits, and hybrid organiza‑
tions. The business model perspective has also been applied in the literature

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-4
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
 Innovative business models 55

on tourism and cultural heritage (Gatelier et al., 2022; Russo‑Spena et al.,

2022; Reinhold et al., 2017).
Business model innovation is about developing and implementing new ways
for creating, delivering, and capturing value (Bocken & Geradts, 2020). Busi‑
ness model innovation can be the development of a brand new business model
by a new or established organization or the change of a business model by an
existing organization. For instance, Geissdoerfer et al. (2016, p. 1220) argue that
business model innovation: “describes either a process of transformation from
one business model to another within incumbent companies or after mergers
and acquisitions, or the creation of entirely new business models in start‑ups”.
Some discussions exist on how innovative business model innovation should
be (how new should a new business model be?). However, it is fair to say that
business model innovation moves beyond traditional improvements, e.g. opti‑
mization of existing technology, additions to the existing product portfolio, and
improvements of existing service offerings. Business model innovation are more
deep‑rooted changes that require organizations to explore alternative architec‑
tures for creating, delivering, and capturing value to stakeholders.

4.2 The emergence of new, alternative business models

The concept of value is central to the understanding of business models,
even though the concept is often ill‑defined in the literature (Neesham et al.,
2023). In the beginning, value was understood from a conventional busi‑
ness perspective, emphasizing the commercial benefits for customers and the
company. Gradually, however, the literature increasingly focused on alterna‑
tive forms of business models, which integrated both commercial and soci‑
etal concerns. A plethora of concepts has been used to label these business
models, including sustainable business models (Ringvold et al., 2023), cir‑
cular business models, (Lüdeke‑­Freund et al., 2019), triple‑layered business
models (Joyce & Paquin, 2016), social business models (Yunus et al., 2010),
sufficiency‑based business models (Beulque et al., 2023), and collaborative
business models (­Pedersen et al., 2020). What these business models often
have in common is (1) a more holistic view of value, (2) a broader perspec‑
tive of stakeholders, and (3) a long‑term horizon (Bocken & Geradts, 2020;
Mignon & Bankel, 2023).
The design and implementation of alternative business models is not with‑
out challenges (Bocken & Geradts, 2020; Vermunt et al., 2019). Internally,
the existing organizational structure and culture can inspire inertia which
makes it difficult to discover and implement new, alternative business models
(Kirchherr et al., 2018; Pedersen et al., 2018, 2019). Moreover, once estab‑
lished, there is a risk of “mission drift” where the organization increasingly
become focused on commercial objectives at the expense of social and/or
environmental goals (Ebrahim et al., 2014). Externally, the development
of alternative business models often depends on active collaboration with
external business partners, which may not have the necessary commitment or
56 Carsten Jacob Humlebæk and Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen

competences (Pedersen et al., 2019; Vermunt et al., 2019). Moreover, a new,

alternative business model may, at least in the short term, come with higher
costs that the customers are unwilling to pay for.

4.3 Contracts and business model innovation

Innovation does not only involve the products and services flowing between
the stakeholders in a business model. The product and service offerings are
dependent on the underlying infrastructure that allows these transactions to
take place. Innovating the infrastructure can therefore also mean innovating
the business model. To give a few examples, financial exchanges between
the stakeholders are necessary to keep the business model afloat. Moreo‑
ver, various types of information (product descriptions, shipping documents,
contracts, invoices, guarantees etc.) are exchanged between the stakeholders,
which are central for ascribing rights and responsibilities. Last, both finance
and information flows depend on an underlying digital infrastructure which
ensures connectivity between the actors. Innovating business models can
therefore also mean looking at the underlying infrastructure enabling value
creation, value delivery, and value capture. Moreover, developing new ways
of how finance and information are managed and organized can in itself be a
source of business model innovation.
In this chapter, we will focus specifically on the formal and informal con‑
tracts, which tie stakeholders together in business models. In recent years, we
have seen a wave of new contract forms and finance mechanisms, which offer
alternatives to the dominant business models in the market. For instance,
the emergence of pay‑for‑success, value‑based, and outcome‑based solutions,
which all reward impacts rather than activities, services, and products (Carter
& Ball, 2021; Savell & Airoldi, 2020). What all of these models have in com‑
mon is a dissatisfaction with current performance criteria, which is said to
work against desired public and private goals. For instance, the healthcare
system has been criticized for focusing too much on treating diseases rather
than preventing them.
A good example of new contract forms and finance mechanism is the emerg‑
ing field of social impact bonds (SIBs), which have gained momentum in the
last decade (La Torre et al., 2019; Andersen, 2023). A SIB can be defined as:
“an innovative financing mechanism in which governments or commission‑
ers enter into agreements with social service providers, such as social enter‑
prises or non‑profit organizations, and investors to pay for the delivery of
pre‑defined social outcomes” (OECD, 2016, p.4). The SIBs thus bring together
actors in a new form of cross‑sector collaborative business model and change
the fundamental logic of public service provision. However, some of the new
contract forms and financing mechanisms have shown to experience signifi‑
cant implementation challenges, e.g. high transaction costs, inadequate data
infrastructure, and lack of organizational competencies (Andersen, 2023).
From a contracting perspective, it remains more complex to reward multiple
 Innovative business models 57

stakeholders for collaborating on long‑term impacts than compensating a

­single stakeholder for activities provided or units sold.
An underlying problem of new forms of contracting is linked to the con‑
cept of value. Even though it is possible to design a business model based on
a more holistic perspective of stakeholders and value, it can be difficult to
make contracts that accurately account for the value created and the con‑
tributions of the stakeholders. For instance, it might be that it is difficult
to estimate the cultural value of a historical city, and the costs and benefits
from, e.g. cultural tourism, may differ in time and be unevenly distributed
among the stakeholders who ensure its maintenance and development (e.g.
individual citizens, community groups, tourism businesses, municipalities,
government, etc.). At worst, failure to align the interests can create stake‑
holder tensions as reflected in the recent local protests against mass tour‑
ism at popular destinations. Therefore, a business model requires formal and
informal contracts which ensure a fair distribution of benefits between the
network of stakeholders involved in the value creation. Some of the chal‑
lenges, dilemmas, and solutions will be described in the following case from
Granada. Here, the province of Granada has experimented with new, innova‑
tive payment‑for‑service contracts, which is intended to secure water supply,
preserve historical heritage, and promote cultural tourism along the tradi‑
tional irrigation systems.

4.4 Payment‑for‑service contracts in villages of the province

of Granada (Spain) with traditional irrigation systems
In a number of villages and towns of the province of Granada,1 a series of
payment‑for‑service‑contracts have been formalized or are being negotiated
at the time of writing as a result of the INCULTUM project’s impulse to
develop a sustainable cultural tourism offer with its point of departure in
the cultural heritage represented by the traditional irrigation systems. This
case‑based part of the chapter is based on the experience from Granada,
where the INCULTUM team from the University of Granda has served as
facilitator in the processes of negotiating the payment‑for‑service contracts.2
The principal stakeholders of these contracts are, on the one hand, the irri‑
gators’ communities that have been responsible for these territorial commons
since times immemorial and, on the other, the town councils, that are to ben‑
efit indirectly from the increased activity following the sustainable increase in
cultural tourism. There already exists an informal relationship between both
institutions and, in many cases, a prior collaboration, which however does
not have a legal framework. In fact, this collaboration in many cases takes
place in a sort of a‑legality, because, for example, when the town council
performs work on an irrigation ditch in support of the community, it does
so on a property that is not public. The contracts thus formally recognize, in
many cases for the first time, a service that the irrigators’ communities have
always provided namely a stable supply of drinkable and irrigation water to
58 Carsten Jacob Humlebæk and Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen

those living in the municipalities in question as well as those living in other

municipalities downstream due to aquifer recharge. But these ancient water
management infrastructures also have multiple environmental, cultural, and
economic functions and the contracts are also aimed at recognizing the eco‑
system services that the irrigators’ communities and the irrigation systems
provide to the villages and the common good. The arid zones where these
communities are situated are particularly subject to the effects of climatic
change, which, however, are mitigated by the irrigation systems. They regu‑
late the hydrological cycles increasing the availability of water in the basin
through aquifer recharge thus also increasing soil fertility. The irrigated areas
maintain a highly diverse agricultural production and provide green, ecologi‑
cal corridors that help to maintain a high biodiversity and have significant
climate regulation effects providing cooler local climate and higher humidity.
In doing so, these areas also serve as fire breakers in the case of wildfires and
ensure availability of water for fire extinction.
Apart from these ecosystem services, the irrigation infrastructures are com‑
mons with a long historical tradition dating back, at least, to medieval times
and thus play an important role in the culture and history of many regions.
They are deeply rooted cultural systems which apart from distributing water
in an equitable way and maintaining the common good through participa‑
tory and democratic structures are also indispensable for understanding the
shaping of the cultural landscape and local identity.3
There is nothing new in this, which is actually part of the point. These hydro‑
logical systems with their accompanying cultural and social infrastructure are
precisely part of a living heritage, but their value has often been neglected
in recent decades due to modern agricultural trends which in these areas are
based on pumping up water from underground aquifers. But what has been
argued by agricultural consultants to be a more efficient use of water than
the traditional irrigation systems has precisely proven to be unsustainable since
modern agriculture drains aquifers without recharging them and thus in the
medium term reduces soil fertility ultimately favouring desertification in these
arid areas. The battle over water resources is increasing in many places in Spain
and in other countries in Southern Europe these years. The recent controversy
regarding the strawberry farming based on pumping water from underground
aquifers on the borders of the internationally important Doñana National
Park, in Southern Spain with devastating effects on the protected wetlands in
the national park is a case in point.4 The aquifers are being drained and the
water levels are dropping, but similar dynamics around sustainable vs. unsus‑
tainable water use is at play in many other places.
In this perspective of sustainable water management, the traditional irriga‑
tion communities have received a renewed appreciation of their services over
the last years, which has led to a sort of rediscovery that has been coupled
with an interest in developing its potential in terms of cultural tourism. Along
the irrigation channels, there always are service pathways for maintaining and
repairing the channels. These are normally not open to the public since they
 Innovative business models 59

pass on private property and the irrigation communities have been ­hesitant
to give public access due to having to cope with the wear and tear of the use
of the path with nothing in return. But in the villages mentioned above, the
payment‑for‑service contracts have been able to overcome the resistance of
the landowners along the irrigation channels in return for recognition and
assistance in maintenance and repair derived from public use. The success
of the proposal of developing the service pathways into cultural routes is a
consequence of this recognition, as they are areas of high cultural, environ‑
mental, and landscape value. Apart from recognizing the ecosystem services
that these irrigation communities have always provided, the contracts thus
also guarantee public access to a least one of the service pathways along the
ditches that can be turned into a coherent cultural route, which is then sign‑
posted, homologated by the relevant authorities, and promoted on local, pro‑
vincial, and specialized sector webpages such as those of hiking associations
(Correa Jiménez et al., 2024/in Press; Martín Civantos et al., in Press/2024).
The possibility of developing a cultural tourism offer has thus spurred a
contractual development that has become a way to ensure a positive impact
on the irrigation communities. For the members of the irrigation commu‑
nities, in their majority farmers and livestock farmers, the development
represents a possibility to diversify their economic activity through the multi‑
functionality of the traditional agrarian systems and the services and benefits
they generate. The alternatives from the agricultural and productive point of
view are only intensification and industrialization or abandonment, which
both have enormous negative impacts at an environmental and social level
and are associated with very short future perspectives from the point of view
of environmental sustainability (due to resource depletion) and, therefore,
also at an economic level.
These agreements are quite often very simple, particularly because they are
village councils that have limited powers and economic capacity. Often the
simple fact of receiving the recognition and collaboration of the town council
is enough for the irrigation community to see support. Sometimes the town
councils can only collaborate with their own means like, for example, some
small machinery, construction materials, the wavering of building license fees
if needed, administrative support, the lending of municipal premises for the
irrigation community to meet, etc. Another element that is often highly val‑
ued by both sides is the possibility of collaborating to request aid or subsidies
jointly or through the municipality. The money eventually obtained through
such channels can then be used wholly or in part by the municipality to work
on and invest in the community’s irrigation ditches and infrastructure. At
issue here are plans and programs to which the irrigation communities do not
have access because they cannot be applicants or because they do not have
the capacity to request and justify them or to advance the money, such as
employment plans or rural, heritage or tourism development plans. The idea
of the contracts is that they serve as an umbrella for this stable collaboration
and generate a positive dynamic that allows progress, overcoming situations
60 Carsten Jacob Humlebæk and Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen

of blockage, working jointly between institutions as something normal which

gives greater visibility to the irrigation communities and the irrigation systems.
The agreements should also serve to regulate and resolve problems that
tourism may cause like, for example, damage to the irrigation ditch that
the irrigation community cannot cope with, increased maintenance needs, or
even problems with the theft of agricultural products on farms. The contract
is not only a document, but a tool for dialogue between institutions and
between neighbours, to solve problems and provide support to the commu‑
nity and the territory.

4.5 Innovation and experimental development of contracts

In Figure 4.1, we have outlined how the payment‑for‑service contracts help
alleviating the potential conflict of interests between stakeholders involved
in the maintenance and developing of the irrigation system in Granada. Cur‑
rently, the irrigation communities play a key role in maintaining the historical
heritage and providing important community services. Moreover, they are keys
for developing cultural tourism by providing public access to service pathways
along the historical irrigation systems. However, currently, the irrigation com‑
munities do not receive much local acknowledgement of their efforts, neither
financially nor socially. Here, payment‑for‑service contracts between the irri‑
gation communities and the town councils can be a tool for goal alignment
and local recognition. As seen in Figure 4.1, the pay‑for‑service contracts are a
tool for bridging the gap between the (1) core resources and activities (access
to, and maintenance of, cultural heritage by irrigation communities) and

Non-market stakeholder environment

Private sector Public sector Civil society
stakeholders stakeholders stakeholders

Irrigation communities Irrigation systems Beneficiaries

- Maintenance of
irrigation systems and - Cultural heritage - Local citizens
service pathways providing water supply, - Town councils
- Ensure public access for hiking routes, and fire - Hiking associations
cultural hiking routes safety - Tourists
- Preserve cultural
heritage

Finance and accounting system

Economic value of stable Cultural value of Avoid unsustainable use
water supply and historical irrigation of water resources from
tourism systems underground aquifers

Payment-for-service contracts regulate potential conflict between the costs incurred by irrigation communities for
maintaining irrigation systems and the benefits for the local communities and tourists.

Figure 4.1 Payment‑for‑service contracts for historical irrigation systems in Granada.

 Innovative business models 61

(2) the needs and wants of customers/beneficiaries (local citizens, town coun‑
cils, hiking associations, and tourists). Ultimately, the payment‑for‑service
arrangements tie the business model components together and lay the founda‑
tion for the development of cultural tourism in the region.
The “payment‑for‑service” agreements are pioneering and will serve as an
example for other irrigation communities and public entities. The main inno‑
vation is actually the contracts themselves. As explained above, there is quite
a lot of literature on payment for services but mostly from theoretical points
of view on the identification and accounting of these services or on the per‑
ception of citizens and other stakeholders.5 However, there are virtually no
practical experiences or proposals to put them into practice. In this sense, the
contracts that are being developed in Granada are in themselves a novelty.
The focus has not been on how many ecosystem services the historical irriga‑
tion systems provide or their typology and classification from a theoretical
perspective, but rather on negotiating real‑life, practical issues directly with
the stakeholders involved, which means to develop them experimentally with
the irrigation communities and the town councils that represent the closest
level of public administration. The main interests of the INCULTUM team
were to make a practical proposal, which would intervene directly in and
have a practical effect on people’s lives and on local economic and productive
policies and strategies. To achieve this, the interests and needs of the partici‑
pating institutions had to be taken into account just as the previously exist‑
ing relationship between them, including conflicts, which in some cases had
been dragging on for a long time. If negotiations had not taken their point
of departure in those interests and needs, they would have been much more
complicated or have led to failure. Furthermore, the contracts also need to
consider the capacities both economic as well as in terms of work force of the
two parties and the powers of the town councils, which are actually very lim‑
ited, since we are talking about small municipalities and their responsibilities
do not include agriculture, the environment, nor cultural heritage or water
(beyond urban water supply). These are the reasons why the agreements have
been based on four elements:
Two of the elements are more generic and have to do with the well‑being
of the citizens and the territory in general as well as with the good relation‑
ship between the municipality and the local irrigation community:

1 Environmental benefits and landscape maintenance.

2 The social (and economic) importance of the irrigation community (all
neighbours are also usually community members) and the sense of identity
of the community and the irrigation space.

The other two elements are more specific and this is where the issue of the
need for the agreement and a more formalized collaboration was raised:

3 Formal recognition of the service of providing urban water supplies, which

in many cases depend directly on the irrigation community (recharging
62 Carsten Jacob Humlebæk and Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen

of aquifers and springs, the use of the irrigation ditch to carry water for
the drinking water cisterns, transfer of water for supply that historically
belonged to the community…).
4 The proposal to make a cultural trail along one of the irrigation channels,
as a service that the irrigation community makes available to the munici‑
pality, but from which it does not benefit directly.

Added to these main elements, is in many cases the possibility of using the
agreement as a way to iron out differences and conflicts, reach agreements to
resolve them and put them in writing for mandatory compliance. The inter‑
vention of the INCULTUM Granada team has been mediation and facilita‑
tion, but also to serve as guarantors of the agreement and its compliance.
The role of the local community is decisive in these often very small
municipalities in a rural context, because they influence key aspects such as
(1) personal and family relationships; (2) very local identity issues; (3) the
relationship of the community or the town council with other local insti‑
tutions/companies/associations; (4) the relationship with other administra‑
tions and institutions outside the territory but with interests or powers that
directly influence the local community; (5) regulations on, e.g. environmental
or heritage protection, territorial planning, hydraulic planning, agricultural
policies; (6) development strategies that depend on regional or central gov‑
ernments and the related public investments, lines of aid, and subsidies and
the possibility of accessing them; and (7) the productive context influencing
agricultural intensification processes, abandonment processes, or develop‑
ment of rural and cultural tourism.

4.6 Perspective impact beyond Granada

The contracts so far formalized and the ones in process are all contracts
between a municipality and the local irrigators’ community as the only for‑
mal stakeholders and signatories. The management of irrigation systems has
a very direct influence at the local level and the relationship between the two
stakeholders is characterized by relative symmetry in so far as there normally
is only one irrigators’ community in a municipality which has facilitated the
negotiations. This does not mean that other stakeholders are not interested
in or have some kind of stake in the process such as local associations or
local action groups,6 but as these stakeholders are not directly involved in the
exchange of services at the heart of the contracts, they are not signatories.
In the medium to long term, however, the strategy is to involve more
stakeholders, particularly more institutions and more levels of public and
semi‑public administration, especially those directly related to water manage‑
ment such as the hydrographic confederations, each of which is responsible
for the administration of water in a river basin in Spain. But to achieve this
will be much more complicated process and require a lot of additional efforts;
furthermore, it will almost surely involve changing the type of agreement.
 Innovative business models 63

The strategy also is to expand the number of agreements that communities

sign with other administrations and institutions within the scope of their
powers and interests; it could also be with private entities, for example, enter‑
ing into the market for carbon credits. However, due to the difficulties that
this entails, the focus so far has been on the local level and on formalizing
practical agreements and hopefully thereby inspiring further development.
The formula of the agreements is solid and it is replicable in many other
areas such as the entire agricultural field where these services and benefits are
generated. You only need to change the historical irrigation system for other
productive systems and other stakeholders such as extensive livestock farm‑
ing, the uses of the mountain pastures, forest areas, or traditional pathways.
A dialogue must be established between the principal stakeholders and com‑
mon interests must be identified, both the more generic or abstract as well
as the more specific interests focused on the specific services offered and paid
for or on the resolution of conflicts or on the mutual benefit of collaborating
to raise funds with respect to other administrations. Apart from these general
rules, there are no unique formulas that are valid for all situations. Some‑
times, other experiences and agreements may serve as models or inspiration,
but it is always necessary to adapt it to reality and the local context.
The payment‑for‑service contracts call for further research in the future.
Service‑based, financial arrangements are not beyond reproach even though
they hold potential for supporting, e.g. local community development and
sustainable tourism. For instance, it can be difficult for the parties to define
adequate service levels, e.g. when it comes to maintenance of the cultural
sites. What is the right service level and how should fulfilment of targets
be remunerated? Fundamentally, the value of cultural heritage can be dif‑
ficult to define, quantify, and include in a contract. Moreover, decisions
have to be made about how to measure and control compliance with the
­payment‑for‑service contracts. Payment‑for‑service contracts without func‑
tioning control mechanisms will leave room for various types of opportunism
from all parties involved, which will undermine the business model. In other
words, payment‑for‑service contracts come with transaction costs, which
need to be counted in when deciding to move forward with these financial
arrangements. However, the transaction costs are likely to be reduced, as the
parties gain more experience with the design and implementation of these
contracts.

4.7 Concluding remarks

Cultural tourism depends on the successful collaboration between multiple
local stakeholders, who work together to keep the cultural sites alive and
attractive for visitors. The importance of collaboration is well illustrated in
the case of Granada, which shows how the health of the cultural heritage
is determined by the joint efforts of town councils, irrigators’ communities,
hiking associations, and other stakeholders. Ultimately, cultural tourism
64 Carsten Jacob Humlebæk and Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen

is a collaborative business model that require concerted action in order to

create, deliver, and capture value from visitors. However, some cultural
­
sites are experiencing an uneven distribution of value from cultural tour‑
ism, which can potentially undermine the long‑term sustainability of cultural
attractions. Moreover, lack of coordination and collaboration increase the
risk of a sub‑optimization and silo‑thinking at the expense of the local com‑
munities. Here, payment‑for‑service contracts can help regulating the rela‑
tionships between the stakeholders and incentivize the parties to work for
the benefit of the local community. Moreover, payment‑for‑service contracts
also give formal recognition to the local groups and individuals who play a
pivotal role in ensuring access to the cultural sites.
In the future, it will be relevant to explore in more detail how different
types of payment‑for‑service models can be applied to preserve cultural
heritage and develop cultural tourism across Europe. It is unlikely that
one payment‑by‑service template works in all contexts. These contractual
arrangements need to be adapted to the business model and the stakeholders
involved. In the future, it will be relevant for theory and practice to conduct
a comparative analysis of contracts used to manage a diverse set of historical
and cultural sites. This research can be used to gain experience on the con‑
tractual forms considered to be most relevant by the key stakeholders. In the
future, it will hopefully be possible to develop a portfolio of easily accessible
contractual models, which can be of value for stakeholders promoting cul‑
tural tourism at different cultural sites and in different geographical contexts.

Notes
1 At the moment of writing (Autumn, 2023), a payment‑for‑services contract has
been formalized and signed in the village of Cáñar and another contract has
been formalized in Castril, which however still awaits the official signing of the
contract. Furthermore, negotiations of other similar agreements are taking place
in Jérez del Marquesado, Pórtugos, Bubión, Capileira, Pampaneira, La Tahá,
Benamaurel, Galera, and Dílar, all in Granada province.
2 For further information on any of these processes, contact memolab@go.ugr.es.
3 “Arguments in defence of traditional and historical irrigation system”, avail‑
able at https://zenodo.org/record/6523629/files/EN‑%20D%C3%ADptico%20
­argumentario%20regad%C3%ADos%20hist%C3%B3ricos.pdf?download=
1 (last visited 16 November 2023). For more information, see https://regadio
historico.es (last visited 26 November 2023).
4 https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/06/23/spanish‑­s trawberry‑growers‑
deny‑using‑illegal‑irrigation‑sparks‑controversy (last visited 26 November 2023).
5 One example of such a theoretical contribution is the EFI Policy Brief No. 7 on
Payment for Environmental Services (Prokofieva et al., 2012).
6 In fact, in various villages, the Rural Development Group of the Altiplano
de ­Granada has shown an interest in the negotiations and actively worked in
favour of the contracts. For information, see altiplanogranada.org (last visited
26 November 2023). Likewise, the Granada INCULTUM‑team has established a
collaboration with the Association Pasos in relation to various parts of the work
that it takes to prepare the contracts. For more information, see https://pasos.
coop (last visited 26 November 2023).
 Innovative business models 65

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5 Navigating landscapes
Approaches to data collection
and analysis in tourism

Karol Jan Borowiecki, Maja Uhre Pedersen,

Sara Beth Mitchell and Shahedul Alam Khan

5.1 Introduction
As we stand at the threshold of a new epoch in cultural tourism, the sig‑
nificance of data analysis in this domain cannot be overstated (Borowiecki
et al., 2023a). The advent of data collection and analysis in tourism marks
a paradigm shift, transitioning from intuition‑based decision‑making to
insights driven by data.1 In this chapter, we endeavour to unfold the layers
of complexity in cultural and nature‑based tourism, addressing the potential
challenges and unveiling the latent opportunities within.2 At the heart of our
discourse is the conviction that data, in its myriad forms, is the key to unlock‑
ing the secrets of tourist behaviours, cultural influences, and their interplay
with the host communities. Data is also essential to understand the impact
of any innovative action within the tourism sector. Here, we embark on a
quest to navigate the intricacies of data collection, its purpose, its potential,
and its profound impact on the realm of tourism. The aim of this chapter is
to illustrate the importance of data, and how data collection and the analysis
can become an integrated part of project planning and management.
Before starting to collect data, it is important to determine the purpose of
the data collection. Cultural and nature‑based tourism can be considered as an
interplay of history, heritage, nature, and humans that makes it challenging to
track the nuances and complexities defining the field. Data collection can be
the foundation of our understanding of tourist behaviours, cultural influences,
and the impact of tourism on host communities. Furthermore, data is also an
important part of evaluating innovative projects within the tourism sector.
To enhance the tourism experience and informed decision‑making, we can
use data to obtain wider and/or deeper insights, and to disclose patterns.
Data on tourism not only develops knowledge for researchers and profes‑
sionals but also creates value to the very communities at the centre of tour‑
ism. The outcome is versatile, ranging from strategies for sustainable tourism
and enrichment of tourist experiences to the protection of heritage. Data
in this field must capture the essence of the culture and the travel experi‑
ence. Deciding the methods of data collection is crucial but can be a chal‑
lenging decision, considering the time and resource constraints. Cultural

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-5
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
 Data collection and analysis 69

indicators, visitor demographics, economic metrics, and more can do the job;
however, it is the objectives of the research that will define the scope. The
approach to data collection should be a blend of art and science, considering
the cultural sensitivity, ethical soundness, and adaptability to circumstances
of the destination. Like any research, the analytical techniques should main‑
tain alignment between the research objectives and collected data. Analysis
should be able to transform data into knowledge that will illuminate our pre‑
liminary research questions. Tourism is a dynamic domain, where progress
measurement goes beyond the quantitative milestones. Sustainable tourism
can be an ideal mechanism for gauging progress by tracking the preservation
of heritage and optimising the impact on the local community. One of the
major challenges that remains is the identification of tactics to use the gath‑
ered knowledge in the continuous development of the pilots.
This chapter unfolds with a focus on data integration in project planning
and management (Section 2), followed by an in‑depth look at data collec‑
tion and handling biases (Section 3). We then explore data analysis through
diverse sources like Eurostat and Tripadvisor (Section 4), concluding with
insights on the impact of these methods in cultural tourism (Section 5).

5.2 Data management

Data can be used during the different phases of implementation of the cultural
tourism projects and should therefore be considered an integrated part of the
project and project planning. In the initial phases data can be used to explore the
opportunities of action, while the collection of data during and after implemen‑
tation can be used to assess the impact of the pilot action. In all cases, data can
come from different sources, based on the needs and intentions of the project.
The importance of collecting data comes from the power of measuring
results at all stages of a project (Gudda, 2011). For example, if the results of
a project are not measured, it is impossible to tell success from failure. If the
success is not measured, it cannot be rewarded and we cannot learn from it.
The use of data is an important part of measuring the results.
There is a large literature regarding both management and program plan‑
ning and evaluation. The field of tourism and specifically cultural tourism is no
exception. Several handbooks have been written to aid the implementation of
successful interventions within tourism (e.g., Smith and Richards, 2013). How‑
ever, in such handbooks, there is little to none coverage on the collection of data.
The data planning should be regarded as an integrated part of the project
planning. It covers the part of decisions regarding what data to be collected,
what methods and tools to use in data collection, and how the data should
be analysed subsequently. It is important to consider the framework of the
project to ensure that the outcomes are aligned with the objectives of the
project. Overall, project planning in cultural tourism can be considered as
a four‑stage process, as illustrated in Figure 5.1, each of which we will now
discuss more in detail. Common challenges such as forms of data, method of
70 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

Pre-planning • Scope local tourism situation

What data should we collect?
How do we collect it?
How should we analyze it?
How do we measure progress?
• Determine project goals, objectives, targets,
Planning actions, indicators

• Continuous tracking and measurement of

Monitoring progress
• Compare against what was planned
What will we use the data for?
• Systematic review of performance
Evaluation • Determine whether goals and objectives are
met

Figure 5.1 Phases in project planning.

Notes: This figure illustrates the different phases of project planning.
Source: Own elaboration based on UNECE (2017); IOM (2021).

collection, analytical tools, and measuring progress of the pilot will usually
be covered in the first two stages of the data planning. On the other hand, the
monitoring and evaluation phases form the purpose of the collection of data
(UN, United Nations, 2009).
The pre‑planning makes use of existing, to analyse the present condition
of the tourism pilot and the surroundings. In this stage, we should ask ques‑
tions like:

• What is the tourism situation at the pilot site/the wider region like now?
• How does the offering at the pilot site fit into the tourism offering of the
wider region?

The second stage is the planning, which includes the determination of goals
and objectives for the project. The planning stage can be divided into four
distinct stages: (1) formulate goals and objectives; (2) develop strategies;
(3) identify polices, programs, projects, and activities; and (4) develop a
monitoring and evaluation strategy. The first step is to identify the intended
achievements and the time frame for these achievements. Once these have
been identified, we can develop the strategies and the action required to reach
the goals. Finally, the planning stage should also consider how the action
should be monitored and how the project progress should be evaluated. To
complete the planning, we should ask questions like:

• What do you want to achieve for tourism in the future and when?
• How will you get from the situation you are at now to where you want to
be in the future?
 Data collection and analysis 71

• What specific actions will you take to implement the strategies?

• How will you measure the progress?

In the monitoring stage, we continuously monitor and measure the progress

within different areas of the project. Here the progress is compared to the
planned metrics such as the maintenance of the time schedule and budget and
the attainment of goals. The monitoring also includes identification of causes
behind delays and unexpected results together with the adaption of the plans
due to changes in circumstances. In this stage, we should ask questions like:

• Are the activities leading to the expected outputs?

• Are activities being implemented on schedule and within the budget?
• What is causing delays or unexpected results?
• Is anything happened that should lead management to modify implemen‑
tation plan?
• How do stakeholders feel about the pilot?

Finally, the evaluation stage consists of a systematical review of the per‑

formance and effectiveness of the goal attainment of the pilot project. This
evaluation should be conducted periodically and should also include an eval‑
uation of the resource usage such as time, financial, and human resources. In
this phase, the following questions should be asked:

• Have the aims/objectives been achieved?

• How well were resources used?
• Are benefits associated with pilot project likely to last?
• Are pilot project aims/objectives/actions responding to the needs of the
local community?
• How well do the project actions fit the needs of the wider region?

In all phases of project planning, it is important to have clear goals. At the initial
stages, it should be determined what achievements the project is aiming for, and
a clear time frame for both the short, medium, and long terms. This will give
stakeholders involved a clear message of all objectives. To set clear objectives, the
SMART criteria is a useful tool. SMART is a set of criteria which guides towards
setting goals to achieve better results in management and was first proposed
in Doran (1981). Even though initially proposed as a tool for management, it
has been further developed and is widely cited within the program planning/
evaluation literature (see, e.g., Bjerke and Renger, 2017; Chen, 2014; Gudda,
2011). The objectives must be specific, where the actions, roles, responsibili‑
ties, and accountabilities must be clearly mentioned. They must be measurable
by developing appropriate metrics to observe, analyse, and verify the outcomes
of the efforts. The objectives must be attainable considering the given time and
resources, and relevant considering whether they are useful in obtaining the
expected outcomes and results. Finally, the objectives must be time‑bounded, i.e.
72 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

they must assign a time budget to achieve the objectives. Once the objectives have
been determined, the actions should be specified together with the targets. This
is the stage where data can be linked to the project. In determining the targets,
we should start by considering the baseline situation, i.e. the status quo, without
the implementation of the new project. To determine the baseline situation, his‑
torical data covering the last few years, for example, three to five years, can be
used to see the current levels and trends in the sector. The baseline can be used to
reflect upon the project objectives, actions, and targets. After having determined
the baseline, a few realistic and feasible potential scenarios after implementation
can be compared to this. The potential scenarios should include a best‑case and
a worst‑case scenario together with the most realistic. This part of the planning
helps detecting the best and worst possible outcomes of the project.
There are some potential pitfalls and barriers to effective project planning.
A common challenge is to set too many goals, which will lead to an over‑
whelming work burden. It is also important to avoid goals that are not well
defined or too broad. A poorly defined goal can create confusion and a lack
of focus, hampering the effectiveness of the project. Finally, another obstacle
is determining unachievable aims considering the given time frame, leading
to a potential failure.
A good way to overcome the above challenges is to use the Problem tree
analysis where the problem is mapped out to problem, causes, and effect.
Potentially, the pilot project has the aim of reversing the final effect, e.g. to
reverse depopulation in the area. The main problems behind the cause will
often require wider policy changes that are beyond the scope of the project.
Instead of looking directly at the problems, they can be mapped out into
causes towards which the pilot action can be directed.

5.3 Data collection

Data can be collected during the different phases explained in Section 5.2 and
can come from different sources, primary and secondary. Since the collection
of primary data can be both costly and time consuming, it is good practice
to investigate what data already exist from other studies. In this chapter, we
consider three types of collected data each with its own specific advantages
and disadvantages. In the remaining part of this section, the main focus will
be on the collection of primary data specifically related to the tourism sector,
i.e. visitor surveys. However, part of the discussion can also apply to other
data sources that we will present in Section 5.4.

5.3.1 Data in the pre‑planning phase

As a part of the pre‑planning process, it is important to develop a profile of the

local tourism industry and a profile of the visitors. The key elements of the
tourism industry profile are illustrated in Table 5.1 panel (a) together with
the list of actions to take. The local tourism industry profile is used to identify
the scope of tourism and the related problems to be solved. The first two ele‑
ments consider existing factors that have an impact on the project and help
 Data collection and analysis 73

Table 5.1 Content of tourism and visitor profiles

Panel (a) Local tourism industry profile

Tourism resources and assets List of attractions
List of Facilities
Institutional elements List of stakeholders
Overview of local tourism sector
Local government capacity
Infrastructure
Tourist concerns List of possible concerns of tourists
Panel (b) Visitor profile
Visitor demographics Age
Gender
Nationality
Who they travel with (number, type)
Characteristics of stay Length of Stay
Overnight stay
Travel as part of a package tour
Which attractions do they visit
What is the estimated spending
Site discovery How did they hear about the site
What resources were used to explore/learn before visiting
Site‑level information Profile visitors from wider area or region
Attract new tourist segment(s)
Draw part of existing tourist segment(s)
Notes: This table illustrates the content of a profile of the local tourism industry in panel a and of a
visitor profile in panel b.
Source: Own illustration based on UNECE (2017).

identifying what new possibilities can be created. The third element consider
possible concerns of visitors such as lack of public transportation, disability
access, language barriers, theft, hazards, etc. These are all areas of improve‑
ment of the existing infrastructure and possibilities.
The elements of the visitor profile can be seen in Table 5.1 panel (b),
together with a list of content/questions to ask about the visitors. The visitor
profile helps identifying the market of local tourists and their needs. The first
part of the profile covers basic information about demographics of the visi‑
tors and the characteristics of the stay. The second part relates to the visited
site. Here, it is especially important to know how they have heard about the
place. In case of projects creating new attractions/sites, it might not be possi‑
ble to have site level information about the visitors. In this case, a visitor pro‑
file should be created for the wider area/region and it should be considered
what segments of tourists to attract. In some cases, the visitor profile will
show that the new site should attract new segments, while, in other cases,
it is possible to draw from the existing tourist segment(s) of the wider area.

5.4 Data considerations

Before presenting the collected data, there are some important steps to
take. First, the data should be cleaned up, to ensure accurate and reliable
74 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

results during the analysis. Secondly, the missing values should be treated
­properly. Finally, different potential biases in the data should be considered
and discussed.
To clean up the data, we look for errors such as missing and extreme val‑
ues. It is good practice to double check the data and create a summary table
with min, max, and average values to check for abnormalities. If the data set
is large, it can be an option to do nothing, especially if the margin of error
is small. However, for small data sets, treating the errors is important. The
errors can only be corrected if the accurate answer can be confirmed or if the
intention is obvious. Otherwise, the solution could be to delete the incorrect
observations. If data is deleted, it is important to assure that the mistakes are
not systematic and the exclusion criteria should be transparent.
Treating missing values can be a tricky task. First of all, it is important to
get an overview of how many missing values exist and for which variables. It
is also good practice to get an understanding of why the values are missing.
For example, in a survey, it is always suggested to include an option such as
“I don’t know”, “I don’t want to answer”, “not applicable”, etc. Once the
missing values have been identified, one possibility is to determine if the miss‑
ing values can be imputed based on other available data. If imputation is not a
possibility, another solution is to exclude the missing values or variables with
many missing values from the analysis. In all circumstances, it is important to
determine if the data are missing at random or systematically. If data is sys‑
tematically missing, the implications or potential bias should be considered.
Finally, different biases can distort the results and conclusions from the
actual scenario. It is not always possible to treat biases in the data, but a
section should be dedicated to a discussion of the potential biases acknowl‑
edging their existence and, in case, they are dealt with, how this is done.
Biases can exist in all types of data collection methods, but when the data is
collected from surveys, there are two main groups of biases which can occur:
respondent biases and researcher biases (IOM, 2021)
Respondent biases are biases related to the answers provided in the sur‑
vey questionnaire. We will go through some of the common potential biases
and how they can be treated. Often, respondent biases can be reduced by
constructing an adequate questionnaire which reduces the risk of a biased
answer. In other cases, the bias should be treated during the initial phases of
selecting the representative sample.
Selection Bias: Selection bias can arise when certain groups of respondents
may systematically agree or disagree to participate. It can be a concern when
people volunteer to participate in a study as a respondent, they may answer
differently than the people who did not volunteer.
Non‑response bias: This refers to respondents who refuse to or are not
able to respond to the study. In such a case, the collected data will not prop‑
erly represent the perception of the target population.

• Attrition bias: If a study requires more than one round of answers from
the same respondents, there is a risk of attrition bias. The data collected
 Data collection and analysis 75

may fail to represent the population, if respondents drop out of the study
mid‑way through and force the project personnel to adjust the sample.
• Acquiescence bias: When respondents have the tendency to respond
positively towards every question in the survey, it creates biases. In this
regard, questions can be revised in a form to get the actual reply from the
respondents.
• Social desirability bias: In this bias, the respondents tend to give what they
think is the socially acceptable answer. To deal with this bias, the question
asked should be indirect, so that they do not have the pressure of social
acceptance while answering (see e.g. Fisher, 1993).
• Anchoring bias: Regarding this bias, the respondent’s answer is influenced
by a reference point. In answering questions, respondents may rely on
the information given in the earlier stages of the survey. This information
can work as an anchor and influence them to give a biased answer. The
best way to deal with this bias is to avoid leading or suggesting language,
provide diverse perspectives, and randomise the order of questions while
preparing the survey questionnaire.
• Recall bias: In some cases, the respondents may have difficulty remember‑
ing certain information. In such issues, we may refer to them some key
facts that will help them to recall the relevant information.

Of particular relevance in when conducting visitor surveys is the social

desirability bias, which can have important implications for the results. In
Dahlgren and Hansen (2015), they explain how the nationality of the inter‑
viewer can influence the answers of the respondents. When the interviewer is
of the same nationality as the target destination, they show that respondents
will assess more positively the attraction. Therefore, the quite common prac‑
tice of a local or domestic interviewer who interviews tourists at a destination
is severely prone to biased results and should be taken into account when
planning the survey.
The second category of biases is related to the person conducting the sur‑
vey/analysis, known as researcher bias.

• Question‑order bias: The sequence of questions may influence the response

and create bias. Selection of words and presentation of ideas may create a
partial impression in the mind of the respondents and influence the subse‑
quent answers. To reduce the impact of this bias, general information can
be sought before specific information.
• Leading questions/wording bias: Wording as mentioned earlier may nudge
the respondent to a particular answer. To reduce this bias, researchers
should frame questions using the language familiar to the respondents and
refrain from paraphrasing their responses from their own perspective.
• Confirmation bias: Researchers focus on information that reinforces or
confirms their hypothesis or belief. To reduce the bias, the personnel
should frequently review the imprints of respondents and question exist‑
ing assumptions and hypotheses.
76 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

5.4.1 Presenting the results

The presentation of the data is vital in the communication of the findings of

the pilot project. The presentation and discussion of the data should be based
on knowledge and understanding of the data and the topic of study. Further‑
more, the data should be put in the context of short‑ and long‑term trends
and explore relationships, causes, and effects. In the following, two common
ways to present data will be explained: tables and charts.
Smaller presentation tables are usually used to supplement the informa‑
tion given in the text and contain key figures of the results, i.e. summary
statistics. On the other hand, reference tables are longer tables that contain
the exact data. These are usually only referred to, and not presented directly
in the text.
The charts are used as a way to visualise the results, and a well organised
graph can contain large amounts of information. There are different types of
charts each with a specific purpose. Deciding which one to use depends on the
results we want to illustrate and what knowledge the reader should obtain
from the graph. It is also important to consider the target reader and adapt
the charts to the level of understanding of the reader. Charts are very good
when we want to compare variables, e.g. comparing the number of visitors in
two different periods. They can also be used to show changes over times, e.g.
a line chart showing the change in the number of visitors over the last years. A
chart showing the frequency distribution can illustrate occurrences within dif‑
ferent categories such as visitors using different types of transportation. Finally,
charts are useful to show correlations between variables such as the correlation
between the number of tour guides in a location and the number of visitors.
The following guidelines prepared by UNECE (2009) are useful to take
into consideration when presenting the data:

• The target group: Tailor the writing according to the knowledge and inter‑
ests of the target group.
• The role of the graphic in the overall presentation: Graphs can only add
value to the presentation when aligned with the intended message of the
report in terms of highlighting contrasts or emphasising trends.
• How and where the message will be presented: The approach to presenta‑
tion will vary depending on the platforms and the audience.
• Contextual issues that may distort understanding: It is important to con‑
sider the socio‑cultural, historical, or economic issues that may distort the
understanding of the audience.
• Whether textual analysis or a data table is the better solution: Plain textual
analysis can be more effective than a complicated table in highlighting the
valuable insight of a circumstance.
• Accessibility considerations: Everyone should be able to access and under‑
stand the data, regardless of technology and disabilities.
• Consistency across data visualisations: The use of colours, scales, and
labelling norms should be consistent across data visualisations.
 Data collection and analysis 77

• Size, duration, and complexity: Consider that, when a long report is pre‑
sented to the audience, requiring a huge amount of time to read, it makes
the understanding more complex.
• Possibility of misinterpretation: When readers lack the literacy to inter‑
pret graphs, charts, and complex statistics, it creates possibilities for
misinterpretation.

In conclusion, when presenting data, it is important to have a clear message and

to keep the information simple without providing unnecessary information. It is
also important to make sure that missing values and abbreviations are explained
properly in the text. Finally, the target audience should be kept in mind.

5.4.2 Visitor surveys

We will here cover some of the important considerations the pilot should include
when conducting visitor surveys to obtain data. The survey can be conducted in
different ways, most commonly via an online survey or a physical survey (e.g.
paper questionnaire). The visitor survey should collect data on demographics of
the visitors (what kind of people visit, where are they from, how long are they
staying, etc.). This survey can also include questions about the visitor experi‑
ence (how would they rate their trip, how likely are they to recommend the site
to others, etc.). In some cases, the pilot project involves digital platforms (for
examples, see Borowiecki et al., 2016). Here, an effort should be made to collect
data on digital engagement and (if feasible) conduct a survey of online visitors.
It is possible to collect basic information about digital engagement/website visi‑
tors using tools such as Google analytics. Appendix A provides a sample visitor
survey with an introduction and questions to be asked.
To have reliable and useful results, visitor surveys should be conducted on
a day‑to‑day basis for all visitors at the site. For more remote sites where this
is not possible, an effort should be made to conduct a visitor survey twice a
year (once during low season and again during high season). During each of
these survey periods, an effort should be made to conduct the survey at least
once on a weekday (Monday‑Thursday) and at least once on a weekend (Sat‑
urday or Sunday). Furthermore, it is important that the survey is distributed
randomly to all visitors to assure that the results are representative.
Finally, it is important to consider the content of the survey, to assure
that it fits to the potential respondents. For example, people walking a trail
may not have the patience to conduct a long survey while online users who
actively use the digital tool may have better conditions to take a longer sur‑
vey. It is also important that the questions are impartial, clear, and precise to
reduce potential biases and missing values.

5.5 Data analysis

Throughout this chapter, we have emphasised the importance of data in all
steps of a project, from pre‑planning to implementation and evaluation.
78 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

Large Sample size Small

Official statistics Data scraping Visitor surveys

Eurostat Tripadvisor reviews

Low Level of disaggregation and information High

Figure 5.2 Selected data sources.

Notes: This figure illustrates different data sources together with their sample size and level of
aggregation and information.
Source: Own illustration.

A special focus has been on data collected from primary sources such as visi‑
tor surveys. However, the type of data to be collected is specific to the avail‑
able budget, context, and needs.
The aim of this section is to provide an illustrative example of an analysis
of tourism trends in a selected location, using different sources of data, each
with its own advantages and limitations. The analysis complements the previ‑
ous sections, by providing different sources of data, and briefly explaining the
advantages and limitations in using each of them. Furthermore, it is also an
illustration of how a simple analysis can be conducted, and how the data can
be used and presented to show tourism trends. This section also illustrates
how alternative and innovative data sources can be implemented. Finally,
it improves the understanding of the different data sources, by illustrating
what type of information, and at what level of detail, each source can offer.
As mentioned in Section 5.3, data can be collected from both primary and
secondary sources, and exist at different levels of aggregation and with differ‑
ent levels of information included. We will present data from the following
three sources: Eurostat, Tripadvisor, and INCULTUM pilot visitor surveys.
Each type of data has its own advantages and disadvantages which should
be considered before deciding what data to collect. The list of sources is not
exhaustive, but is illustrative of different levels of detail and aggregation. In
Figure 5.2 we present an overview of the three levels of data presented in this
section. Each of the three selected sources will be explained in the following
subsections. As an illustrative example, we concentrate on the Portuguese
INCULTUM pilot site and present the data from the three aforementioned
sources to show details about tourism and tourists in this location.

5.5.1 Official statistics

At the highest level of aggregation, we have data from official statistics such
as Eurostat. Official statistics have the advantage of being a reliable source
and comes with a large sample size and are comparable across countries and
over time. However, data is usually highly aggregated both in time and space,
 Data collection and analysis 79

2000 1500
Arrivals (in 1000s)
1000 500
0

2016m1 2017m1 2018m1 2019m1 2020m1 2021m1 2022m1

Month
Domestic arrivals Foreign arrivals

Figure 5.3 Eurostat domestic and foreign arrivals over time.

Notes: This figure shows the number of domestic and foreign Eurostat arrivals over time in
Portugal.
Source: Official statistics from Eurostat (2023).

meaning that it can be hard to detect effects for smaller units such as the
region, city, or attraction level. Usually, official statistics also have a limited
amount of information at the individual level, meaning that they cannot be
used to establish effects regarding the visitors of a specific location. We pre‑
sent data related to tourism provided by the statistical office of the European
Union, Eurostat. Eurostat provides the number of arrivals at tourist accom‑
modations by month and country, and separately for domestic and foreign
visitors (Eurostat, 2023). An arrival at a tourist accommodation establish‑
ment is defined as a person (tourist) who arrives at a tourist accommodation
establishment and checks in. There are made no restrictions on age, meaning
that adults as well as children are part of the statistic. Same‑day visitors who
spend only a few hours (no overnight stay) are excluded from this statistic. In
Figure 5.3, we show the number of domestic and foreign arrivals in Portugal
over time for the period 2016–2022. From Figure 5.3, there is a clear pattern
of seasonality for both domestic and foreign tourists.

5.5.2 Data scraping from Tripadvisor

At the second level, we have alternative data sources, such as data scrap‑
ing which can be used to obtain fairly large samples of data and, at the
same time, contain more information about the visitors and attractions
than the official statistics. In Borowiecki et al. (2024b), we present this
new method relying on reviews collected from the travel portal Tripadvisor
80 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.
4000

25

20
20
3000

No. reviews (in 1000s)

15
Arrivals (in 1000s)

No. reviews (in 1000s)

15
2000

10
10
1000

5
0

0
2016m1 2017m1 2018m1 2019m1 2020m1 2021m1 2022m1

0
Month
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Eurostat Tripadvisor Arrivals (in 1000s)

(a)Change in arrival sand reviews over time (b)Binned scatter plot

Figure 5.4 Validity tests of Tripadvisor data.

Notes: This figure is a visual inspection of the validity of our Tripadvisor data using data from Por‑
tugal. Panel (a) shows the change in Tripadvisor reviews over time together with Eurostat ­arrivals.
Panel (b) shows binned scatter plots between number of Eurostat arrivals and Tripadvisor reviews.
Source: Arrivals from Eurostat (2023) and Tripadvisor reviews from Borowiecki et al. (2023b,
2024a, 2024b) (see Section 4.2 for details).

for all attractions in various countries. In Borowiecki et al. (2023b, 2024a),

we re‑apply the method to collect reviews for all attractions in countries in
which an INCULTUM pilot site is located. The data contains a list of all
reviews in English and native language published by users, together with
information about the user posting the review, and all the attractions in
each country. This gives us a more detailed set of information, including
both the visitors and the attractions. The information included in the data
set are date of the review, name and location of attraction, location of user,
type of visit (e.g. with family or friends), type of attraction (e.g. museum),
rating of the attraction, and travel distance. Before inferring results from
an alternative source like Tripadvisor reviews, it is important to validate
the data. The validation assures that any results obtained from the data are
reliable. Borowiecki et al. (2024b) validate, both through a visual inspec‑
tion and a formal analysis, the pursued approach by comparing the novel
Tripadvisor data to the official statistics from Eurostat. In what follows, we
present methods for a visual inspection.
A simple way to validate the data is by comparing the time trends. In
panel (a) of Figure 5.4, we show the number of Tripadvisor reviews over
time, together with the number of arrivals from Eurostat. The change in
the number of reviews over time follows the change in the Eurostat arrivals
quite well, indicating that the reviews are a good approximation of tour‑
ism flows in Portugal. A second way to inspect the validity is to look at
the binned scatter plot in panel (b) of Figure 5.4 where we illustrate the
correlation between the two variables, arrivals and reviews. The closer the
points are to a straight line, the higher is the correlation. From panel (b) of
Figure 5.4, it is clear that they correlate quite well. Given the high correla‑
tion, we can establish that the Tripadvisor data is a valid way to analyse
tourism flows. Further and more formal validity tests can also be carried out
 Data collection and analysis 81

4000
100 80

3000
Share total reviews (%)

No. reviews
60

2000
40

1000
20 0

0
2016m1 2017m1 2018m1 2019m1 2020m1 2021m1 2022m1
Month
Local Domestic
Europe World
No. reviews

(a) Travel patterns (b) Location of attractions

.4

.4
.3

.3
Share of reviews
Share of reviews

.2
.2

.1
.1

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

0

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Business Couples
Museums Nature & Parks Family Friends
Sights & Landmarks Solo

(c) Attraction categories (d) Visitor category

Figure 5.5 Tourism trends using Tripadvisor data.

Notes: This figure shows different results obtained from the Tripadvisor data. Panel (a) illustrates
travel patterns for the four travel categories: (1) local, (2) domestic, (3) Europe, and (4) world.
Panel (b) shows the location of attractions and number of reviews of each. The grey diamond
indicates the approximate location of the INCULTUM pilot site in Portugal. Panel (c) shows the
share of reviews of different attraction categories related to cultural and nature‑based tourism.
Panel (d) shows the share of reviews for different visitor types.
Source: Tripadvisor reviews from Borowiecki et al. (2023b, 2024a, 2024b) (see Section 4.2 for
details).

by estimating the correlation shown in panel b of Figure 5.4 in a regression

setting and looking at the significance of the estimate (see Borowiecki et al.,
2023b, 2024a, 2024b).
Once the data is validated, we can use it to look at tourism flows in our
selected INCULTUM location in Portugal. Given that we have information
about the individual attractions and users, we can look at a smaller unit of
observation than the country. This analysis can be used to create a profile
of the local tourism trends close to the pilot site and also a broad profile of
the visitors in terms of origin and attraction choices. In Figure 5.5, we show
different results aggregating our data at the NUTS3 level, and concentrating
on the NUTS3 regions close to the location of the Portuguese INCULTUM
pilot site. We identify all attractions located within the NUTS3 region where
the pilot site is located and attractions in the bordering NUTS3 regions. In
82 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

panel a of Figure 5.5, we break the total number of reviews for the selected
NUTS3 regions into four different travel categories: local, domestic, Europe,
and world. The different shades of grey show the share of reviews for each
of the four travel categories, out of the total number of reviews. It can be
noticed that there is a very high share of European visitors, most of which
are from outside Portugal, with the exception of a shorter period following
the Covid‑19 pandemic in 2020. On the other hand, the share of visitors
from outside Europe is quite low. In panel b of Figure 5.5, it is possible to
see the location of all attractions in the selected NUTS3 regions. The size of
each dot is based on the number of reviews at the attraction, while the red
dot indicates the approximate location of the Portuguese INCULTUM pilot
site. There is a clear pattern of the location of attractions and the number of
reviews, with a higher concentration close to the coast and much less attrac‑
tions in the inland. In panel c of Figure 5.5, we go more in detail with the
type of attractions visited. Tripadvisor categorizes each attraction into one or
more categories based on the attraction type. Given that INCULTUM has a
special focus on cultural and nature‑based tourism, we present results for the
three attraction categories most related to these. From panel c of Figure 5.5,
it is possible to see the share of reviews in the three categories: museums,
nature and parks, and sights and landmarks. In the Portuguese pilot area,
there is a high share of visitors to natural sites such as parks, followed by
visits to different sights and landmarks. At the same time, there is a down‑
ward trend in all three categories, indicating that cultural tourism is trending
downwards. Finally, in panel d of Figure 5.5, we illustrate the annual trends
in the type of visitors in the five categories: business, couples, family, friends,
and solo. The share of visitors, going for business is very low in all years
reaching levels well below 5% in all years. The two largest categories are
families and couples constituting more than 30% of all visitors each.

5.5.3 Data from visitor surveys

To complete the presentation of data, we look at the most detailed data,

namely the data obtained from visitor surveys conducted at the pilot site. The
level of information possible from visitor surveys is very high, while the sam‑
ple size is usually quite small, given limited resources and time constraints.
However, the additional information obtainable from a visitor survey makes
this an important part of the evaluation of the pilot action.
An alternative to conducting visitor surveys is to use the surveys conducted
by the European Commission. The European commission conducts surveys
on travel behaviours and motivations based on a harmonised questionnaire
for a large group of countries together with other surveys of national and
international travel behaviour. Such surveys are conducted at the trip level
and are often of a higher quality than a stand‑alone survey. Furthermore,
another important feature of such surveys is the stratified, representative
sampling procedure and results which can be generalised. For examples of
 Data collection and analysis 83

.8

.3
.6
Share of reviews

Share of reviews
.2
.4

.1
.2
0

0
Female Male No response <24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ No response

Winter Summer Winter Summer

(a) Gender (b) Age

1
.8

.8
Share of reviews
.6

Share of reviews
.6
.4 .2

.4
0

.2
Ca zil
en a
Ec ark
En dor

Fr d
er e
Ire ny
nd

th er U s
Po ly
Po and

ot l
Sp d
e N Sw ain
he en

(n u A
N Eur e)
sp )
se
Sc uga

re e
nd
D nad

G anc
an

er (E S
Ita

p
o op
on
et ed
a

a
la

la
m

on ro
ua

rla
Br

gl

l
rt

O Oth
Th

Yes No

Winter Summer Winter Summer

(c) Nationality (d) Heard about Campina de Faro

Figure 5.6 
Results from on‑site visitor surveys conducted in Campina de Faro
(Portugal).
Notes: This figure shows results from visitor surveys conducted in Algarve, Portugal during the
winter 2022–2023 and the summer 2023. In the winter survey, 134 visitors participated while
in the summer survey 92 visitors participated. Panel (a) shows the gender distribution, panel
(b) the age distribution, panel (c) the nationality, and panel (d) the answer to the question: have
you heard about Campina de Faro?
Source: INCULTUM pilot survey data from survey conducted in the Algarve region in Portugal.

the use of such surveys, see Boto‑García et al. (2019) who use survey data
to analyse the length of stay in a particular location and Vergori and Arima
(2020) who study cultural tourism and seasonality.
However, in some cases, there might be very specific requirements for
the survey, such as specific questions about the location, which cannot be
obtained from more generic surveys. In such cases, a new survey can be con‑
ducted to obtain the needed answers.
In Figure 5.6, we illustrate some of the results from two visitor surveys
conducted close to the Portuguese INCULTUM pilot site. The first survey
was conducted in the period December 2022 to January 2023 and a total of
134 visitors participated in the survey. The survey was mainly targeting resi‑
dents and visitors in the Algarve region and the aim was to understand the per‑
ception of the name “Campina de Faro”. The second survey was conducted
84 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

during the summer 2023 and was targeted mainly towards North‑European
beach tourists with a total of 92 respondents. The aim of the second survey
was similar, with a focus on the perception and knowledge of “Campina de
Faro”. Given the different target populations of the two surveys, they are
not entirely comparable. However, they both have a focus on the knowledge
of the pilot site, and hence the results show how different populations per‑
ceive the location, which make the comparison useful. For more details about
how the surveys were conducted, we refer to Chapter 3, where sampling
strategy and representativeness are explained more in detail.
In panel a of Figure 5.6, it is possible to see the gender distribution of the
respondents while in panel b we show the age distribution. In both surveys,
more than two‑thirds of the respondents are women, with a slightly higher
share in the survey conducted during the winter. In terms of age distribution,
there are some differences between the two surveys. In the winter survey, there
is a higher share of visitors between 35 and 49 years of age, while, in the sum‑
mer survey, respondents are more evenly distributed across all age intervals.
In panel c of Figure 5.6, it is possible to see the nationality of the respondents.
In the winter survey, there is a high share of Portuguese respondents, more
than 80% of the sample. This is expected, since this survey was targeted
towards residents. In the summer survey, the distribution of nationality is
more diverse. The highest share of respondents is from ­Germany, followed
by the Netherlands and England. Visitors from both Scandinavia and South‑
ern Europe also have good shares. Finally, the share of visitors from Portugal
is also significant in the summer survey. In panel d of Figure 5.6, we show
the responses to the question “Have you heard about Campina de Faro?”
Clearly, a large share of respondents did not know about the place, especially
in the summer survey where more than 90% answered “No” against about
60% in the winter survey. This difference is reasonable, given the different
target populations, and indicates that especially foreigners are not very aware
about the pilot site. This is an important point given the results from panel
a of Figure 5.5 showing that a large share of tourists visiting the region in
which the pilot is located originate from Europe and outside Portugal.
Together, the analysis of the three selected data types gives a comprehen‑
sive overview of tourists and tourism trends in the Algarve region in Portugal.

5.6 Conclusion
Some regard data to be as valuable as gold. Others contest instead that data
is the new oil. Whether data is shiny or black, the consensus is that it is highly
valuable. Consequently, data has become a crucial foundation for business
decisions and drives economic activities. In some contrast to this, the cultural
heritage sector often does not exploit the full potential of data.
In this chapter, we have underscored the pivotal role of data collection
and analysis in enhancing and understanding cultural tourism. As we have
seen, data serves as a cornerstone in the realm of cultural tourism, not only
 Data collection and analysis 85

for understanding current trends and visitor behaviours but also for planning
and implementing successful cultural tourism projects.
In the initial phases of project planning, data equips stakeholders with
insights to explore opportunities and set realistic goals. The alignment of
data planning with project planning is crucial, ensuring that data collection
and analysis are integral to each phase of a project. This holistic approach
enables a comprehensive understanding of both the tourism situation at pilot
sites and the broader tourism landscape.
The collection of data, whether primary or secondary, presents its own
set of challenges and opportunities. Primary data, particularly from visitor
surveys, offers invaluable insights into visitor demographics, behaviours, and
perceptions. However, it also requires careful consideration in terms of sur‑
vey design, implementation, and data cleaning processes to mitigate biases
and errors.
Secondary data sources vary significantly in their scope and depth. For
instance, Eurostat’s official tourism statistics provide a broad overview of
tourism trends and visitor profiles, offering reliable and large‑scale data.
However, they often lack granularity and specificity, particularly when it
comes to the finer details of individual tourist experiences and behaviours.
On the other hand, novel data‑science approaches, such as the analysis
of reviews from a leading travel portal, open up new avenues for in‑depth
and granular insights. Unlike traditional statistical data, Tripadvisor reviews
offer a wealth of disaggregated information. This includes detailed feedback
on tourist experiences, preferences, and behaviours. More significantly, these
reviews can reveal patterns in tourists’ past travels, their specific interests
in various aspects of cultural sites, and their subjective evaluations of their
experiences. Such data can shed novel light on the nuances of visitor engage‑
ment and satisfaction, providing a more detailed and nuanced picture of cul‑
tural tourism dynamics. However, it is important to note that the collection
and analysis of this type of data are neither cheap nor easy, requiring special‑
ised skills and resources.
Data presentation, a critical step in the process, demands careful consider‑
ation to ensure clarity, relevance, and accessibility. The use of tables, charts,
and other visual aids must align with the intended message and audience,
facilitating effective communication of the findings.
The case studies, particularly the Portuguese INCULTUM pilot, illus‑
trate the practical application of data collection and analysis in cultural
tourism. These examples highlight the diversity of data sources and meth‑
odologies, as well as the depth of insights they can provide into cultural
tourism dynamics.
The realm of cultural tourism is on the cusp of a transformative era,
propelled by the integration of comprehensive data collection and analy‑
sis. This evolution transcends traditional decision‑making and project
planning, paving the way for a deeper, more nuanced understanding of
cultural tourism dynamics. As we navigate this ever‑evolving landscape,
86 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

the strategic harnessing of data emerges not just as a tool, but as a vital
catalyst in sculpting sustainable and enriching cultural tourism experiences.
Looking ahead, it is this symbiosis of data and cultural insight that promises
to redefine the contours of the industry, driving innovation and fostering a
more connected and culturally enriched world.

Notes
1 For an early empirical study of cultural tourism, refer to Borowiecki and Cas‑
tiglione (2014), who investigate the association between participation in cultural
activities and tourism flows in Italian provinces.
2 For a definition of the term cultural tourism see e.g. Du Cros and McKercher
(2020) and nature‑based tourism Kuenzi and McNeely (2008).

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An Appendix
Sample visitor survey

Introduction
This survey is being conducted by [the surveyor (add name)]. The survey is
part of INCULTUM (2021‑2024), a HORIZON2020‑funded project. The
main goal of this survey is to better understand visitors to [add name] and
how we can improve the visitor experience. If you agree to participate, we
will ask you a set of questions about you and your experiences at [add name].
The survey will take approx. 15 minutes time to be answered. Your participa‑
tion is voluntary, and all information will be anonymised and kept strictly
confidential in accordance with the data protection laws and guidelines.

Section A. Visitor demographics

A.1 What is your gender?

 Male
 Female
 Other
 Prefer not to respond
A.2 What is your age?
__________
A.3 What is your country of residence?
__________
A.4 If you live in [add name], please indicate the county/département/provin‑
cia where youlive:
__________
A.5 What is your marital status?

 Single
 Married
 Widowed
 Data collection and analysis 89

 Divorced/separated
 Prefer not to respond
A.6 How many dependent children do you have?
__________
A.7 Which category best describes you?

 In full‑time employment D In part‑time employment D Student

 Unemployed
 Retired/Pensioner
 Housewife/househusband
 Other (please specify): ________
 Prefer not to respond
A.8 What is the highest level of education you have attained?

 Completed secondary school or less

 Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
 Master’s degree/PhD or equivalent

Section B. Details of visit

B.1 Have you visited [add name] before?

 Yes
 No
B.2 If yes, when did you last visit [add name]?

 Within last month

 Within last year
B.3 What is the main purpose of your visit to this area?

 Vacation/holiday
 Visiting friends/relatives
 Education/training
 Conference/large meeting
 Business/small meeting
 Event
 Other
B.4 Which best describes the group you are traveling with?

 I am traveling alone
 A couple
90 Karol Jan Borowiecki et al.

 A family with children

 A group of friends
 A school group
 An organised tour group (not school‑related)
 Other
B.5 How did you arrive at [add name] today?

 Private car, van, or motorcycle (e.g., own, friends, family)

 Rented car, van or motorcycle
 Taxi
 Public bus or coach D Private bus or coach D Train
 Bicycle
 Walk
B.6 Which of the following best describes your visit to the area?

 Day trip
 Overnight stay
B.7 If you are staying overnight, which city are you staying in?
__________
B.8 If you are staying overnight, how many nights are you staying?
__________

B.9 Which of the following best describes the type of accommodation you
are staying in?

 Hotel, motel, hostel

 Guesthouse, bed, and breakfast D Short‑term rental (e.g., Airbnb) D
Caravan, camping
 Home of friend or relative
 Second home
 Other (please describe): ________
B.10 Have you visited any of the following sites in the area? Select all that
apply.

 [add location 1]
 [add location 2]
 [add location 3]
 [add location 4]
 Data collection and analysis 91

Section C. Visitor experience

C.1 How did you find out about [add name]?

 Friends/relatives
 Tourist information centre
 Newspaper or magazine
 Search engine (do not remember which websites) Travel review site
(e.g., Tripadvisor, Google Places) Facebook, blog, other social media
 [add website]
 Other (please specify): _________
C.2 What factors were important for you when choosing to visit [add name]?
Select all that apply.

 Quality of experience
 Good value for money
 Historic interest
 Scenery and countryside
 Peace and quiet
 Friendliness and hospitality of locals
 Environmental impact
 Geographic proximity – I live nearby/I am staying nearby
 Cultural proximity – I identify with what the site represents
 By chance – I was just passing by/I was already visiting an area nearby
A particular event (please specify):
 Other (please specify): ____________
C.3 Please rate your visit to [add name] on a scale of 1 (Very poor) to 10
(Excellent).
__________

C.4 How likely are you to recommend [add name] to someone else on a scale
from 1 (Very poor) to 10 (Excellent)?
6 Participatory models and
approaches in sustainable
cultural tourism
Kamila Borseková and Katarína Vitálišová

6.1 Introduction
Participatory models and approaches in tourism have gained widespread
acceptance as a cornerstone for sustainable tourism. These models not
only assist decision‑makers in preserving traditional lifestyles and uphold‑
ing community values but also play a pivotal role in enhancing the image
and brand of a tourism destination. By offering superior customer services
and fostering innovation, they strengthen the competitiveness of the desti‑
nation. A shift from top‑down decision‑making, participatory models aim
to equitably distribute power among all stakeholders, fostering a collabo‑
rative environment conducive to mutual benefits in tourism development
(Ozcevik et al., 2010; Wang & Fesenmaier, 2007; Cater, 1994; Murphy,
1985; Arnstein, 1969). These participatory approaches align seamlessly
with the Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals, particularly
Goals 8, 11, 12, and 14, which emphasize inclusive growth, sustainable
communities, responsible consumption, and marine conservation. Robson
and Robson (1996) posited that stakeholder participation in tourism offers
a framework for achieving sustainable tourism development. This balance
of power, as highlighted by Vijayanand (2013), bridges the gap between
traditional powerholders, such as governments and investors, and the host
communities directly impacted by tourism initiatives. When this equilib‑
rium is achieved, the result is a more inclusive, equitable, and ultimately
sustainable tourism development. Tourism, as a product, is an amalga‑
mation of diverse activities, with culture being paramount. This chapter
delves deep into identifying and analysing participatory approaches within
culture, cultural tourism, and sustainable cultural tourism. The underly‑
ing rationale is to accentuate the positive impacts of these models while
mitigating the potential adverse effects on social ties, local heritage, and
landscape conservation. Consequently, the primary objective of this chap‑
ter is to furnish readers with a thorough understanding of participatory
models and approaches in culture and cultural tourism, culminating in the
introduction of an innovative framework for sustainable cultural tourism.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-6
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
 Participatory models and approaches 93

6.2 Cultural tourism and sustainable cultural tourism

In recent decades, the concept of cultural tourism has gained prominence,
driven by a surge in international tourists visiting major cultural sites and
attractions (Richards, 2018). Culture, as a key element of tourism appeal,
facilitates access to heritage, art, creativity, and various cultural activities and
practices (Matteucci & Von Zumbusch, 2020). Globalization has prompted
many destinations to recognize the significance of culture in enhancing tour‑
ism offerings, ensuring authenticity, and bolstering a destination’s global
appeal. Consequently, niches such as creative tourism, arts tourism, film
tourism, and literary tourism have emerged (Smith, 2016). While these niches
offer development and marketing prospects, they also present challenges.
Cultural tourism emphasizes the cultural facets of a destination, includ‑
ing its heritage, landscapes, and offerings, often driving tourists’ destination
choices (European Commission, 2019). It engages travellers with the lifestyle,
history, art, architecture, religion, and other cultural elements of a region
(Slocum, Aidoo, & McMahon, 2020). Tourism, in this context, is viewed
positively, as it can monetize heritage attributes, fostering conservation,
community education, and policy influence. When adeptly managed, cultural
tourism can spur sustainable local development, benefiting host communi‑
ties and motivating them to preserve their heritage and cultural practices. It
accentuates intangible heritage elements, offering avenues to promote local
traditions or historical narratives (Slocum, Aidoo, & McMahon, 2020).
A notable subset of cultural tourism is heritage tourism, which is rooted in
local landscapes, architecture, traditions, and stories, emphasizing the unique‑
ness of a place (National Trust for Historical Preservation, 2001). Managing
this form of tourism requires a multidisciplinary approach, balancing cul‑
tural preservation with revenue generation (Ponna & Oka Prasiasa, 2011).
Cultural tourism, while acting as a catalyst for sociocultural transforma‑
tion, has its own set of challenges. It plays a pivotal role in stimulating local
development, fortifying communities, creating job opportunities, and foster‑
ing capacity building. Yet, the very essence of cultural tourism, which often
hinges on the allure of authenticity, can inadvertently lead to the commodi‑
fication and commercialization of cultural heritage. Tourists, driven by their
desire for genuine experiences, can sometimes be complicit in this commodi‑
fication, turning cultural assets into marketable products and diluting their
authenticity (Bitušíková, 2021; Smith, 2009).
As a response to these challenges, the concept of sustainable cultural
tourism has emerged. This approach emphasizes the integrated manage‑
ment of cultural heritage, tourism activities, and community involvement,
striving for a balance that benefits all stakeholders (EC, 2019; McKercher &
du Cros, 2002). By placing cultural heritage and its communities at the
forefront of decision‑making, sustainable cultural tourism ensures that
heritage sites are both celebrated and preserved. It champions authentic
94 Kamila Borseková and Katarína Vitálišová

interpretation and boosts local economies in a sustainable manner. Yet,

even this form of tourism is not without its challenges. Many European
destinations, popular for their rich cultural offerings, face issues of overuse
and overcapacity. This over‑tourism not only strains local resources but
can also lead to environmental degradation and foster negative sentiments
among local communities (EC, 2019; Koens, Postma, & Papp, 2018).
Thus, for cultural tourism to sustainable, it is imperative that policies and
practices respect and uphold the integrity of cultural heritage, ensuring that
its inherent values are not compromised in the pursuit of economic gains
(Council of Europe, 2005; Timothy & Nyaupane, 2009). Good example is
the project ‘Participatory Conversion of Historical Irrigation Systems into
Cultural Routes’, located in Spain’s Altiplano de Granada. This project is
dedicated to empowering local communities by leveraging cultural herit‑
age as a catalyst for transformative change. It aims to establish a platform
for inclusive decision‑making, leading to sustainable development and the
preservation of rural heritage. This approach not only respects and revital‑
izes historical practices but also aligns them with contemporary needs and
aspirations, ensuring a balanced and sustainable future for the region (for
more information, see Civantos et al., 2023).
Emerging sustainable cultural tourism paradigms are increasingly focusing
on strategic planning, networking, and innovative concepts that cater to the
evolving preferences of today’s travellers. Concepts such as ‘slow’ tourism
advocate for a more immersive and relaxed travel pace, allowing tourists
to deeply engage with their surroundings and truly experience a destination
(Hall, 2017). ‘Authenticity’ has become a sought‑after commodity in tour‑
ism, with travellers seeking genuine experiences that reflect the true essence
of a place (Wang, 1999). ‘Storytelling’ enhances the visitor experience by
weaving narratives around cultural and historical sites, making them more
relatable and memorable (Mossberg, 2008). The emphasis on ‘well‑being’
reflects the growing trend of wellness tourism, where cultural experiences
are intertwined with health and rejuvenation (Lourens, 2007). Furthermore,
‘contact with locals’ provides tourists with firsthand insights into local cul‑
tures, traditions, and lifestyles, fostering cross‑cultural understanding and
exchanges (Salazar, 2012).
Society’s intricate relationship with cultural heritage goes beyond passive
observation. It encompasses active engagement in its expression, conserva‑
tion, interpretation, and utilization. Heritage communities and individuals
play pivotal roles in shaping and preserving cultural narratives. Far from
being passive recipients or mere ‘audiences’, they are active participants, con‑
tributing significantly to participatory governance, scientific endeavours, and
the holistic management of cultural heritage, as highlighted by EC (2019)
and Bortolotto (2007). An interesting example of this active participation
is the ‘Bulliot, Bibracte et moi’ project, which focuses on transcribing and
digitizing the handwritten excavation notebooks of Jacques‑Gabriel Bulliot.
This project uniquely involved the public in the transcription process through
 Participatory models and approaches 95

authenticity

participation

integrated
management
approach

Figure 6.1 Main features of sustainable cultural tourism.

Transkribus, an online platform where participants trained an AI system to

recognize Bulliot’s handwriting. What sets this project apart is its empower‑
ment of amateurs to undertake crucial tasks, thereby fostering a sense of
community involvement in preserving and interpreting cultural heritage. The
project exemplifies how participatory science can unlock the potential of
archival materials, engage the public in scientific endeavours, and promote a
deeper understanding of archaeological heritage. By combining the expertise
of researchers with public contributions, the ‘Bulliot, Bibracte et moi’ project
not only advances archaeological knowledge but also serves as a valuable
model for future participatory projects in archaeology, culture, and related
fields. For more information on this innovative approach, see Borsekova
et al., 2023. Involvement and active building of heritage communities ensures
that cultural heritage remains dynamic, relevant, and resonant, reflecting the
evolving values and aspirations of the community while preserving its essence
for future generations (Smith, 2006).
Figure 6.1 summarizes the main features of sustainable cultural tourism.
Sustainable cultural tourism underscores the importance of an integrated
approach, harmonizing cultural heritage, tourism activities, and commu‑
nity involvement (EC, 2019; McKercher & du Cros, 2002). This approach
not only ensures that heritage sites are celebrated but also emphasizes
their preservation. A key tenet is a promotion of authentic interpretation,
which not only resonates with tourists but also support local economies
in a sustainable manner. However, this form of tourism is not without its
challenges. Over‑tourism, for instance, has emerged as a significant con‑
cern, straining local resources and potentially leading to environmental
degradation (EC, 2019; Koens et al., 2018). To navigate these challenges,
it’s imperative that policies and practices are crafted with a deep respect for
96 Kamila Borseková and Katarína Vitálišová

cultural heritage, ensuring its integrity remains uncompromised (Council of

Europe, 2005; Timothy & Nyaupane, 2009). As the landscape of tourism
evolves, ­sustainable cultural tourism is increasingly focusing on strategic
planning, networking, and embracing innovative concepts. These include
‘slow’ tourism, ‘authenticity’, ‘storytelling’, ‘well‑being’, and fostering deeper
‘contact with locals’ (Hall, 2017; Wang, 1999; Mossberg, 2008; Lourens,
2007; Salazar, 2012). Cultural tourism, deeply rooted in the rich tapestry of
local heritage and traditions, finds its true sustainable potential when par‑
ticipatory approaches are embraced, ensuring that the voices of local com‑
munities and stakeholders shape the narrative. Hence, the next section is
devoted to outlining participatory approaches in culture, cultural tourism,
and sustainable cultural tourism.6.3 Participatory approaches in culture, cul‑
tural tourism, and sustainable cultural tourism

6.3 Participatory approaches in culture, cultural tourism,

and sustainable cultural tourism
Participatory approaches have emerged as a transformative paradigm in the
realms of culture, cultural tourism, and sustainable cultural tourism. Rooted
in the principle of inclusive decision‑making, these approaches prioritize the
active involvement of local communities, visitors, and other stakeholders, in
shaping cultural narratives and experiences. In the context of cultural tour‑
ism, this means co‑creating tourism products that authentically represent
local heritage, traditions, and values. As the tourism industry grapples with
the challenges of sustainability, participatory methods offer a path forward,
ensuring that cultural tourism not only celebrates and preserves cultural
heritage but also promotes socio‑economic benefits for local communities,
ensuring a harmonious and sustainable future.

6.3.1 Participatory approaches in culture

Culture and cultural heritage are pivotal development factors, enhancing the
quality of life both within communities and in broader contexts. Local culture
plays a crucial role in regional development (Bole et al., 2013; Nared et al.,
2013; Nared & Bole, 2020). Echoing this sentiment, the European Com‑
mission (2014) emphasized the profound economic and social impacts of
cultural heritage and activities, extending beyond cultural tourism to include
the promotion of cultural and creative industries. The term ‘culture‑based
development’ has gained traction in locales seeking innovative development
strategies (Tubadji, 2012). Such development hinges on local actors and their
interrelations (Bole et al., 2013). To be a catalyst for development, culture
must be effectively evaluated, negotiated, and implemented by a diverse group
of stakeholders. The Convention (1972) advocates for the integration of cul‑
ture into community life, necessitating continuous stakeholder interactions,
underscoring the significance of participatory processes (Nared et al., 2013).
 Participatory models and approaches 97

These processes should be grassroots, addressing tangible issues (Alfarè &

Nared, 2014; Nared, 2014; Nared & Bole, 2020). It is evident in practice
by the project ‘Multaka: Museum as Meeting Point – Refugees as Guides in
Berlin Museums’ project. This commendable initiative trains Syrian and Iraqi
refugees to become museum guides, enabling them to conduct tours in Arabic
for other Arabic‑speaking refugees. Not only are these tours offered free of
charge, but the project, aptly named ‘Multaka’ (Arabic for ‘meeting point’),
also serves as a platform for exchanging diverse cultural and historical expe‑
riences (for more information, see Borsekova et al., 2023).
The governance of culture has evolved since the 1980s, with Culture
3.0 marking a significant shift. This paradigm is characterized by innova‑
tions stemming from a transformation in cultural production. Technologies
like radio, television, and cinema democratized access to cultural content
(Sacco et al., 2013, 2018). Culture 3.0 heralded an era where producers pro‑
liferated (Potts et al., 2008), enabling individuals to co‑design, co‑create, and
co‑produce cultural services (Ciolfi et al., 2008). This dynamic aligns with
the concept of ‘prosumerism’ (Duncum, 2011), where individuals both pro‑
duce and consume cultural content (UNESCO, 2009).
Central to Culture 3.0 is an active cultural participation, which transcends
passive consumption, prompting individuals to harness their skills in the cre‑
ative process, thereby redefining their social identities (Sacco et al., 2018).
Cultural participation encompasses both formal events and informal com‑
munity activities, reflecting traditions and beliefs (UNESCO, 2009). It can
be approached horizontally, promoting participation in specific activities, or
democratically, emphasizing citizen influence and control (Eriksson, 2020).
Cultural economics has elucidated the complexities of cultural participa‑
tion, exploring its determinants and its relationship with local and regional
development (Ateca‑Amestoy, 2008; Ateca‑Amestoy & Prieto‑Rodriguez,
­
2013; Falk & Katz‑Gerro, 2016). Cultural participation is important for
redistributing power, ensuring inclusive future processes. The digital revolu‑
tion has ushered in Culture 4.0, intertwining culture and technology. This
phase recognizes the transformative potential of technologies like artificial
intelligence and virtual reality in cultural practices.

6.3.2 Participatory approaches in cultural tourism and sustainable

cultural tourism

Community participation in cultural tourism is a multifaceted concept,

intricately weaving the nuances of culture with the dynamics of tourism.
While the models of cultural participation have been previously delineated,
it’s imperative to delve deeper into the role of community engagement in
tourism. This section aims to elucidate the significance of community par‑
ticipation, its specificities, and, subsequently, the governance and models
in cultural tourism as an alternative form rooted in cultural and tourism
development.
98 Kamila Borseková and Katarína Vitálišová

Murphy (1985) underscored the significance of the host community

in tourism. His work aimed to assess the capacity of local communities to
accommodate tourism by identifying their aspirations and objectives. Adopt‑
ing an ecosystem approach, Murphy emphasized that planning must be intri‑
cate, reaching down to the community level. A growing consensus suggests
that community participation is indispensable for tourism development (Cole,
2006; Botes & van Rensburg, 2000). Such participation ensures community
support for development plans, aligns benefits with local needs, and fosters
democratic processes (Tosun & Timothy, 2003). A participatory approach in
tourism seeks to deviate from unilateral top‑down decision‑making. It aims to
distribute power equitably among stakeholders, fostering a collaborative envi‑
ronment (Ozcevik et al., 2010; Arnstein, 1969). Haywood (1988) defines par‑
ticipation as a shared decision‑making process involving all stakeholders. This
approach values the preservation of traditional lifestyles and community val‑
ues (Murphy, 1985; Wild, 1994; Cater, 1994). Collaborative tourism empha‑
sizes shared experiences, pooling resources, and collective ­problem‑solving
(Vernon et al., 2005). Wang and Fesenmaier (2007) highlight its role in
enhancing destination branding, product development, and fostering innova‑
tion. Empowering communities is essential, recognizing them as integral to
the cultural product and addressing their concerns (Timothy, 2011).
Sustainable tourism acknowledges the pivotal role of community
­engagement (Cole, 2006). Byrd (2007) identifies four stakeholder groups in
­sustainable tourism: present tourists, present host communities, future tour‑
ists, and future host communities. The success of sustainable tourism hinges
on the support of these stakeholders (Gunn, 1994). Robson and Robson
(1996) advocate for a balanced power dynamic between traditional power
holders and host communities, ensuring equitable and sustainable tourism
development.
Community‑based tourism (CBT) emerges as an alternative, focusing on the
benefits for residents in developing regions. It promotes cultural interactions,
hospitality services, and biodiversity conservation (Kiss, 2004; Luccetti &
Font, 2013). CBT emphasizes the importance of local control, shifting the
reins of tourism from external entities to the community itself (Simpson,
2008; González‑Herrera et al., 2022). The World Tourism Organization rec‑
ognizes CBT’s potential to preserve culture, foster innovation, and provide
educational opportunities (WTO & UNEP, 2005).
In the realm of sustainable cultural tourism, participatory approaches have
emerged as a basis for ensuring both the preservation of cultural assets and
the equitable distribution of tourism benefits. As Smith and Richards (2013)
noted in their seminal work, the active involvement of local communities
and other stakeholders in decision‑making processes not only engenders a
sense of ownership but also ensures that tourism strategies are congruent
with local values and aspirations. The transformative potential of informa‑
tion and communication technologies (ICTs) in this context cannot be over‑
stated. Johnson and McCarthy’s (2019) study underscores how ICT can be
 Participatory models and approaches 99

Participation in Cultural Participation in Sustainable

Cultural Participation Tourism Cultural Tourism

•Inclusive decision-making. •Co-creation of tourism •Ensures that cultural tourism

•Active involvement of local products that authentically celebrates and preserves cultural
communities, stakeholders, and represent local heritage, heritage.
visitors (formal and informal). traditions, and values. •Promotes socio-economic benefits
•Co-creation, co-design, and co- for local communities.
•The significance of the host
production of cultural services. •Recognizes the central role of
community in tourism. community engagement.
•Active cultural participation. •Aims to distribute power
•Can be approached horizontally •Advocates for a balanced power
equitably among stakeholders. dynamic between traditional
(specific activities) or
democratically (citizen influence •Perserves the traditional power holders and host
and control). lifestyles and community communities.
•Cultural participation is pivotal for values. •Emphasizes the importance of
redistributing power and ensuring •Collaborative tourism local control in tourism.
inclusive future processes. emphasizes shared •Active involvement of local
•Digital revolution (Culture 4.0) communities and stakeholders in
experiences, pooling decision-making processes
emphasizes active engagement resources, and collective
facilitated by technologies. engenders a sense of ownership .
problem-solving. •ICT can be leveraged to both
•Bolsters social inclusion, fosters
entrepreneurship, and addresses
•Empowers communities, preserve and dynamically
societal challenges. recognizing them as integral to showcase intangible cultural
•Recognizes the transformative the cultural product. heritage.
potential of technologies in •Community-based tourism •Championing participatory
cultural practices. (CBT) focuses on benefits for approaches underpinned by
residents, promoting cultural traditional community
engagement mechanisms and
interactions, hospitality technological innovations.
services, and biodiversity
conservation.

Figure 6.2 Characteristics of cultural participation, participation in cultural tourism,

and participation in sustainable cultural tourism.

leveraged to both preserve and dynamically showcase intangible cultural her‑

itage, thereby enriching the visitor experience. The efficacy of Participatory
Action Research in fostering community‑centric initiatives that drive sustain‑
able change has been highlighted by Thompson et al. (2018). In this digital
age, the nexus of culture, tourism, and technology offers a promising trajec‑
tory for sustainable development (Rodriguez & Moretti, 2020).
Figure 6.2 presents key characteristics of cultural participation, par‑
ticipation in cultural tourism, and participation in sustainable cultural
­tourism. These characteristics highlight the importance of active involve‑
ment, co‑creation, and the integration of technology in shaping cultural
narratives, tourism products, and sustainable practices. For cultural tour‑
ism to realize its full potential in terms of sustainability, it is imperative to
support participatory approaches, underpinned by both traditional com‑
munity engagement mechanisms and cutting‑edge technological innova‑
tions including digitalization. Therefore, the next section is devoted to
digitalization and sustainable cultural tourism.

6.4 Digitalization and sustainable cultural tourism

In Culture 4.0, traditional cultural expressions are reimagined through digi‑
tal platforms, blurring the lines between creators and users. It emphasizes
active engagement, facilitated by digital technologies, allowing individuals
100 Kamila Borseková and Katarína Vitálišová

to shape the cultural landscape in novel ways. Cultural participation has

profound social and economic implications as it can empower social inclu‑
sion, foster entrepreneurship, and address societal challenges. High levels of
cultural participation can foster support for investment in the cultural sector
(OECD, 2021).
Digital transformation is revolutionizing every sector, with cultural tour‑
ism being no exception. Sonkoly and Vahtikari (2018) argue that digitaliza‑
tion democratizes cultural heritage, making it more accessible to the masses.
This transformation, as defined by Mergel et al. (2019) and Margiono
(2021), leverages technology to enhance governance, creating value for both
consumers and businesses. Vial (2019) emphasizes the role of information,
computing, communication, and connectivity technologies in this shift. The
intricate relationship between digital technology, culture, and tourism has
been explored by numerous scholars (see, e.g. Cipolla et al., 2011; Logan
et al., 2015). The European Commission (2019) notes that digitalization
encompasses economic, social, cultural, and organizational transformations,
all driven by digital technologies.
Seifert and Rössel (2022) introduce the concept of digital participation,
which they argue is a step beyond mere connectivity. It’s about how indi‑
viduals immerse themselves in the digital realm, interacting with a myriad of
online services and content. This sentiment is echoed by Stratigeaand K­ atsoni.
(2015), whose see a world of possibilities at the intersection of culture, tour‑
ism, and ICT. They discuss the profound implications this convergence has
on the lifecycle of cultural products – from their creation and evaluation to
their management and promotion. The overarching goal is to harness digital
technologies not just as tools but as catalysts that amplify the essence of cul‑
tural content, ensuring its preservation and fostering a deeper understanding.
Panagiotopoulou et al. (2019) envision a future where these technological
advancements bolster the allure of cultural destinations, making them more
marketable than ever.
The European Commission (2022) joins this discourse, emphasizing the
need to harness the potential of heritage digitization fully. This sentiment is
not just about preserving the past but enhancing the cultural tourism expe‑
rience of the present and a perspective shared (Buhalis & ­Amaranggana,
2014; Neuhofer et al., 2015). A good example of this is The Love Bank
in Banská Štiavnica (for more information, see Vitálišová et al., 2022).
Situated in the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the museum
­
plays a crucial role in preserving historical heritage. Its main mission is to
safeguard the poem ‘Marina’ for future generations, thereby maintaining
unique aspects of Slovak literature and history in a creative, modern for‑
mat. The museum’s strategy effectively combines historical heritage with
innovative presentation methods. This approach proved particularly rel‑
evant during the Covid‑19 pandemic, leading to new opportunities like vir‑
tual love boxes, demonstrating the dynamic potential of blending heritage
with modern technology.
 Participatory models and approaches 101

The post‑pandemic world has further accentuated the indispensability of

ICT in the realm of cultural tourism. As highlighted by Garau (2015) and
Marzo‑Navarro et al. (2017), the aftermath of the pandemic saw a surge
in the reliance on digital platforms to keep the spirit of cultural explora‑
tion alive. Travel apps, as noted by Dickinson et al. (2014) and Xiang et al.
(2015), have emerged as invaluable companions for tourists, enriching their
experiences manifold. Economou (2015) further to this narrative emphasizes
that these digital tools not only enhance the travel experience but also play
a crucial role in deepening tourists’ appreciation and understanding of local
cultures and identities.
Another example of integrating technology with cultural heritage is pro‑
vided by a project in the Posavje region (Slovenia), as detailed by Straus
et al. (2019). This initiative aims to create an immersive digital experience
for tourists, blending modern technology with the rich history and cultural
significance of the region’s castles. By engaging visitors in a captivating man‑
ner, the project sought not only to enhance the tourism experience but also
to encourage more extensive exploration of the area’s unique historical land‑
marks. This approach represents a novel way of promoting tourism and pre‑
serving cultural heritage using digital technology.
The European Commission emphasizes the importance of preserving
and digitizing cultural heritage for the current digital age. Their Recom‑
mendation 2021/1970 promotes frameworks to bolster the cultural herit‑
age sector, ensuring its resilience and transformation. This initiative aims to
improve digitization quality, reuse, and digital preservation across the EU,
benefiting sectors like tourism and research. Technologies such as Data, AI,
3D, and XR are rejuvenating cultural heritage sites. Virtual museums, for
instance, offer immersive experiences, allowing visitors to view artworks
in their original context. The Directorate General for Communications
Networks, Content and Technology of the European Commission has been
proactive in supplementing the cultural policies of Member States, focus‑
ing on digitalization, online access, and digital preservation. Social media
platforms, including forums, blogs, and Instagram, are becoming key ones
in promoting tourism destinations (Leung et al., 2013; Sotiriadis, 2017).
Influencers on these platforms share experiences, influencing potential
tourists (Moro & Rita, 2018). However, this can lead to contradictions
in sustainability, as better promotion could result in over‑tourism, which
is not sustainable. Therefore, it is crucial to involve local communities in
shaping the future of tourist destinations. Cultural tourism is undergoing
a transformation, with attractions like museums adopting augmented and
virtual reality to enhance visitor experiences (Richards, 2019). Digitaliza‑
tion is reshaping sustainable cultural tourism, making it more accessible,
engaging, and informative. To conclude previous three sections, sustain‑
able cultural tourism is characterized by its emphasis on active community
involvement, the co‑creation of authentic experiences, and the seamless
integration of technology, as depicted in Figure 6.3. This form of tourism
102 Kamila Borseková and Katarína Vitálišová

Integration of
technology
Blend of
traditional Continuous
community adaptation and
engagement innovation in
and modern the digital age
innovations Sustainable
Cultural
Tourism
Emphasis on Active
participatory community
methods involvement

Co-creation of
authentic
experiences

Figure 6.3 Essentials of sustainable cultural tourism.

thrives when it melds participatory methods with both age‑old commu‑

nity engagement practices and modern technological advancements like
digitalization. As the digital era progresses, the cultural tourism industry
must continually innovate to offer enriched and immersive experiences for
its audience.
Active community involvement emphasizes the crucial role of local com‑
munities in shaping and influencing the direction and offerings of cultural
tourism, ensuring that it remains authentic and representative of the local
culture. Co‑creation of authentic experiences in sustainable cultural tour‑
ism encourages collaboration between tourists and locals to create genuine
and memorable cultural experiences. Through integration of technology and
leveraging modern technologies, sustainable cultural tourism can enhance
the visitor experience, making it more interactive, informative, and acces‑
sible. Emphasis on participatory methods underscores the importance of
including various stakeholders, from local communities to tourists, in the
decision‑making processes related to cultural tourism. Blend of traditional
community engagement and modern innovations means that while it’s essen‑
tial to preserve and respect traditional cultural practices, sustainable cultural
tourism also embraces contemporary innovations to enrich the overall expe‑
rience. Continuous adaptation and innovation in the digital age are recogniz‑
ing the rapid advancements in technology, and sustainable cultural tourism
is always evolving, ensuring that it remains relevant and appealing to modern
audiences.
 Participatory models and approaches 103

6.5 Proposal of participatory framework for sustainable cultural

tourism inspired by INCULTUM project and its pilot actions
The INCULTUM project, with its ten pioneering pilot actions, offers a
groundbreaking approach to cultural tourism. The INCULTUM project,
along with its pilot actions, is tailored to address both the challenges and
opportunities inherent in cultural tourism. Its primary objective is to pro‑
mote sustainable social, cultural, and economic growth within the territories.
By tapping into the untapped potential of marginal and peripheral areas and
placing their management in the hands of local communities and stakehold‑
ers, the project adopts innovative participatory methods. These approaches
empower residents, transforming them into key players who can mitigate
adverse effects. By learning from and enhancing best practices, these meth‑
ods can be replicated and integrated into broader strategies and policies.
The proposed participatory framework for sustainable cultural tourism is
influenced by the insights of Panagiotopoulou et al. (2017, 2019), Borsekova
et al. (2017, 2022) and the theoretical review outlined in this chapter. Draw‑
ing inspiration also from INCULTUM innovative strategies, we propose a
participatory framework (see Figure 6.4) aimed at fostering sustainable cul‑
tural tourism, ensuring that both local communities and visitors collabora‑
tively engage in preserving and celebrating cultural heritage for generations
to come. Some inspiration for the proposal of this framework is drawn from
INCULTUM pilot cases in Ireland and Slovakia. In Ireland, the Historic
Graves project stands out as a unique, community‑focused grassroots herit‑
age initiative. It empowers local community groups by providing them with
training in cost‑effective, high‑tech field surveys of historic graveyards and
in recording their own oral histories. These groups collaborate to create a
comprehensive online record of historic graves in their areas, cumulatively
forming a valuable national resource. The project establishes a systematic
and standardized approach to surveying historic graveyards. In Slovakia, the
pilot action focuses on the underdeveloped mining heritage tourism poten‑
tial in the Banská Bystrica region. It aims to create an interactive, participa‑
tory digital platform named Mining Treasures. This initiative is designed to
engage and involve the community in preserving and promoting the region’s
rich mining heritage, leveraging digital tools to enhance accessibility and
interest (for more information, see, Borsekova et al., 2023).
In the initial stage of our proposed participatory framework for sustain‑
able cultural tourism, a thorough analysis of the external environment is
paramount. This begins with an evaluation of how cultural tourism aligns
with the global Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing its role in holis‑
tic development. Concurrently, it’s essential to understand the resilience of
cultural tourism during economic downturns, particularly its adaptability
and potential as a catalyst for recovery in the face of economic recessions.
The European Policy Agenda’s stance on the integration of culture, tourism,
and digitalization is another pivotal aspect. By assessing how these elements
104 Kamila Borseková and Katarína Vitálišová

External Environment Internal Environment

• Sustainable Development Goals
• Culture and Economic Recession • Goals and objectives of
• Culture, Tourism and Digitalization in tourist destination
the European Policy Agenda • Analysis of the location
• Covid-19 pandemic and related SWOT • Identification of
challenges, possibilities, and threats analysis USP/competitive
• Culture and Tourism and their advantage of the locality
relations to other sectors (agriculture, • Stakeholder’s analysis,
marine industries, etc.) etc.
• National/Regional Frameworks and • Identification of related
strategies, etc. Authentic communities
• Analysis of competition USP/
• Analysis of the market competitive advantage

Integration of technology, digitalization, Participatory approaches

and technological/digital innovation • Traditional community engagement
• Tailor-made digital technology or • Workshops – co-defining goals and objectives,
tools for concrete locality enriching knowledge base
• Digital tools and apps • Participatory data collection, citizen science
• Data collection, data analysis, data • Participatory assessment of locality and its
evaluation cultural and tourism potential
• Sustainable access • Questionnaires, interviews, meetings with local
• Documentation and storytelling stakeholders
• Communication and marketing • Stakeholders and community engagement in
• Business intelligence pilot actions implementation
• Digital innovation • Participatory assessment of pilot action
implementation, etc.
• ICT innovation
• Digital participatory approaches
• Digital participation

Active community involvement

Co-creation of authentic experiences

Continuous adaptation and innovation in the digital age

Sustainable Cultural Tourism

Figure 6.4 Proposal of participatory framework for sustainable cultural tourism.

Source: inspired by Panagiotopoulou et al. (2017, 2019), Borsekova et al. (2015, 2017, 2022)
and INCULTUM pilot actions

are prioritized and strategized by European policymakers, we can gauge the

direction and emphasis of regional initiatives. The Covid‑19 pandemic, with
its profound impact on the global landscape, necessitates an exploration of
the opportunities and threats it presents to cultural tourism. This exploration
provides insights into the sector’s adaptability and the innovative strategies
required to navigate such unprecedented times. Furthermore, the intricate
interplay between cultural tourism and other sectors, such as agriculture
and marine industries, cannot be overlooked. By investigating these sym‑
biotic relationships, we can discern how cultural tourism can benefit from
 Participatory models and approaches 105

and contribute to these sectors. This holistic approach is complemented by

a review of existing policy frameworks and strategies at both national and
regional levels, ensuring that our framework is in harmony with prevailing
guidelines and objectives. Lastly, to ensure the framework’s viability and rel‑
evance, it’s crucial to identify the key competitors in the cultural tourism
landscape. By understanding their strengths and weaknesses, we can carve
out a unique niche for our framework. This is further enriched by gauging
the current market dynamics, which involves understanding the preferences
of the target audience and anticipating future trends in cultural tourism.
The subsequent stage of our proposed Participatory Framework for sus‑
tainable cultural tourism delves into an in‑depth analysis of the internal
environment. This phase begins by pinpointing the goals and objectives
of the tourist destination, ensuring a clear vision and direction for future
endeavours. An intricate examination of the location follows focusing on
its geographical, cultural, and historical attributes that can influence tour‑
ism dynamics. Central to this stage is an identification of the Unique Sell‑
ing Proposition (USPs) or the competitive advantage of the locality, which
distinguishes it from other destinations and offers a compelling reason for
tourists to visit. Equally vital is a stakeholder analysis, which maps out key
players, their interests, and their influence on the tourism ecosystem. This
comprehensive approach is rounded off by identifying related communities,
ensuring that the framework is inclusive and takes into account the diverse
groups that contribute to and benefit from cultural tourism. The culmina‑
tion of both internal and external environment analyses results in a SWOT
analysis. SWOT, an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats, provides a structured framework to evaluate tourist destination
position by identifying its internal capabilities and external market dynamics.
Following the comprehensive SWOT analysis, the insights gleaned from the
previous steps facilitate the identification of an authentic USP or competitive
advantage.
Competitive advantage, rooted in Porter’s theory, is described as a supe‑
rior capability to compete, central to economic and business activities in
competitive markets (Porter, 1990). Two primary approaches to competi‑
tive advantage are a market‑oriented approach, emphasizing external factors
like market conditions (Kotler, 2002; Porter, 1990; Vaňová, 2006), and a
resource‑based approach, which prioritizes internal resources (Barney, 1995;
Hall, 1993; Pfeffer, 1994; Powell, 1992; Ulrich & Lake, 1991). While the
former leverages external opportunities, the latter underscores the signifi‑
cance of internal assets. This dichotomy raises debates about the true sources
of competitive advantage. In tourism, ‘competitive advantage’ is frequently
synonymous with the term ‘unique selling proposition’ (USP) (see, e.g., King,
2010). The essence of a USP lies in its authenticity, resonating with visitors’
travel objectives and motivations. Often, authentic competitive advantage is
rooted in culture and unique cultural assets that are distinct to each destina‑
tion (see, e.g., Borsekova et al., 2015, 2017). This USP, rooted in genuine
106 Kamila Borseková and Katarína Vitálišová

attributes and values of the destination, emerges as a pivotal component,

becoming an integral and defining element of the entire framework. It not
only differentiates the destination but also ensures its offerings resonate with
authenticity and depth, enhancing its appeal to discerning tourists.
The ensuing component of our proposed framework underscores the inte‑
gration of technology, digitalization, and technological/digital innovation. In
the realm of their integrating, several options emerge. One can begin with the
development of tailor‑made digital technologies or tools, each meticulously
designed to resonate with specific localities. This is complemented by the uti‑
lization of digital tools and apps, all aimed at elevating the tourist experience.
To ensure decisions are data‑driven, robust systems for data collection,
analysis, and evaluation are paramount. Equally vital is the sustainable
access to these digital resources, ensuring longevity and reliability. The cul‑
tural essence of a destination can be vividly portrayed through innovative
documentation and storytelling techniques, making the narrative come alive
for visitors. In the age of digital ubiquity, communication and marketing
strategies must leverage digital platforms, optimizing reach and engage‑
ment. Business intelligence tools stand as invaluable assets, offering insights
into market trends and consumer behaviours, thus enabling proactive and
informed strategies. To remain at the forefront, it’s essential to champion
both digital and ICT innovations. And, to ensure a holistic approach, pro‑
moting digital participation becomes crucial, ensuring that every stakeholder,
from local communities to visitors, is actively engaged in the journey of digi‑
tal transformation.
The important component of our proposed framework emphasizes the
exploitation of suitable participatory approaches. This involves different
approaches, for example traditional community engagement methods that
foster a sense of belonging and ownership among locals. Workshops can play
a crucial role, serving as platforms for co‑defining goals and objectives and
enriching the collective knowledge base. Participatory data collection meth‑
ods, including citizen science initiatives, offer a grassroots perspective, ensur‑
ing that the data is both comprehensive and relevant. A hands‑on assessment
of the locality, focusing on its cultural and tourism potential, is achieved
through participatory evaluations. Tools such as questionnaires, interviews,
and meetings with local stakeholders provide in‑depth insights and feedback.
Furthermore, stakeholder and community involvement are pivotal during
the implementation of pilot actions, ensuring that initiatives are grounded
in local realities. The assessment of these pilot actions is also participatory,
ensuring feedback loops for continuous improvement. To complement these
traditional methods, digital participatory approaches are integrated, leverag‑
ing technology to enhance engagement and reach. Of course, not all of these
approaches and methods need to be employed simultaneously.
It’s crucial to select approaches that best align with the purpose and char‑
acteristics of the locality, ensuring they effectively support subsequent stages.
As we transition to the next phase, active community involvement becomes
 Participatory models and approaches 107

paramount, fostering a sense of ownership and collaboration among locals.

This involvement sets the stage for the co‑creation of authentic experiences,
where the authentic USP plays a pivotal role in crafting memorable and
genuine tourist interactions. As the digital landscape continually evolves,
continuous adaptation and innovation in the digital age are essential, ensur‑
ing that the framework remains relevant and forward‑looking. It’s vital to
note that the authentic USP remains a cornerstone throughout these stages.
­Collectively, these steps, when executed with precision and commitment, can
significantly bolster Sustainable Cultural Tourism.

6.6 Conclusion
This chapter set out with the primary objective of offering a thorough exami‑
nation of participatory models in the realms of culture, cultural tourism, and
sustainable cultural tourism. We outlined the key characteristics of cultural
participation, participation in cultural tourism, and sustainable cultural tour‑
ism, emphasizing the importance of active involvement, co‑creation, and the
integration of technology. These elements are crucial in shaping cultural nar‑
ratives, tourism products, and sustainable practices.
Active community involvement is highlighted as essential for ensuring
cultural tourism remains authentic and representative of local culture. The
co‑creation of authentic experiences in sustainable cultural tourism is encour‑
aged, fostering collaboration between tourists and locals to create memora‑
ble cultural experiences. The integration of technology plays a significant
role in enhancing the visitor experience, making it more interactive, inform‑
ative, and accessible. The emphasis on participatory methods is beneficial
due to involving various stakeholders, from local communities to tourists,
in ­decision‑making processes related to cultural tourism. The blend of tradi‑
tional community engagement and modern innovations suggests that while
preserving and respecting traditional cultural practices is vital, embracing
contemporary innovations is equally important to enrich the overall experi‑
ence. Recognizing the rapid advancements in technology, continuous adap‑
tation and innovation are necessary to ensure sustainable cultural tourism
remains relevant and appealing to modern audiences.
Our in‑depth exploration, enriched by the practical insights from the
INCULTUM project, has culminated in the introduction of an innovative
participatory framework for sustainable cultural tourism. Key characteristics
of this approach include active involvement, co‑creation, and the use of tech‑
nology in shaping cultural narratives and tourism products.
The framework begins with an analysis of the external environment as
understanding the strengths and weaknesses of key competitors and current
market dynamics is very important in this stage. Internally, the framework
focuses on identifying the goals, objectives, and competitive advantage or
USPs of tourist destinations. The integration of technology and digitalization
is a critical component of the framework. This includes the development
108 Kamila Borseková and Katarína Vitálišová

of tailor‑made digital tools, utilization of digital apps, and innovative

­documentation and storytelling techniques.
Participatory approaches are crucial, combining traditional community
engagement methods with digital participatory approaches. Continuous
adaptation and innovation in the digital age ensure the framework’s rele‑
vance and effectiveness. The authentic competitive advantage or USP remains
a cornerstone throughout these stages, guiding the development of memora‑
ble and genuine tourist interactions. To conclude, this framework for sustain‑
able cultural tourism, drawing inspiration from successful pilot cases and
theoretical insights, offers a comprehensive approach to fostering sustainable
growth in cultural tourism. It emphasizes the importance of community par‑
ticipation, technological integration, and continuous innovation, ensuring a
balanced and forward‑looking approach to cultural tourism development.

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7 Tourism and reception of visitors
as a lever for inclusiveness
and resiliency of heritage
communities
Two case studies in Hungarian
peripheries

Eszter György, Gábor Oláh

and Gábor Sonkoly

Due to the recent and indeed permanent critique of the scientific utility of
resilience, it seems to be losing its scientific relevance and can rather be used
to reflect on policy needs. It seems to be moving back and forth between the
political and scientific spheres. The question arises: embracing resilience in
policy, definitely loses its scientific relevance. In what follows, we attempt
to examine how it can still be relevant in research, specifically in the field of
­cultural heritage in two Hungarian cases, which differ in their scale as destina‑
tions for cultural tourism, but they share two significant characteristics. First,
they are situated in the inner peripheries of Hungary: one is within Budapest,
and the other is in the vicinity of a small village of c. 750 inhabitants in
Southern Transdanubia (see Figure 7.1). Second, they both ­demonstrate how
a minority, which can be ethnic or religious, could find the means of survival
and self‑representation in current Hungary. We intended to understand the
evolution of the two cases through a critical model of resilient communities,
which proved to be not only effective in the depiction of the importance of
third‑regime cultural heritage in the identity‑building of minorities but also
in making these attempts comparable for further research. In this way, these
cases are also relevant to understanding and highlighting how local com‑
munities may participate and cooperate in engaging in sustainable cultural
tourism strategies.

7.1 Cultural heritage as the embedded potential of community

resilience: from political to scientific relevance
As Humbert and Joseph (2019) aptly remarked ‘the policy discourse often
gives the impression that resilience has become a buzzword; making it easy
to dismiss as being overused and lacking substance; as lacking concep‑
tual weight or depth’ (p. 217). It is noticeable, on the one hand, that it is

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-7
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
 Tourism and reception 115

Figure 7.1 The location of the two case studies in Hungary.

increasingly used in policy documents; on the other hand, most social science
literature refers to it as a boundary concept that is holistic, interdisciplinary,
situational, relational, and selective; at the same time, a significant number of
this literature denote that it is poorly defined, shallow and elusive, and seem‑
ingly suitable for describing contradictory phenomena (Joseph, 2013; Walker
& Cooper, 2011; Wilson, 2017).
In most cases, resilience is associated with crisis. Walker and Cooper
(2011) attribute the growing popularity of resilience to the terror attack
of 9/11 or the financial crisis of 2008 which introduced ‘new methods of
futurology, contingency planning, and crisis response onto the policy reform
agenda’ (p. 152). Concisely, the theory – developed in a scientific milieu – has
discovered its way into political economy and security policy.
When the policy discourse on risk and security found the concept of resil‑
ience, it saw a priori as a possible form of governance (Joseph, 2013), espe‑
cially at the local level (Bollig, 2014). It allowed formulating questions on
the transition of a system: when and how does resilience come into play in
change? These political efforts to define modalities of aftershock system tran‑
sition fundamentally emanated from the complexity sciences of the 1970s
(Walker & Cooper, 2011). Without going into more detail on the scientific
conceptual history of resilience – which many have already done before
us – we would like to reflect on certain aspects of complex system theories
that allow us to see how resilience found itself in the transition between sci‑
entific and policy discourse.
The concept emerged from critiques of predictive and deterministic
models. According to its fundamental critique of modernity, the future has
116 Eszter György et al.

become unpredictable and uncontrollable (Endreß, 2019). Initially theorised

in systems ecology, this concept gradually transitioned to the social sciences
during the 1990s, driven by deliberate efforts to extend its application to
the modeling of social systems. Integrating society, economy, and biosphere
in one socio‑ecological model held the opportunity to create a complex sci‑
ence of resilience (Walker & Cooper, 2011). The concept increasingly infil‑
trated the study of all kinds of social, mental, or cultural units and entities
(Endreß, 2019). Resilience started to influence the disciplines and the disci‑
plines started to think about the meaning and applicability of the concept. In
order to develop and maintain its scientific use, applicability, and analytical
potential, there is a constant demand to clearly distinguish one of its charac‑
teristics from another (Meyen & Schier, 2019).
Rampp (2019) drew attention to the distinction between ex‑ante and
ex‑post natures of the theory while examining the varying temporalities
of resilience, particularly the interrelationship of continuity and change.
Rampp stresses the dual dimension of the concept of resilience: he describes
the ­forward‑looking, learning, and adaptive actions of communities as an
ex‑ante process, while the efforts to manage the crisis and recovery as an
ex‑post process. While in the former it appears as management of change/
transition, in the latter as coping with disturbance. By reviewing the litera‑
ture, Böschen, Binder, and Rathgeber (2019) identify and categorise the main
definitions of resilience. On the one hand, they distinguish between inter‑
pretations as structure (statics) and process (dynamics); on the other hand,
they contrast contextual and self‑resilience. These pairs of opposites give four
categories in a matrix that they consider suitable for determining the areas of
resilience scientific applicability.
Brand and Jax (2007) distinguish the descriptive, hybrid, and normative
nature of the resilience application in scientific literature. They argue that it
was initially introduced in system ecology, sociology, and ecological econom‑
ics as a description of system property or capacity. In its hybrid understand‑
ing, the concept presupposes a way of thinking that lacks any well‑defined
model, but rather a set of ideas about the interpretation of a system and the
selection of desirable values. The latter is already in the field of normativ‑
ity where resilience appears as a guideline for a continuous management of
change and maintaining basic system functions. According to Endreß (2019),
resilience by being a normative reference point and essentially conceptual‑
ised as a positive condition can undermine its analytical utility. In contrast,
according to Bollig (2014), resilience’s hybrid and normative nature fuels
cross‑disciplinary exchanges and facilitates communication between aca‑
demia, politicians, and practitioners. However, beyond this transitional abil‑
ity, its use on an empirical level is still questionable.
With the efforts to create guidelines and standardise the principles and
modalities of resilient governance, Walker and Cooper (2011) argue that the
basic theoretical stance of resilience science transformed into a fully oper‑
ative management methodology. They point out that as the credibility of
 Tourism and reception 117

resilience as a theoretical model decreased, its depoliticising and neutralising

properties/functions became more predominant in the context of neoliberal‑
ism or security policy.
Joseph (2013) states that the enthusiasm surrounding resilience is due
to the fact that it easily fits and can be inserted into neoliberal policies. In
his argument, by its seemingly new form of governance, resilience promotes
self‑organisation and self‑responsibility and envisages non‑intervention by
the state in order to prepare individuals and local social groups to an age
of uncertainty. Through its responsibilisation effort, individuals and com‑
munities are supposed to define their way of governance more autonomously
to be able to show adaptability (Humbert & Joseph, 2019; Joseph, 2013;
­Mckeown & Glenn, 2018).
In some respects, the model of the adaptive cycle and its multi‑scale
version, the panarchy, was created in order to integrate the social sciences
into a general systems theory (Bollig, 2014; Walker & Cooper, 2011).
Understanding change has become a primary assignment for social sci‑
ences, which is in the model ‘conceptualised as inevitable, discontinuous,
but at the same time phased and patterned’ (Bollig, 2014, p. 259). Rampp
(2019) considers that the adaptive cycle model unlocks the classic histo‑
riographical dichotomy between continuity and change and makes it an
interdependent and reciprocal relationship: ‘change being a prerequisite for
continuity addresses the change of (as the case may be: central) elements of
an object, while preserving the nucleus of this object’ (p. 59). Anthropolo‑
gists, archaeologists, geographers, etc. established research programs to
work with long timescales to examine social and cultural structures histori‑
cally which opened up the possibility of revisiting periods with profound
transformation (Bollig, 2014).
Resilience has therefore a fairly broad perspective on temporality. Hence,
Obrist, Pfeiffer, and Henley (2010) highlight that resilience research should
focus on proactive (ex‑ante) attitudes, on the extent to which communities
can learn from past experiences, from ‘the stock of experience available’
(p. 290), and use them to shape future strategies. This underlying t­ emporality
basically gives the concept a presentist atmosphere, and consequently, resil‑
ience becomes easily interpreted in the context of concepts like memory,
commemoration, identity, or heritage (Hartog, 2015; Sonkoly, 2017).
In terms of interoperability between policy and research, heritage and
resilience are analogous concepts in many ways. Due to the paradigm shift
of the third regime, the concept of cultural heritage has become more com‑
plex which has been reflected in both scientific and policy discourses. The
third regime of cultural heritage is characterised by conceptual novelties
such as community heritage, cultural landscape, cultural rights, historical
urban landscape, intangible heritage, etc. (Bendix, Eggert, & Peselmann,
2017; Smith, 2010; Sonkoly, 2017). In this transformed perspective, cul‑
tural heritage is considered to have a major impact on community resil‑
ience by representing other social and economic values and objectives in
118 Eszter György et al.

its management (Lazzeretti, 2012; György & Oláh, 2018). Resilience is

therefore stimulating debate on values in terms of selecting and prioritising
them (Meyen & Schier, 2019).
With the paradigm shift described as the third regime, communities are
supposed to define their cultural heritage more autonomously within a
bottom‑up approach. On the one hand, this attitude fits with the appeal of
responsibilisation, as it puts the (re)use, the preservation, and the manage‑
ment of heritage into the governance of the local community, which also
formulates goals beyond the specific values to be preserved (Sonkoly &
­Vahtikari, 2018). On the other hand, institutionalising community manage‑
ment of heritage at a local level is increasingly also a manifestation of ­political
will, positioning itself in relation to the mainstream canon (György &
Oláh, 2018).
Undoubtedly, the locality is strongly embedded in resilient governance,
as Chandler (2014) explains. The model emerged principally as a rejec‑
tion of the modernist, top‑down methods, which therefore vindicate a
­bottom‑up approach for resilient governance. The object of governance – in
this case, third regime cultural heritage – is conceived as complex or rather
­holistic. Moreover, ‘there is no separation of governance from the object
of ­governance’ (p. 62) so resilient heritage communities can be understood
as governing per se entities. Chandler introduces the concept of ‘everyday
democracy’ in relation to resilience which refers to the level of connectedness
and relational abilities of the local population. This is also emphasised by
Beel et al. (2017) with the addition that the central issue to consider is the
role of human agency in the process of continuous recreation of cultural her‑
itage. If resilience is understood as human agency, at first glance two direc‑
tions can be outlined at the research agenda level: (1) the historical process of
re‑creating and maintaining cultural heritage in the long term; (2) the modali‑
ties of setting up connectedness, the topologies of relational abilities, and the
institutionalisation of heritage stewardship (György & Oláh, 2018) linked to
the management of cultural heritage.
Suppose we carry forward this idea that in the paradigm of the third
regime, cultural heritage is interpreted as constantly changing, and the engine
of these changes is the community itself. In that case, we can grasp that resil‑
ience in this is definitely designated as internal or intrinsic. Thus, the resilient
cultural heritage governance approach is unquestionably bottom‑up and par‑
ticipative, support and integrative approaches are emerging from the com‑
munity potential, not from external actors or ideas. Potentials are embedded
in the system that differences in exploitation methods or strategies set it apart
from others and could explain socio‑spatial disparities.
While taking into consideration the critical standards of social sciences,
bringing all this to the research agenda is not without its challenges as resil‑
ience goes along with a constant political/ideological burden and is linked
to identity formations. A concept or model considered elusive, bordering,
or even neoliberal; which attempts to make the natural and social sciences
 Tourism and reception 119

interoperable and, in some interpretations, promotes a kind of dynamised

stability; is largely used as a political reference.
Our aim is not only to reflect on the concept as political, but also to unfold
its scientific relevance. By approaching communities from the perception of
their own resources, we can consider it as an important step to make the con‑
cept operational and analytical at the same time. This framework considers
resilience as a process that reflects and, to some extent, revisits the expansion
and transformation models of Böschen, Binder, and Rathgeber’s (2019) matrix.
In the following, attempts will be made to assess the scientific relevance of resil‑
ience based on two case studies in Hungary, one in the urban and one in the
rural periphery, with ethnic and religious minority communities.

7.2 Roma resilience: resistance, adaptation, and participatory

cultural heritage
In the following section, we are introducing the concept of resilience in
­Romani studies and its interconnectedness with sustainable, participatory
cultural heritage‑making. To illustrate different strategies for the social and
cultural integration of Roma communities and the mechanisms of cultural
resistance and adaptation concerning the political‑cultural structures offered
by the majority society, we are presenting in the second part of this section
the example of a local Roma heritage centre.
Resilience is often referred to as the ability of different Gypsy/Traveller/
Romani groups to adapt cultural practices and identities to new environ‑
ments. Despite the lack of cultural continuity and the very heterogeneous
cultural/ethnic/social characteristics of Romani groups throughout Europe,
several studies are proving the presence of strong adaptive practices and cul‑
tural resilience in the face of assimilatory pressures (Greenfields & Smith,
2018). Some authors explain the need for adaptive strategies to the lack of
nation‑states and acknowledge historical identity, stating that ‘the Gypsies
have constantly had to adjust their histories and identities in the interest of
survival’ (Scott, 2009, p. 235). Others stress on the resilient nature of cultural
mechanisms:

Gypsy culture is created through contact, sometimes conflict and specific

exchange. Gypsy culture is one emerging from ever‑present and chang‑
ing culture contact rather than a former isolate allegedly undermined
by contact. Theirs is a culture created from and through difference.
(Okely, 2012, pp. 40–41)

In other respects, resilience comes up with regard to the various relationships

and positions of Roma as minorities, facing the non‑Roma majority societies.
Specific ways of resilience and adaptation during state‑socialist regimes were
analysed, showing how cultural norms and attributes survived and evolved
despite harsh assimilatory policies. Stewart (1994) in his book Brothers in
120 Eszter György et al.

Song constructed the equation of (Gypsy) + (socialist wage work + housing) =

(Hungarian worker) + (Gypsy folklore), justifying how could, paradoxi‑
cally and despite the required assimilation, Vlach Gypsy groups in Hungary
preserve their cultural heritage. According to Stewart, they were ‘salaried
workers on weekdays, Gypsy on Sundays’, who, despite the fact of not being
considered a nationality, ‘are not ceasing to exist but reproduce themselves
in the frames of the Hungarian social and economic circumstances with the
same resoluteness as ever before’ (p. 71).
Silverman (2014) found cultural resistance in the elusion of the ­Bulgarian
socialist state, which consciously targeted Romani music in its ethnonation‑
alist cultural project of ‘Bulgarisation’. In her book Romani Routes, she
revealed how in the 1980s, when the specific woodwind instrument called
zurna was prohibited from all contexts (festivals, media, urban, and village
celebrations) – because of its Turkish descent –, musicians continued to play
it as wedding music. According to Silverman, Bulgarian Roma defied the
state for economic reasons and not for moral imperatives; moreover, their
everyday strategies altered between accommodation and resistance to the
state. Roma music survived in Bulgaria and in the postsocialist context and
became a significant part of the postmodern world music market. Besides the
worldwide popularity of Romani music from Bulgaria and the Balkans, the
openness and hybridity of Romani music are stated in a lot of other cases,
stressing the adoption of non‑Romani and multiple Romani styles as well,
creating artistic bricolages (Okely, 2012; Silverman, 2014).
From Silverman’s example, it is also palpable that the resilience of Romani
communities signifies the relationship or the coping mechanisms with the
(often hostile) state or majority society. As Rampp (2019) states, resilience
from a sociological point of view means the capacity to change in order to
maintain the same identity and it comprehends three basic capacities: coping,
adaptation, and transformation. In Acton’s (1974) typology of Gypsy/Travel‑
ler resistance to state control, we find four key modes of adaptation: (1) the
conservative approach, minimising contact or withdrawing; (2) cultural dis‑
integration; (3) passing, competing by disguising ethnicity; and (4) cultural
adaptation or the above‑mentioned bricolage. From this classification, only
the fourth mode offers favourable strategies, enabling positive outcomes for
the Roma community. According to Greenfields and Smith (2018, p. 78), this
‘flexible adaptation represented by the recreation of traditional communities
in a new context is a form of cultural resilience, which in the context above
can be perceived as encompassing active resistance to externally imposed
assimilatory pressures’.
Another framing describes the relationship between majority societies
and Romani groups, from the point of view of resilience, as a set of sym‑
biotic, yet permanently rival positions, such as two competing ‘weather
fronts’. As stated by Allen (2018), the first weather front lies in the hostile
and stigmatising behaviour of the majority society, encouraging blame and
causing self‑determined social isolation and rejection of public services and
 Tourism and reception 121

mainstream community norms. This weather front also emerges in public

discourse through hate speech memes, prohibiting acceptance and inclusion
of Romani groups. The second weather front comprises the Romani people’s
response to the mechanisms of social rejection and hostile discourse, but it
is sustained by enacted cultural resilience. According to Allen, this second
weather front is less influential than the first, but it might empower Romani
communities to minimise discrimination, assimilation, and respond proac‑
tively to the threat of social rejection. ‘Most importantly, this second weather
front enables victimised people to retain cultural independence, and it pro‑
vides a growing opportunity for a social movement that enables the voices of
Romani and Traveller people to emerge’ (p. 10).
This latter thought leads us to the following problematics of coping mech‑
anisms, residing in the domain of ‘Roma inclusion’, comprehending civil
rights movements and various policies addressed by national and interna‑
tional authorities. Baar (2011) explains that no other group has undertaken
so many different inclusion, empowerment, and development programs
than Romani groups all around Europe, including social inclusion programs
by the EU, Decade Action Plans, Open Society Institute, World Bank, and
national action plans. These programs aimed at creating opportunities for
social, political, and cultural self‑articulation and created an entire enter‑
prise, defining new European narratives of inclusion, integration, and com‑
munity cohesion. However, several (Roma) authors accused these policies of
being paternalistic, tokenistic, and closely tied to patron‑client relationships.
Moreover, as Rostas and Rövid (2015) describe, the participation of Roma
actors in these programs did nothing but legitimise the existing structures,
while also establishing a particular market of ‘Roma activists’. Trehan and
Kóczé (2009) refer to the racialised hierarchy, – maintaining post‑imperial
privileges – of the ‘Roma industry’ in the post‑socialist context. According to
her, initiatives of Roma inclusion after the collapse of state‑socialist and com‑
munist regimes paradoxically nourished the marginalisation of Roma com‑
munities, by keeping them at the bottom rung of a racialised hierarchy. This
hierarchy consists of (principally American) Western advocacy elites at the
top, below them, there are Eastern European and still non‑Roma elites who
are followed by Roma (mostly urban, educated) elites and at the bottom,
there are finally the local Roma communities (with rural and less educated
representatives).
It seems that in both cultural and political domains, Roma communi‑
ties are up to this day exposed to neocolonial and oppressive dynamics. As
Ruethers (2013) puts it, in the post‑socialist context,

Roma are presented as a social problem. Research is divided between

research on the Roma as a migration or minority problem and
research on the Gypsy craze, East European Gypsy musicians, and the
­post‑colonial mechanisms of the Western music market.
(p. 685)
122 Eszter György et al.

If we confront these arguments related to the ongoing (more or less explicit)

hostility and suppression of the majority societies to the above‑mentioned
theories of resilience, we may state that the resistance of Roma groups
lies in the mixture of continuous adaptation and the retention of a certain
autonomy. On the one hand, it is discoverable in artistic creativity and cul‑
tural production, referring principally to the statements of Okely (2012)
about the semi‑autonomous cultural space of Roma, creating and recreat‑
ing cultural autonomy and constructing authenticity with the historic inge‑
nuity and inventive originality amid others’ cultures. On the other hand,
one may detect the recent development and institutionalisation of Romani
scholarship under the slogan of ‘nothing about us without us’, supported
by – among other examples – the creation of the Romani Studies Program
at CEU1 in 2017, the funding of European Roma Institute for Arts and
Culture2 in 2017, and the publishing of Critical Romani Studies journal
in 2018.3
If we look at resilience in relation to cultural heritage, we may find a third
path, between resistance and dissolution. As mentioned before, cultural her‑
itage in the third regime is very much linked to communities and participa‑
tion; therefore, it may offer novel ways of adaptation and survival. With the
active involvement of communities, the maintenance and re‑use of cultural
heritage are established ‘from below’, manifesting often counter‑hegemonic
practices (Beel et al., 2017, p. 462). However, the resilience of the cultural
heritage of minorities/Roma groups should not be understood in an isolated
manner of cultural survival but in the semi‑autonomous, culturally hybrid
space, as described by Okely (2012). Despite the long history of discrimina‑
tion and oppression of European Roma, their history and heritage can only
be interpreted as part of the national and transnational narratives. As Jake
Bowers wrote about The Surrey Project, a specific example of preserving
Roma heritage in the UK:

The way a society treats its minorities is a litmus test of its civilisa‑
tion. – so, the refusal to accept Roma history into the mainstream is
also a reflection of how willing the British society is to face up the ques‑
tions of who we are and what we have done.
(Bowers, 2009, p. 28)

Examples of the resilience of Roma cultural heritage and their potential link‑
ages to cultural tourism in Hungary may be rare and detached from each
other but what is common in them is precisely the role of the local commu‑
nity and the fine – and often hardly achieved – balance between community
participation and relationship with the surrounding institutions and actors
of the majority society. In the last part of this section, we present briefly a
unique example of resilient cultural heritage, the Roma local history collec‑
tion in Újpest, where the aforementioned weather fronts seem to consolidate
with each other.
 Tourism and reception 123

‘Why is that the Gypsy kid is throwing more garbage on the street than
the Hungarian one? Because he doesn’t feel the city as his own’4 said I­stván
Gábor Molnár to a (presumably racist) question of a local politician in the
late 1990s during a municipality meeting in Újpest, in the 4th district of
Budapest. This discriminative yet everyday experience encouraged the young
leader of the Roma local government and teacher in a segregated primary
school to launch exceptional research to discover the history of the Roma
community in Újpest.5 His principal aim was to prove that these people
belonged to the city as much as their non‑Roma neighbours and that since
the foundation of Újpest, through its industrial development until its annexa‑
tion to the capital, Roma people had been an integral and active part of
the local society. The research was conducted in two parallel ways: local
­historians – who in general did not have much knowledge about Gypsies liv‑
ing in the neighbourhood – were asked to collect data about Roma people in
the archives and the media, while István Gábor Molnár started to interview
the inhabitants, first of all, the elderly Roma Musicians of the district. The
traditional and oral history research was in a lot of cases contradictory and
highlighted the discrepancy between an official canon (often trying to erase
the presence of minorities) and the personal and communal memory of the
Roma people of Újpest. Thus, an innovative methodology was established,
relying on the active participation of the local Roma families and resulting in
the collection of more than 3000 photos, several hundreds of archival docu‑
ments, and family interviews. Finally, the investigation not only proves that
the local Roma community has always been an organic and important part
of urban society but also succeeded in involving families and making their life
and cultural heritage important, as well as reinforcing the sense of belonging
to their place of living.6
Today, the local Roma history collection of Újpest7 – located in the mid‑
dle of a peripheral housing estate built during the state‑socialist era – stands
as one of the very few ‘living’ Roma heritage sites in Budapest. Besides a
small number of public statues and street names, commemorating Roma
artists (mainly musicians), there are no other sites in the Hungarian capital
where the local history and cultural heritage of the largest minority group
would be permanently maintained and exhibited. Carrying out a great num‑
ber of functions, the centre displays the permanent exhibition of the local
Roma history collection, showing tangible heritage elements such as family
photographs, and traditional craft tools of nail smithery, and offers a study
hall with after‑school learning activities and sporting facilities. It features
the memory room of Gábor Dilinkó, Roma painter and writer, one of the
few Roma heroes of the revolution of 1956, and in front of the building, a
Stolpersteine (stumbling stone) installed in 2015 to remember József Dráfi,
a member of one of the first Roma families settled in Újpest who was killed
in Ravensbrück, on 20 April 1945. Moreover, the centre continuously builds
a Roma library (comprising Roma literature, scientific volumes, and dic‑
tionaries in Hungarian, Romani, and other languages), also with the active
124 Eszter György et al.

participation of Roma and non‑Roma donors. The building space is very

often used for intimate family gatherings such as weddings, baptizers, and
even public wakes (having traditionally a specific importance and length in
Roma culture). Finally, the community space has an integrative function as
well: it does not only serve the Roma minority but the local non‑Roma popu‑
lation as well: for instance, here gather school directors for official ceremo‑
nies and the neighbouring houses for their general assembly.
As Nasture (2015, p. 30) states:

There is no alternative open to Roma other than mobilising communi‑

ties to seek political and civil power. The change that needs to be gener‑
ated is in the attitude of the people, namely shifting from being passive
to active citizens who become masters of their own destiny.

The Roma Centre in Újpest empowers the community and therefore builds
local heritage and memory as a result of adapting and coping with the local‑
ity. The resilient governance of this place lies in the ingenious aggregation of
cooperation, resistance, and self‑representation.

7.3 Hungarian Society for Krishna Consciousness in Hungary:

resistance and adaptation
In the last section, we are presenting a religious minority in Hungary, which
could not only maintain its position as a recognised religious organisation
despite its unfavourable political reception in the early 1990s, but it also
founded a rural community within the inner peripheries of the country, which
has become a popular tourist destination in the last 30 years. The demonstra‑
tion of such resilience will be studied in the interconnectedness between this
religious organisation and its rural community – Krishna valley – which is
simultaneously its showcase for a wide public and the example of seclusion
from contemporary consumer society.
Krishna Valley is a farm community established by the Hungarian Soci‑
ety for Krishna Consciousness (HSKCON) in 1993. The HSKCON is a
­Hungarian branch of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Conscious‑
ness) founded in 1966 in New York by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
(1896–1977), a Bengali scholar and missionary, who travelled to the USA,
and later to another 24 countries at his elderly age, to make Gaudiya Vaish‑
navism a worldwide religious and cultural movement. Vaishnavism is one
of the most ancient and most well‑known forms of Hinduism, which was
reformed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) – hence the denomina‑
tion Gaudiya referring to Western Bengal, where he was born and active dur‑
ing his youth. The principal message of this reform was to make the devotional
love of God, in his most intimate and original form as ‘Krishna’, available for
everyone regardless of one’s religion, ethnicity, social/economic status, caste,
or gender (Tóth‑Soma, 1996). Bhaktivedanta Swami propagated this reform
 Tourism and reception 125

internationally. Although he introduced significant renewals in the p ­ ractice

of Krishna consciousness in order to make it universally applicable, he always
emphasised the principle of ‘simple living – high thinking’ as an essential
cultural approach, in which freshly established rural communities played a
crucial role (Banyár, 2015). These communities were organised to minimise
the effects of consumer society and to allow their members to concentrate on
self‑realisation and pursue an ecological lifestyle (Farkas, 2004). Currently,
there are 48 such communities in 21 countries of the world. Krishna Valley
is one of the 13 European ISKCON farm communities, which are situated in
12 countries (Kun, 2021).
After some humble beginnings in Communist Hungary in 1976, Krishna
consciousness was registered as a religious organisation (‘egyház’ = ‘church’
in Hungarian) in 1989 thanks to the democratic transition and to its charis‑
matic leader, Sivarama Swami (1949–), who left Hungary after the fall of the
1956 revolution and returned in the late 1980s as a Hare Krishna preacher
(Kamarás, 1998). The legal adaptation of Krishna consciousness was not
without challenges in the young Hungarian democracy, which was simulta‑
neously characterised by the highly liberal and tolerant IV of 1990 law on
freedom of conscience and religion as well as by a neo‑conservative revival
of the ‘historic churches’ exploited by right‑wing political parties to sup‑
press ‘new religious movements’. Legally, neither the former nor the latter
denomination was determined or prioritised. After a revision of approved
religious organisations in 2011–2012, during which Krishna consciousness
was suspended as a legally recognised religion along with Islam, Buddhism,
or the Anglican Church for an upsetting six months, finally, it could maintain
its status in the revised Law. Since religious censuses are uneven and unreli‑
able in Hungary, it is the distribution of 1% of the personal income tax,
which can be offered yearly to a religious organisation by every citizen – a
system established by the 1990 Law –, which can be used as an indicator
of the social acceptance of these organisations. According to the number of
taxpayers offering 1% of their income tax to religious beneficiaries, since the
early 2010s, HSKCON retains a solid fourth position after the three biggest
Christian denominations (Roman Catholic, Calvinist, Lutheran) among the
32 recognised ‘churches’ (Banyár, 2021). It seems to be an obvious sign of the
resilience of an organisation, which is not only one of the youngest among
the approved confessions in Hungary but also was a target of political perse‑
cution in the early 1990s.
Amongst the ups and downs of the last three decades of Hungarian
democracy, HSKCON could owe its relatively favourable situation to a
series of conditions, which were duly and simultaneously mobilised by its
leaders. The available secondary literature about HSKCON is rather scarce,
thus, it was not sufficient to rely on its conclusions and we were conducting
interviews with the leading figures of HSKCON to complete the available
research results.8 On the basis of the literature and the interviews, the follow‑
ing favourable conditions can be identified without determining their rank
126 Eszter György et al.

or their relative importance: (1) since the 16th century, Hungary has been a
multi‑confessional state, which has a long tradition of religious tolerance even
though it was oppressed in different regimes. (2) Hungarian identity‑building
pre‑national as well as modern national – always had a strong interest in its
Asian/oriental origins, which makes the Hungarian society fairly open and
curious about Eastern religions and philosophies. (3) HSKCON is part of
the international network of ISKCON, which is supported by not only an
extended system of devotees all over the world but also by the Indian state,
which often regards it as its unofficial cultural ambassador. (4) In contrast
with many religious organisations/churches, HSKCON could remain impar‑
tial in a society, which is excessively divided politically. (5) HSKCON could
prove its societal use for this society through its extended charitable activi‑
ties (food distribution for the needy, rehabilitation for young delinquents
and drug addicts, hospice services, etc.). (6) HSKCON could profit from the
high popularity of yoga by the fact that it, and especially its Bhaktivedanta
College –the only state‑accredited and – founded such higher education
institution in Europe –, became flagship of yoga and yoga‑related educa‑
tion in Hungary. (7) The care for the environment, ecological thought, and
vegetarianism, which are integral components of Krishna consciousness and
growingly appealing to young Hungarians also played a crucial part in the
favourable reception of HSKCON. These conditions could not only ensure
the resilience of this new religious organisation in Hungary, but they were
also integrated into the establishment of Krishna Valley.

7.3.1 Krishna Valley: resilience through participation

Between 1993 and 2023, Krishna Valley went from an abandoned pasture‑
land to the second most visited place in Somogy County9 (Tóth‑Soma, 2002).
Out of Krishna Valley’s annual 30,000 visitors, 10,000 are pilgrims and the
rest are tourists who are interested in its multifaceted brand: Indian culture,
yoga, organic farming and healthy living. A series of Gaudiya Vaishnava fes‑
tivals is yearly celebrated with the participation of hundreds of devotees from
several European countries. At the same time, there is also a yearly calen‑
dar for events inviting those who are interested in other aspects of Krishna
Valley. Among these events, the most popular programme is the three‑day
Krishna Valley Fair since 1996, which, with its cultural performances, work‑
shops, and educational presentations, attracts about 8,000 people each year,
which is an impressive and challenging number to host for a community of
150 persons.
The seven elements, which were identified to understand the success of
HSKCON is contemporary Hungary, can serve in the comprehension of
Krishna Valley’s development to this popular peripheral tourist destina‑
tion. (1) HSKCON was barely known in the early 1990s in the Hungarian
countryside when the land in the margins of Somogyvámos was purchased.
The smooth integration of the Hare Krishna devotees was partially due
 Tourism and reception 127

to the mayor’s attitude, who saw potential in the young settlers in the
already bi‑confessional (Roman Catholic, Lutheran) ageing village (Bara‑
bás, 1997). (2) Krishna Valley, although its origins have nothing to do with
national ideologies, is associated with other rural initiatives, which strive
for the revival of the Asian cultural roots of the Hungarians (Kocsis, 2004).
One of such communities, the Kassai horseback archery valley, is only 30
kilometres away. (3) The growing Indian community as well as the Indian
Embassy often consider Krishna Valley as its proper place for celebrating
religious Hindu festivals. Moreover, there are several architectural inspira‑
tions (the shrine, the statues of war elephants at the main gate, etc.) from
India, which determine the local landscape. Thus, it is not only that Krishna
Valley’s official designation is ‘Indian cultural centre’, but also provided
the slogan of ‘India’s gateway in the heart of Europe’. (4) The community
could always accomplish tight relations with the village hall regardless of
its political composition due to its size (of potential voters within the vil‑
lage), its charitable activities, and to its favourable impact on the village’s
economy. (5) The community does not only provide regular food supply
for the local needy, but it is also a model for rehabilitation nationwide. (6)
Yoga camps and educational programmes co‑organised by the Bhaktive‑
danta College enhance the events of the regular calendar and fill the empty
periods. (7) The full designation of Krishna Valley is ‘Indian cultural centre
and ecological farm’, which shows how significant ecological thought is in
its identity. It is not only one of the largest and oldest ecovillages in Europe,
but also a member of the Global Ecovillage Network of Europe, and its
research institute has an observer status in the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. Krishna Valley’s representatives cooperate
and share their experiences with a wide range of international organisa‑
tions and higher educational institutions (Kun, 2021).
This very swift description of the multi‑layered identity of Krishna Valley,
which is simultaneously Krishna Valley and Eco‑valley, shows an efficient
governance model with a high level of adaptability. When the 280‑hectare
farm community was established by Sivarama Swami in compliance with
the ‘simple living – high thinking’ principle, it was not necessarily meant to
become today’s showcase and tourist destination. Nevertheless, it could not
have happened without the active participation and flexibility of the local
community of devotees, who not only live in Krishna Valley anymore, but also
formed a community in the nearby village (Farkas, 2009). It is important that
Krishna Valley is not an open‑air museum, but it remains a religious commu‑
nity for which it is also called ‘New Vraja Dhāma’. A – third – denomination
evokes the birthplace of Lord Krishna, Vraja or Vrindavan in Northern India,
which is the holiest place (dhāma in Sanskrit) for all Vaishnavas (Swami,
2012–2013). In this sense, this place also has a spiritual layer, which is dis‑
played for the tourists as traditional Indian culture. The related tangible and
intangible cultural goods (buildings, artefacts, clothing, instruments, rituals,
songs, etc.) and activities (cow protection, yoga, vegetarian cooking, etc.)
128 Eszter György et al.

can be concomitantly interpreted as spiritual, Indian (i.e., exotic in Europe),

and ecological. It is probably not surprising that the latest initiative of the
local leaders10 is to unite these layers under the denomination of ‘heritage’
revealing the very high flexibility of the third regime cultural heritage uniting
tangible, intangible, and natural aspects of a locality. As in the Újpest case,
here also, the resilient governance lies in the creative aggregation of coopera‑
tion, adaptability, and successfully exhibited self‑representation.

7.4 Conclusion
This chapter reflected on resilient heritage communities and the poten‑
tial of community‑based, sustainable cultural tourism in the case of two
­peripheral – urban and rural – Hungarian areas. The challenges and oppor‑
tunities of cultural tourism and the explicit involvement of local communities
could be detected through innovative participatory approaches and practices.
Whether we are analysing the Újpest case which stands out as an eminent
example of minority heritage preservation or the Krishna Valley which can be
observed as a model of sustainable‑ecological, but also spiritual and religious
heritage places, the third heritage regime seemed as a pertinent approach. Its
renewed perspective, emphasising community heritage, cultural rights, and
intangibility is an adequate viewpoint and possibility of analysis to uncover
hidden potentials in remote, marginal areas.

Notes
1 Romani Studies Program (https://www.ceu.edu/unit/romani‑studies‑program –
May 13, 2020).
2 European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (https://eriac.org/about‑eriac/ –
May 13, 2020).
3 Critical Romani Studies (https://crs.ceu.edu/index.php/crs – May 13, 2020).
4 Interview with István Gábor Molnár, the president of Roma local government of
Újpest, on 10 April 2019 conducted by Eszter György.
5 An article written by István Gábor Molnár about the history of the urban neighbour‑
hood: https://kisebbsegkutato.tk.hu/uploads/files/olvasoszoba/romaszovegtar/
Ujpesti_ciganysag_tortenete.pdf.
6 As the article proves, the results of this research are manifold, but besides the
above‑mentioned exhibitions and other facilities, the history of the local Roma
community was also published and disseminated by István Gábor Molnár sev‑
eral times. Among others, an article entitled: Settlers attached to their local area?
The history of the Roma in Újpest https://epa.oszk.hu/03900/03995/00057/pdf/
EPA03995_naput_2010_07_019‑041.pdf, A family photo collection https:/­ /­
rofodia.oronk.hu/fenykeptar/ujpesti‑csaladi‑fotok‑molnar‑istvan‑gabor‑­
gyujtemenye/, and a video presentation in the frame of Romakép Műhely (Roma
Visual Lab) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRrS‑68MbY8&ab_channel=
Romak%C3%A9pM%C5%B1hely.
7 Újpest Roma Local History Collection and Gyöngyi Rácz Community Center
(https://www.facebook.com/ujpesticigany – 6 February 2024).
8 Five interviews were made in 2023 with the leaders of this religious organisation
and their anonymity is respected.
 Tourism and reception 129

9 The most attractive tourist destination is Lake Balaton.

10 In 2023, legal actions were inducted to unite the different legal entities related to
Krishna‑valley under a unique foundation entitled ‘For the preservation of Cre‑
ated Heritage’.

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wbieg1205
8 Participatory platform for
sustainable cultural tourism
The case of Central Slovakia
Darina Rojíková, Kamila Borseková
and Alexandra Bitušíková

8.1 Introduction
This chapter aims to present and evaluate the participatory methodology
employed in the development of “Mining Treasures,” an interactive online
platform designed to enhance regional development and tourism in the Ban‑
ska Bystrica Self‑Governing Region of Slovakia. This platform, particularly
focused on the region’s less developed and marginalised areas, was created
through extensive collaboration with diverse stakeholders and individu‑
als. The underlying concept of this initiative is sustainable cultural tourism,
which, according to the European Commission (2019), involves the integrated
management of cultural heritage and tourism activities in harmony with local
communities. This approach not only aims to yield social, environmental, and
economic benefits for all involved parties but also emphasises the conservation
of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage alongside sustainable tour‑
ism development. Sustainable cultural tourism places the cultural heritage and
its communities at the heart of decision‑making, ensuring that the benefits of
tourism are shared with the cultural heritage and its local people. This concept
supports the preservation of cultural heritage and its authentic interpretation,
as well as local sustainable economies. Furthermore, sustainable cultural tour‑
ism seeks to balance the benefits of attracting visitors to local communities
with the mitigation of potential negative impacts, such as the degradation of
cultural sites and practices due to overuse and commodification. The chap‑
ter will also explore strategic planning and networking in sustainable cultural
tourism, highlighting concepts like “slow tourism,” “authenticity,” “storytell‑
ing,” “well‑being,” and “contact with locals” (Callot, 2013). The European
Commission (2019, 2022) underscores the integral role of society, heritage
communities, groups, and individuals in cultural heritage, not merely as pas‑
sive audiences but as active participants in governance and management (for
more information see, e.g. Borseková et al., 2022, 2023).
Therefore, the primary motivation behind this chapter is to share our
experiences with a broader professional audience regarding the participatory
creation of a responsive web platform and digital map, “Mining Treasures
of Central Slovakia.” This platform vividly showcases the paramount mining

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-8
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
 Participatory platform for sustainable cultural tourism 133

locations in the region’s two cities, Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica
(and their environs). It not only presents these sites in an engaging manner but
also fosters participation and heritage community building. The participa‑
tory approach adopted during its development aims to rejuvenate the current
tourism offerings in the market. It seeks to distribute tourists more evenly,
especially diverting them from crowded cities to broader areas, attract those
keen on mining cultural heritage (be it tangible, intangible, or industrial), and
provide unparalleled educational resources tied to the region’s mining history
and culture. This is particularly crucial given the region’s underutilisation
of its cultural heritage for sustainable tourism and territorial development.
While cities grapple with the challenges of mass tourism, often drawing criti‑
cism from locals, the surrounding rural municipalities face a dearth of tourist
interest and inadequate development. Hence, a key goal of the platform is
to distribute tourists more evenly across a larger area that has much to offer.
The potential of the Banská Bystrica region is deeply intertwined with its
mining legacy. Since the 13th century, deposits of gold, silver, and copper, espe‑
cially in Banská Bystrica, Banská Štiavnica, and Kremnica, have been exploited.
Reflecting the metals mined, the mining towns were aptly named “Copper
Banská Bystrica,” “Silver Banská Štiavnica,” and “Golden Kremnica.”
The city of Banská Bystrica, known for copper mining, attained its current
picturesque appearance in the late Middle Ages. This transformation was
largely due to the affluent Fugger and Thurzo families, who established the
prosperous Thurzo‑Fugger Copper Company in 1494, a pioneering capital‑
ist enterprise of its time. The Thurzo‑Fugger company is also credited with
several global “firsts,” including the introduction of an 8‑hour workday,
retirement benefits for miners and widows, medical care, and the innovative
double‑entry bookkeeping system. The region is replete with over 250 tan‑
gible cultural heritage sites, including palaces, mansions, and more, particu‑
larly in and around Banská Bystrica.
Another significant area with a rich mining history is Banská Štiavnica,
known as “Silver Banská Štiavnica.” This historic city, along with its sur‑
rounding technical monuments, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site
since 1993. Banská Štiavnica has a storied past, from its early mentions in
1156 as “terra banensium” to its rise as the largest mining centre in the Hab‑
sburg monarchy in the 18th century. The city is home to 360 monuments,
with over 200 linked to its mining history.
Despite the immense potential of this heritage for tourism, its value
remains underappreciated in the region. There’s a noticeable absence of mar‑
keting and digital tools that could spotlight this unique historical facet, fos‑
tering territorial development and sustainable tourism.

8.2 The current state of tourism

The Banská Bystrica Self‑Governing Region, spanning an area of 9,454 km2
and constituting 19.3% of Slovakia’s total land area, is the country’s largest
134 Darina Rojíková et al.

region. Located in the southern part of central Slovakia, it shares its southern
border with the Republic of Hungary. The region’s topography is diverse,
ranging from high mountainous terrains in the north, rugged landscapes in
the centre, to gently rolling and flat areas in the south.
With a population of approximately 660,000, the Banská Bystrica
Self‑Governing Region has a population density of fewer than 70 inhabit‑
ants per km2. Once considered the most prosperous and affluent region in
Slovakia, it now ranks among the least developed. This decline is evident
from its relatively high unemployment rate and low Gross Domestic Prod‑
uct (GDP). Despite the region’s rich cultural and natural assets, a significant
portion of its population is employed in the industrial, trade, and construc‑
tion sectors. Mining, once a pivotal industry for the region, has seen a
decline, with the focus now primarily on surface mining of non‑metallic
minerals. The industrial sector contributes to over a quarter of the region’s
gross added value. In contrast, trade, transport, accommodation, and
­catering—sectors intertwined with tourism—contribute only 17% to the
added value.
Relative to other Slovak regions, the tourism sector in the Banská Bystrica
Self‑Governing Region is underdeveloped. This observation is supported by
tourism metrics. Tourism revenues in the region account for a mere 0.57% of
Slovakia’s total, the lowest among all Slovak regions. This trend is consistent
across various tourism indicators, including revenues from active tourism
(2.26%), passive tourism (0.44%), domestic tourism (2.85%), and foreign
tourism (1.36%).
One significant factor impacting the attractiveness of this region is the
accessibility of transportation infrastructure modes such as trains, buses, and
roads. Despite the fact that the region has a network of public bus and train
transport, this is not sufficiently integrated. There is also a lack of road con‑
nection between the east‑west and north‑south of Slovakia, which would
quickly and qualitatively connect the Banská Bystrica region with other
touristic significant locations in Slovakia with a high concentration of tour‑
ists, e.g. the High Tatras, the capital Bratislava, Košice. In some cities of
the region, e.g. Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica, there is also a huge
problem with parking. There is a lack of parking lots with the possibility of
public transportation to city centres. The lack of tourist information centres
with multilingual staff and insufficient promotion of available services in the
region contribute to a perception of poor infrastructure and detract from the
overall tourist experience.
Some of the mentioned problems that create barriers for the development
of tourism in the Banská Bystrica region are the subject of discussions by pol‑
iticians, experts, and the general public. Currently, there are slowly emerging
solutions that could remove these barriers (e. g. integrated public transport
system, completion of important roads connecting the southern and northern
parts of the region). However, their implementation and the resulting effect
will not be seen until several years from now.
 Participatory platform for sustainable cultural tourism 135

8.2.1 Indicators of tourist potential

From a tourism perspective, there are notable disparities between the dis‑
tricts of Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica, largely attributed to their
differing sizes. The Banská Bystrica district houses up to a quarter of the
region’s accommodation facilities. However, when considering the distinct
sizes of the districts and the cities themselves, the difference in the number
of ­accommodations—70 in both Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica—is
relatively minor.
The most significant variances between the two districts emerge when
examining indicators like the total number of rooms and beds. The Ban‑
ská Bystrica district offers over a third of the region’s total accommodation
capacity, but only a quarter of this capacity is utilised in both districts. In
contrast, the Banská Štiavnica district primarily features smaller accommo‑
dation facilities, as evidenced by the room and bed counts per facility.
Although the Banská Bystrica district encompasses a third of the region’s
accommodation capacities, it accounts for 73% of the total accommodation
revenue. This trend is consistent with other indicators, such as total revenue
from both foreign and domestic visitors.
The reason is that Banská Bystrica district also attracts a significant num‑
ber of business travellers due to its central location, developed infrastructure,
presence of industries, businesses, and government institutions. The district’s
conference facilities, hotels, and amenities cater to the needs of corporate
travellers, who often spend more on accommodation and related services
compared to leisure tourists. Banská Bystrica district also serves as a hub for
economic activities and employment opportunities in the region. Overall, the
combination of appealing tourist attractions, business opportunities, infra‑
structure, and economic activities contributes to Banská Bystrica district’s
dominance in accommodation revenues within the region. This phenomenon
underscores the district’s importance as a tourism and economic hotspot and
highlights the potential for further growth and development.
Despite the average accommodation prices in both districts being below
the regional mean, domestic visitors often express concerns about the costs.
The high demand for tourism services, especially in Banská Štiavnica, has led
to an increase in prices for related services, like dining, over recent years. This
has made them less affordable, particularly for residents.
Moreover, essential service providers like hair salons, grocery stores,
clothing retailers, and drugstores have gradually vanished from Banská
Štiavnica’s centre. In their place, tourism‑related establishments like cafes,
bakeries, restaurants, and souvenir shops have emerged. This shift has posed
accessibility challenges, especially for locals residing in the city centre. Such
developments, among others, have fostered tension between the local com‑
munity and tourists.
The trends in the indicators “Overnight Stays in Accommodation Facili‑
ties” (Figure 8.1) and “Turnover in Accommodation Facilities” (Figure 8.2)
 136 Darina Rojíková et al.

Table 8.1 Indicators of tourist potential in the Banská Bystrica region, Banská Bystrica, and
Banská Štiavnica districts

Indicator of tourism Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica Banská Štiavnica

region district district

Total number of 61,400 15,600 25% 8,600 14%

accommodation facilities
available
Total number of rooms 7 97,300 2 91,100 37% 57,600 7%
available
The number of rooms 13 19 7
converted to 1
accommodation facility
Total number of beds 2,1 47,000 7 48,200 35% 1 76,600 8%
(including camping
places) available
The number of beds 35 47 20
converted to 1
accommodation facility
Total revenue for 1,2 37,2 13,000 9 04,0 70,300 73% 2 29,6 25,100 19%
accommodation (euro)
Sales of foreign visitors 2 24,2 99,900 1 56,7 28,900 70% 327 633,00 15%
(EUR)
Sales of domestic visitors 1,0 80,4 84,100 6 79,7 70,400 63% 1 96,8 61,800 18%
(euro)
Average price for 3,670 3,130 3,020
accommodation in
accommodation facilities
(euro)
Average price for 5,050 3,440 3,730
accommodation in
accommodation facilities
per foreign visitor (euro)
Average price for 3,530 3,040 2,930
accommodation in
accommodation facilities
per domestic visitor
(euro)
Net use of permanent 2,490 2,360 2,220
beds in accommodation
facilities (%)
Net room utilisation (%) 3,330 2,920 2,680
Source: Own elaboration based on data from Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic

highlight the seasonality of tourism in the districts of Banská Bystrica and

Banská Štiavnica. Notable differences between the districts are evident.
In the Banská Bystrica district, there are two primary tourist seasons:
summer and winter. However, each lasts only for a brief duration of two
months. The summer season, occurring in July and August, aligns with Slo‑
vakia’s summer holidays. The winter season spans from January to February.
 Participatory platform for sustainable cultural tourism 137

Overnight stay in accommodation facilities in the districts of

Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica - seasonality
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0

Number of overnight stays in the Banská Bystrica district

Number of overnight stays in the Banská Štiavnica district

Figure 8.1 
Overnight stay in accommodation facilities in the districts of Banská
Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica.
Source: Own elaboration based on data from Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic

Turnover in accommodation facilities in the districts of Banská

Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica - seasonality
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0
2018/01
2018/02
2018/03
2018/04
2018/05
2018/06
2018/07
2018/08
2018/09
2018/10
2018/11
2018/12
2019/01
2019/02
2019/03
2019/04
2019/05
2019/06
2019/07
2019/08
2019/09
2019/10
2019/11
2019/12
2020/01
2020/02
2020/03
2020/04
2020/05
2020/06
2020/07
2020/08
2020/09
2020/10
2020/11
2020/12

Number of turnover in the Banská Bystrica district

Number of turnover in the Banská Štiavnica district

Figure 8.2 Turnover in accommodation facilities in the districts of Banská Bystrica

and Banská Štiavnica.
Source: Own elaboration based on data from Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic

Conversely, the Banská Štiavnica district has a single, more extended season
that gradually builds up and lasts for four months, with peak tourist activity
observed from June to September.
The distinct seasonality between the two districts can be attributed to
their unique offerings. Banská Bystrica, with several winter resorts in its
vicinity, is better equipped for winter tourism. On the other hand, Banská
Štiavnica boasts a rich cultural heritage linked to mining and is home to 24
artificial lakes (from an original count of 60). These lakes, initially designed
138 Darina Rojíková et al.

innovatively to generate energy for mines, now serve as recreational spots

during the summer.
The stretch from April to May 2020 and December to April 2021 was
particularly unique for tourism in both districts due to the challenges posed
by the COVID‑19 pandemic and the associated preventive measures.

8.2.2 Identification of competitive advantage

Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica boast a remarkable mining history dat‑
ing back centuries. Banská Štiavnica and Banská Bystrica were once among
the most important mining towns in the Kingdom of Hungary. Their terri‑
tories showcase well‑preserved mining structures, including mines, churches,
and manor houses. Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica, along with their
surrounding municipalities, are distinguished by over 600 tangible and
industrial heritage sites that stand testament to their rich mining history. The
cultural vibrancy of Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica is evident through
numerous festivals and events celebrating their heritage. Additionally, region
hosts annual cultural events, such as historical reenactments, folklore festi‑
vals, and arts exhibitions, which attract visitors from across Slovakia and
beyond. This cultural heritage, intertwined with the region’s stunning natural
landscapes and punctuated by cultural routes like the Barbora and Fugger
routes, establishes Central Slovakia’s unique competitive advantage.
While other regions of Slovakia may possess historical sites and cultural
attractions, few rival the depth, diversity, and authenticity found in Ban‑
ská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica. By harnessing and effectively leverag‑
ing this shared competitive advantage, mining towns and tourist routes can
significantly bolster the region’s sustainable development. This aligns with
the findings of Borseková et al. (2015, 2017), which highlight that the most
commonly identified competitive advantage across all Slovak regions is their
cultural and historical heritage, serving as the primary tourist attraction in
Slovakia. Such a heritage not only offers a type of competitive advantage but
also holds the potential to evolve into a genuine competitive advantage, given
its unique and inimitable nature.

8.2.3 Routes connecting the mining cultural heritage in Central Slovakia

The Barbora Route stands as the longest educational and sightseeing route
in Slovakia, weaving together mining monuments and attractions throughout
central Slovakia. Strategically segmented between villages, the route can be
traversed on foot or by bicycle. After completing each segment, visitors have
the option to rest at local accommodation facilities, which also offer luggage
transfer services. Along the way, catering services present an opportunity for
travellers to taste traditional local dishes.
Spanning 186.2 km, this pilgrimage route begins and concludes in Banská
Bystrica, designed to be completed over nine days. It’s structured into nine
 Participatory platform for sustainable cultural tourism 139

stages, with each stage culminating in an overnight stay. The stages vary in
length, alternating between longer and shorter distances. As the name suggests,
the route pays homage to St. Barbora, the patron saint of miners. It celebrates
locations tied to the mining history of both Slovak and broader European
significance. The Barbora route features 29 symbolic stops, commemorating
the age at which Saint Barbora passed away. These stops highlight locations
of mining, historical, natural, religious, cultural, and technical significance.
Throughout the journey, visitors can collect stamps in a guidebook, and upon
completion with all stamps, they receive a certificate of passage.
The Fugger Route serves as an educational exploration trail leading to
mines and mountain centres that enriched the Fuggers with silver, copper, and
iron. The Fuggers amassed their wealth in early modern Augsburg through
the cotton trade, loans to prominent figures, and predominantly the mining
industry. Circa 1490, the Fuggers established a pan‑European mining enter‑
prise with ore mines and smelters in Tyrol, Carinthia, and Banská Bystrica
in Upper Hungary (present‑day Slovakia). Their ventures with various met‑
als, especially copper and mercury, penned a riveting chapter in European
economic and social history. Today, Fugger houses, castles, churches, monu‑
ments, accessible mining tunnels, and museums in cities like Banská Bystrica,
Kremnica, and Banská Štiavnica offer insights into the history of this mining
conglomerate, which, by around 1660, prefigured the European Union.
Today’s Fugger Route in Slovakia is a segment of the broader European
Fugger Route, linking cities such as Augsburg, Bad Hindelang, Schwaz, Hall,
Sterzing, and Banská Bystrica. Banská Bystrica (Neusohl) stands as the heart
of the Fugger Route in present‑day Slovakia, given the Fuggers’ significant
copper ore acquisitions from the city. An old adage goes, “Golden Augsburg
stands on Copper Banská Bystrica.”
In contrast to the Barbora Route, which is actively marketed as a tourism
product, the Fugger Route lacks management and promotion. The Barbora
Route’s stewardship lies with the civic association Terra Montanae. Its mem‑
bers maintain the hiking trails, mark the route, and guide pilgrims along the
way. In the realm of sustainable tourism, a participatory approach stands as a
cornerstone for genuine and lasting development. By actively involving local
communities, stakeholders, and visitors in decision‑making processes, we can
ensure that tourism initiatives are both environmentally sustainable and cul‑
turally respectful. The Barbora and Fugger Routes, with their rich historical
and cultural significance, present a prime opportunity for such development.
By harnessing wider participation from local communities and beyond, these
routes can be transformed into vibrant hubs of sustainable tourism, ensuring
their preservation and relevance for generations to come.

8.3 Participatory platform—Mining treasures of Central Slovakia

The responsive web platform and digital map, “Mining Treasures of Central
Slovakia,” vividly showcase the most significant mining sites in two key cities
140 Darina Rojíková et al.

of the region: Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica, as well as their sur‑
rounding areas. The participatory approach adopted in its development not
only refreshes the current tourism offerings but also helps disperse tourists,
especially those from urban areas, across a broader region.
Informing visitors about the offerings of the region beyond the city cen‑
tre is important, but it is not sufficient on its own to redirect tourist flows.
The Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia platform adopts a multifaceted
approach that combines the promotion of both well‑known and lesser‑known
mining sites, education, and cooperation with local stakeholders.
The Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia platform employs a comprehen‑
sive and strategic approach to marketing activities aimed at promoting min‑
ing cultural heritage, thus mitigating the effects of tourism on city centres,
especially in Banská Štiavnica. The platform not only highlights renowned
sites but also showcases lesser‑known mining locations. This encompasses
the promotion of industrial and material heritage, as well as cultural events
and tourism in the surrounding villages. Lesser‑known mining sites often
remain undiscovered by tourists due to the lack of presentation and promo‑
tion by tourist information centres, tourism organisations, and travel agen‑
cies. Additionally, the platform offers off‑season activities through tourism
and cultural events. By diversifying tourism offerings, the platform can dis‑
tribute visitor flows and alleviate pressure on city centres.
However, for the implementation of sustainable tourism practices, coop‑
eration with local stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, civic associations, cul‑
tural institutions, and residents, who acknowledge the adverse impacts of
tourism on overcrowded city centres, is crucial. These stakeholders actively
contribute to the platform’s content creation, thereby taking ownership and
spreading its message further. By highlighting the unique offerings of the
entire region, not just the city centre, stakeholders advocate for responsible
tourism. The platform’s educational function, featuring distinctive educa‑
tional resources that delve into the region’s mining history and culture, also
plays a vital role in promoting sustainable tourism in the area. It is essential
for children and young people to learn about the region’s rich and rare min‑
ing history, fostering their readiness to protect cultural heritage and engage
in sustainable and responsible tourism in the future.
The platform also provides a forum for stakeholders to engage in dis‑
cussions with representatives of local and regional governments regarding
potential solutions for promoting sustainable tourism in the region. Govern‑
ment investment in infrastructure beyond the city centre is crucial, includ‑
ing improvements to transport links, signage, and visitor facilities. These
enhancements can facilitate tourists’ access to and enjoyment of attractions
outside the city centre.
Through these measures, the platform can assist in alleviating the adverse
impacts of tourism on city centres, fostering a more sustainable and equitable
tourism experience for visitors, and generating or sustaining tourism income
for residents.
 Participatory platform for sustainable cultural tourism 141

This approach attracts a diverse set of tourists, especially those keen

on exploring mining cultural heritage—be it tangible, intangible, or
industrial.
The participatory creation of the “Mining Treasures of Central Slo‑
vakia” platform commenced in June 2021 and was officially launched in
December 2022 on the website www.banickepoklady.eu. As of now, it fea‑
tures a total of 250 activities spread across nine categories: galleries and
museums; tangible heritage—monuments; intangible heritage; industrial
heritage; events; education; for children; hiking; and on the map. “Mining
Treasures” is a dynamic platform, regularly updated with new activities,
intriguing features, and news articles. Since April 2023, an English version
has been available, broadening its appeal to international visitors. Since its
inception, the “Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia” platform has gar‑
nered 338 users from 18 different countries, with an average visit dura‑
tion of 2 minutes and 7 seconds. The majority of users are from Slovakia,
followed by the USA, Sweden, and Ireland. On the platform, the cities of
Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica, articles, and routes—specifically the
Barbora and Fugger routes—as well as activities related to galleries and
museums have been of particular interest to visitors. The platform’s promo‑
tion is facilitated through its integration with social media platforms like
Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. While “Mining Treasures of Central
Slovakia” is fundamentally a digital platform, its creation extends beyond
just the technical aspects. The participatory development process encom‑
passed data collection, community engagement, design, marketing, and
content creation.

8.3.1 Data collection

As part of the creation of the platform “Mining Treasures of Central Slova‑

kia,” primary and secondary data related to the creation, testing, use and
promotion of the interactive platform were collected and evaluated. Data
related to the creation of the interactive platform consists of primary and sec‑
ondary data related to the content of the interactive platform; this includes
texts, photographs, videos, and audio materials. Data related to the testing,
use, and promotion of the interactive platform consists of collecting data
related to the testing and usage of the platform, such as the number of visits/
clicks, the number of interactions, and data related to feedback while using
the interactive platform (from local communities and beyond) and collecting
data related to using/promoting the platform and its content through social
media (e.g., using the hashtag #banickepoklady/#miningtreasures, liking,
commenting, sharing the content of the platform through different types of
social media).
In connection with data collection for interactive platform “Mining Treas‑
ures of Central Slovakia,” more than 30 museums and galleries, 60 tangible
heritage objects, 40 industrial heritages objects and 25 events were physically
142 Darina Rojíková et al.

visited. More than 250 texts were prepared and reviewed for the content of
the interactive platform, more than 2,300 photos were taken, and more than
350 websites were visited to get inspired. A total of more than 100 people
participated in data collection within the “Mining Treasures of Central Slo‑
vakia” platform.

8.3.2 Meetings with communities

At the very beginning of the creation of the interactive platform “Min‑

ing Treasures of Central Slovakia,” several important meetings were held
with key stakeholders. This includes the Regional Destination Management
Organisation BBSK and the Local Destination Management Organisation
Central Slovakian Local Destination Management Organisation. The partici‑
pation of students who became active contributors to the platform by creat‑
ing original content for the platform was increased. In addition, more than
20 meetings were organised with the ICT company related to the preparation
phase of the interactive digital platform. Training on the functionality of the
content of the interactive platform and adding items was also carried out by
the company that designs the interactive platform.
Through destination management organisations and numerous meetings
with local organisations, new groups of local communities and individuals
are involved in the creation of the platform. Successfully involved in the crea‑
tion of the platform are local photographers who provide photos and visual
materials for the content of the platform.
University students are involved in the creation of content as well as test‑
ing and promotion of the platform through specific assignments in five differ‑
ent courses (Creativity and culture in regional development; New trends in
local and regional politics; Participatory creation of public policy; Basics of
marketing; and Marketing public and non‑profit sector). Students’ participa‑
tion led to the creation of 19 proposals for the logo and design manual of
the interactive mining treasure platform. The winning proposal is used in the
final version of the platform. Students also become active contributors and
users of the platform. At the beginning of 2023, we met the author of the
children’s book “Copper Land,” which tells the story of the Špania Dolina
treasure and how a forest elf became a permonian. We were also invited
to the launch of the book and established cooperation with this author. In
2023, it was also possible to meet and develop cooperation with stakeholders
who are significantly involved in the protection and development of the min‑
ing heritage for the development of sustainable tourism and the creation of
new products, including CA Terra Montanae, CA Štiavnický tajch, Primary
school with kindergarten Maxilian Hella Štiavnické Bane, CA Špaňodolinská
historical school, and Slovak Mining Museum in Banská Štiavnica. Very
close cooperation was established with CA Terra Montanae, which covers
the Barbora route project. Subsequently, in August 2023, a Memorandum of
 Participatory platform for sustainable cultural tourism 143

Cooperation was signed with the representatives of CA Terra Montanae, not

only in the creation of an interactive platform.
There was excellent collaboration in the development of the interac‑
tive platform with CA Štiavnický Tajch. This organisation, along with its
dedicated volunteers, is actively involved in the revitalisation of the Banská
Štiavnica water management system, which stands as the most significant
water management structure ever constructed in Slovakia.
In total, the creation of the “Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia” inter‑
active platform involved more than 40 organisations spanning the public,
private, and non‑profit sectors. Additionally, 90 students from five academic
courses, 27 photographers (including four professionals), and 22 active con‑
tent authors contributed to the platform. Throughout the development pro‑
cess, over 45 meetings were held with these contributors.

8.3.3 Creation and design of responsive platform—technical part

The development of the platform is carried out in three main phases: infor‑
mation architecture/web design/development; integration/framework/SEO/
training; back‑end configuration/implementation.
Based on the specified requirements, during phase 1 (information architec‑
ture/web design/development), the information architecture of the interactive
platform was developed, followed by the design of the necessary subpages,
modules, and elements, and the front‑end and back‑end was deployed.
Phase 2 included integration of a new visual identity and design modifica‑
tions; deploying demo content—activities; articles, static pages SEO; prepa‑
ration of the content framework for preparation; document with manual;
cloud content architecture, two‑phase training in working with the content
framework and deploying content via TYPO 3.
During phase 3 (back‑end configuration/implementation) was realised
configuration of content management system for language mutations; con‑
figuration of recording elements for translation (activities, articles, tags, etc.);
route interconnection configuration; Google analytics configuration testing;
creating language files with a list of static texts/expressions for translation;
implementation of texts from language files; additional filters (route com‑
plexity, or other parameter).
After the TYPO3 system was configured, it was possible to start creating
the first activities—inserting texts, photos, information and running the plat‑
form in a test demo version, which was still being modified. Subsequently,
the final user version of the platform was launched in December 2022. The
Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia platform can be accessed at www.ban‑
ickepoklady.eu. Detailed instructions for using the Mining Treasures of Cen‑
tral Slovakia platform are available in Borseková et al. (2024) or directly on
the platform in the part “Articles”—“Manual for working with the platform
Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia.”
144 Darina Rojíková et al.

Figure 8.3 Final form of the logo of the platform “Mining Treasures of Central
Slovakia.”

8.3.4 Creation and design of responsive platform—Design and

marketing part—logo competition, participatory approach to
logo design and creation

Students from the courses “Basics of Marketing” and “Marketing of Public

and Non‑profit Sector” actively contributed to the design of the interactive
platform. They were given a specific assignment related to the platform’s vis‑
ual identity. The creation of the visual identity for the “Mining Treasures of
Central Slovakia” platform was participatory in nature, facilitated through a
logo competition. In total, 31 students participated, resulting in 19 proposed
designs for the platform’s visual identity, logo, and design manual. The com‑
petition yielded numerous compelling logo proposals, making the selection
of the final logo to represent the “Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia” a
challenging task.
The winning logo design consists of the abstract symbolism of mining, a
hammer, which is interspersed with a cross as a sign used in the context of
marking a place, a goal, etc. (treasure). The logotype refers to the discovery
and wandering of “mining treasures.” Logo designs, including the winning
logo, can be found in Borseková et al. (2024).
The winning logo design was modified by the designers in the final form
(Figure 8.3), which is used on the platform, social media, in presentations,
materials, and documents. The winning logo was embedded with a pin sym‑
bol, which we use to indicate activity on the platform map. The pin sign also
appeared in other student logo designs.

8.3.5 Creation of content for the responsive platform—Participatory

approach to platform content

Creating the content of an interactive platform is a rather demanding process,

which includes preparation of text obtained from several sources (books,
articles, websites, meetings with the community), photography and editing of
photos, obtaining information about entrance, opening hours, time required,
track length, restrictions. Furthermore, it is necessary to obtain the exact
location using Google Maps and the coordinates, which must be verified
directly in the field. The content of the interactive platform is created in a
participatory manner with the participation of students, representatives of
partner organisations, and scientists involved in the project. Thus, a total of
18 students of the Creativity and Culture in Regional Development course
were involved in the creation of the content of the interactive platform, who
 Participatory platform for sustainable cultural tourism 145

had the task of visiting selected activities of the “Mining Treasures of Central
Slovakia” (museums and galleries, material monuments, industrial monu‑
ments) and processing the content of the interactive platform.
Twenty‑seven authors and 31 photographers took part in the participa‑
tory creation of the content of the interactive platform “Mining Treasures of
Central Slovakia.”
More than 40 other students of the Creativity and Culture in Regional
Development course participate in the promoting of the platform by publish‑
ing posts on the social networks Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag
#banickepoklady. These are mainly photos from visiting platform activities
(usually galleries and museums, monuments, events, etc.)

8.3.6 Outputs of participatory creation of the interactive platform

“Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia”

A total of more than 100 participants were involved in the participatory crea‑
tion of the platform “Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia,” who took part
in the creation and design of the responsive platform within the technical
part, design and marketing part, and content development.
During one year of participatory creation of the platform “Mining Treas‑
ures of Central Slovakia,” more than 45 meetings were organised with more
than 40 organisations and communities involved in the creation of the plat‑
form. A total of 250 activities were created by 27 authors on the platform.
Twenty‑seven photographers created more than 2,300 photos for the plat‑
form. A total of 90 students in five study subjects were involved in the crea‑
tion of the content of the platform. Eighteen students prepared content and
photos for 54 activities on the platform. Thirty‑one students worked on cre‑
ating the logo, creating a total of 19 logo designs. Forty‑one students are
still working on promoting the platform through social networks. Currently,
the interactive platform has more than 1300 users from 96 countries of the
world and their number is constantly growing. Table 8.2 shows the results of
the participatory creation of the interactive platform “Mining Treasures of
Central Slovakia.”
The “Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia” platform successfully ensures
the accuracy and authenticity of its content through a series of meticulously
designed mechanisms. Collaborative creation is at the forefront, with over
40 organisations and communities actively participating in 45 meetings, con‑
tributing diverse perspectives and expertise to the content. The central role
of a dedicated coordinator is crucial in this process, overseeing the verifica‑
tion of all submitted content, maintaining communication with stakeholders,
and ensuring adherence to cultural and factual standards. Additionally, the
platform provides comprehensive training and clear guidelines to all con‑
tributors, which helps in maintaining a consistent quality of content. Further‑
more, the integration of advanced technology, such as digital archives and
GIS mapping, plays a significant role in verifying geographical and historical
146 Darina Rojíková et al.

Table 8.2 Results of participatory creation of the interactive platform “Mining Treas‑

ures of Central Slovakia”

Indicator Value

Number of organisations and communities involved in the platform 40+

creation
Number of meetings with partners 45
Total number of students involved in the platform creation 90
Number of students involved in creating the content of the Mining 18
Treasures website
Number of activities processed by students on the Mining Treasures 54
platform
Number of students involved in the creation of the Mining Treasures logo 31
Number of Mining treasures logo designs 19
Number of study subjects in which students participated in the platform 5
creation
Number of activities on the platform Mining Treasures 250
Number of photos created for the platform 2300
Number of photographers involved in the creation of web content 31
Number of authors involved in the creation of web content 27
Number of social media platforms involved (Facebook, Instagram, and 3
YouTube)
Number of users of the platform 1300+
Source: Own elaboration.

data, thereby enhancing the platform’s reliability and educational value.

These combined efforts result in a platform that is not only rich in diverse
inputs but also anchored in accuracy and authenticity, reflecting the true
essence of Central Slovakia’s cultural heritage.
In addition to its focus on accuracy and authenticity, the “Mining Treas‑
ures of Central Slovakia” platform also implements strategies to minimise
environmental impacts, promote responsible tourism practices, and enhance
community well‑being. A key initiative in this regard is the incorporation of
educational content about environmentally significant landmarks, such as the
Banská Štiavnica Water Management System. This content not only educates
tourists about the region’s unique environmental features but also highlights
ongoing participatory renewal efforts. By informing visitors about the impor‑
tance of these ecosystems and the role they play in local heritage, the platform
encourages more responsible and environmentally conscious tourism behav‑
iours. This approach not only aids in the preservation of these natural systems
but also fosters a deeper connection between tourists and the local community,
contributing to the overall well‑being and sustainability of the region.

8.4 Conclusion
Central Slovakia’s historic mining locations, connected by the Barbora and
Fugger routes, hold immense potential for fostering a heritage community
 Participatory platform for sustainable cultural tourism 147

united by a shared cultural legacy. This community should be anchored in

the mining history of the region, with a focus on preserving its rich cultural
heritage and supporting enduring cultural traditions. The act of preserving
and promoting this cultural heritage not only maintains the region’s cultural
diversity but also reinforces a sense of belonging and identity among its
inhabitants. It evokes pride and offers a platform to showcase these values to
the broader world.
By following the path of sustainable cultural tourism in Central Slovakia,
particularly its historic mining locations linked by the Barbora and Fugger
routes, offer a unique opportunity to cultivate a heritage community rooted
in the region’s rich mining history. This approach emphasises the preserva‑
tion and promotion of the region’s cultural heritage and enduring traditions,
thereby maintaining its cultural diversity. By doing so, it not only reinforces
a sense of belonging and identity among the local inhabitants but also instils
a sense of pride in their cultural legacy. Such sustainable tourism initiatives
provide a platform to share and showcase the region’s unique cultural values
and traditions with a wider audience, balancing the enhancement of regional
development and tourism with the conservation of cultural heritage and local
community engagement. This aligns with the broader concept of sustainable
cultural tourism, which aims to integrate the management of cultural herit‑
age and tourism in a way that benefits all stakeholders and supports both
tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
However, despite the region’s vast potential and the presence of numerous
cultural institutions, such as galleries and museums, as well as civic associa‑
tions and mining groups, there remains a gap. These entities, all bound by
the rich tapestry of mining history, have yet to fully unite and form a cohe‑
sive, resilient heritage community. Such a community would not only be a
guardian of our ancestors’ cultural heritage but would also harness it for ter‑
ritorial development, creating innovative products for sustainable tourism.
Central to building this heritage community is the adoption of a participa‑
tory approach, one that is rooted in a “bottom‑up” perspective.
The “Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia” platform stands as a testa‑
ment to the power of collaborative effort and the potential of participatory
approaches in fostering sustainable cultural tourism. Here’s a breakdown of
the platform’s creation and its impact:

• Collaborative Creation: Over 40 organisations and communities came

together, holding 45 meetings to shape the platform. This extensive col‑
laboration underscores the importance of collective effort in building
something of value.
• Student Participation: A significant 90 students from five different aca‑
demic courses contributed to the platform’s creation. Notably, 18 students
were directly involved in curating the content for the website, process‑
ing 54 activities. Additionally, 31 students participated in a competi‑
tion to design the platform’s logo, resulting in 19 unique designs. This
148 Darina Rojíková et al.

active involvement of the younger generation highlights the platform’s

­commitment to inclusivity and the blending of academic learning with
practical application.
• Rich Content: The platform boasts 250 activities, enriched by a staggering
2,300 photos. This vast repository of content was made possible by the
contributions of 31 photographers and 27 authors, emphasising the plat‑
form’s comprehensive approach to showcasing Central Slovakia’s mining
heritage.
• Digital Outreach: The platform’s digital presence spans three major social
media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. This wide digital
footprint ensures that the rich history and cultural significance of Central
Slovakia’s mining heritage reach a broad audience.
• User Engagement: Since its inception, the platform has attracted more
than 1300 users, indicating its growing popularity and the potential to
become a significant tool for promoting sustainable cultural tourism.

In conclusion, the “Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia” platform exempli‑

fies how a participatory approach can harness diverse talents and resources
to create a comprehensive digital tool. Promoting the rich mining heritage of
Central Slovakia not only educates and informs but also paves the way for
sustainable cultural tourism in the region.
Moving forward, the journey of the “Mining Treasures of Central Slova‑
kia” platform is far from over. The “Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia” is
embarking on an exciting phase of development, bolstered by the pursuit of
a matching grant from the Slovak Renewal Plan. This project’s core objective
is to leverage cultural heritage as a key driver for social and economic devel‑
opment in the region, using innovative and original methods that emphasise
participation, education, and sustainable tourism. One of the key initiatives
in this new phase is the development of an original prototype of a physical
map of Central Slovakia and the Barbora Route. This map is unique in that
it features a layer designed to connect with an app that integrates the content
from the banickepoklady.eu platform. This integration represents a novel
approach to tourism, blending traditional and digital methods of explora‑
tion. The physical map, paired with the digital app, will allow users to dis‑
cover traditional sites while simultaneously engaging with digital content,
enhancing the overall experience of exploring Central Slovakia’s cultural her‑
itage. For this, project is crucial to ensure that the benefits of the platform
are distributed fairly among all stakeholders. Furthermore, the expansion of
the participatory platform to include Kremnica and its surroundings marks
a significant step in the project’s development. By employing a participa‑
tory approach, similar to what was used for Banská Bystrica and Banská
Štiavnica, the platform ensures that the development of new content is inclu‑
sive and reflective of the community’s needs and insights. This expansion
is not only about adding new locations but also about strengthening coop‑
eration with local stakeholders, particularly in Kremnica, and utilising the
 Participatory platform for sustainable cultural tourism 149

content for educational purposes. Utilising the content of the platform for
educational purposes necessitates the involvement and cooperation of other
stakeholders, including educational institutions and their teachers, pupils,
students, civic associations, and cultural institutions. They will participate in
both the preparation of the educational content for the platform and serve as
recipients of its content.
The participatory approach, with its inherent dynamism, serves as an
inexhaustible wellspring of inspiration. It continually brings forth fresh ideas
and novel avenues for showcasing and leveraging the rich cultural heritage
of Central Slovakia. As we continue to embrace this approach, we are not
just limited to Central Slovakia but have the potential to set a precedent for
regions beyond, illustrating the transformative power of collective effort in
celebrating and preserving cultural legacies.
In essence, participatory approaches in tourism serve as a vital instrument
for realising sustainable tourism in Central Slovakia. They harmonise eco‑
nomic, cultural, and environmental objectives with the desires and needs of
local communities, ensuring the enduring success of tourism destinations. This
approach is in line with the principles of sustainable cultural tourism, as it
seeks to balance the promotion and preservation of cultural heritage with the
economic and social development of the region. The emphasis on participatory
methods ensures that the local community is not only a beneficiary but also
an active participant in the development process, thus ensuring the sustain‑
ability and authenticity of the initiatives. This fact is also a basic prerequisite
for the longevity and sustainability of the Mining Treasures of Central Slo‑
vakia platform. Long‑lasting accessibility of the platform will be ensured by
the Local Destination Management Organisation Central Slovakia, with which
very close cooperation is developed, and which also actively participates in
the creation of the platform’s content. Additionally, considering that the Local
Destination Management Organisation Central Slovakia is within the organi‑
sational scope of the Banská Bystrica self‑governing region, sufficient financial
and organisational support will be ensured for the long life of the platform.

Acknowledgements
This chapter has been developed within the framework of the INCULTUM
project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innova‑
tion programme under Grant Agreement No. 101004552.

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9 Water heritage and
community‑based cultural
tourism. The case of the
Algarve’s Coastal Agrarian
plain, in Southern Portugal1
Desidério Batista, Manuela Guerreiro,
Miguel Reimão Costa, Bernardete Sequeira,
Marisa Cesário and Dora Agapito

9.1 Introduction
This chapter focuses on the role and importance of water heritage in the
development of community‑based cultural tourism. The study area corre‑
sponds to the agrarian plain between the historic cities of Faro, Loulé and
Olhão on the Central Algarve Coast. The historical process of building
and transforming the landscape reveals the Mediterranean heritage and
the Arab‑Muslim influence both on the spatial organisation and manage‑
ment models and on land exploitation. These models historically interlink
with the interdependence between cities and their food production hinter‑
lands. Vegetable and fruit production depended above all on the efficient
usage and management of groundwater for irrigating vegetable gardens
and orchards.
Hence, this coastal plain is dominated by irrigated fields with the tradi‑
tional irrigation system including a wide variety of hydraulic structures. These
structures incorporate the lifting of water (norias), its transportation (aque‑
ducts), storage (tanks) and distribution (canals) to constitute the basic irriga‑
tion system of this ancient and rich agricultural region. Although this water
heritage has long since experienced abandonment and degradation, and with
traditional cultivation and irrigation practices having fallen into disuse, they
nevertheless remain of great historical, cultural, social and environmental
interest and value. Therefore, the core challenge of this study is to inventory,
rehabilitate and enhance the value of this tangible and intangible heritage
while furthermore integrating it into cultural routes that endow visibility and
prominence. This agrarian plain reflects a historical area of food production
on the fringes of the region’s recent urban‑tourist development. Furthermore,
the area still preserves a unique historical irrigation system of great cultural
value spanning several hundred norias. The selection of this case study aims
to consider the conservation of this valuable heritage and to integrate it into

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-9
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
152 Desidério Batista et al.

cultural tourism routes within the context of the t­ ransformations ongoing in

the contemporary landscape.
This chapter correspondingly comprises of two essential but interrelated
and interconnected parts. This sets out by identifying and characterising the
historical irrigation system, approaching this as an agrosystem with a long
tradition with the noria playing a prominent role as a central feature in the
local socio‑economy and cultural landscape. The chapter proceeds by consid‑
ering how this valuable hydro‑agricultural heritage might serve as a basis for
community‑based cultural tourism. The chapter then details the participatory‑
collaborative approaches and innovative solutions coupled with a proposal
for cultural itineraries, centred on local communities as communities of
practice through their involvement in managing both natural and cultural
resources and the hydraulic heritage.
The methodology applied in this research adopts an interdisciplinary, inte‑
grative and relational approach that brings together themes from History,
Geography, Agronomy, Sociology, Economics and Tourism. This incorpo‑
rated the cross‑referencing of bibliographical and documentary sources with
analysis of historical cartography and fieldwork to map and survey hydraulic
structures in addition to collecting oral information on traditional cultivation
and irrigation practices and techniques.
Therefore, the proposed cultural routes arise out of the landscape and its
water heritage as interpreted by the community that manages them, thereby
reflecting the participatory‑collaborative model. This simultaneously strives
to integrate sustainable production and consumption into cultural tourism
and hence contribute to improving not only the quality of the environment
but also the quality of life of the resident and visiting populations.

9.2 Identification and characterisation of the historical

irrigation system
The Gharb al‑Andalus region forged a unique agrarian landscape through
its mastery of water for irrigating gardens and orchards (Lagardère 2006).
The national and international scientific literature points to the Algarve’s
­historical irrigation system as an Arab‑Muslim legacy (Caldas 1998; Feio
1949; Lagardère 2006; Mabberley and Placito 1993; Ribeiro 1991; Schiøler
1973; Stanislawski 1963) that deployed regionally significant technological
innovations (Batista 2023; Cavaco 1976; Rodrigues and Merlos 2020).
Alongside the bibliographical sources, primary sources and fieldwork
proved fundamental to identifying and characterising the hydraulic struc‑
tures in the study area. On this agrarian coastal plain, as in other Mediter‑
ranean regions, the type of irrigation applied to water vegetable gardens and
orchards has been irrigation by shortage (Ribeiro 1991). This type of irriga‑
tion requires the most complex and diversified means and procedures for
obtaining and distributing water (Ribeiro 1991). Here, the device operated to
 Water heritage and community-based cultural tourism 153

Figure 9.1 Algarve’s map with the location of pilot case. Elaborated by the authors.

lift irrigation water predominates, the noria pots, almost always associated
with aqueducts, tank(s) and canals.

9.2.1 The Mediterranean legacy: landscapes, practices and techniques

Written and documentary sources from different periods reiterate the agri‑
cultural wealth and extraordinarily productive character of this fertile plain
(Cavaco 1976; Feio 1949; Link 1808; Magalhães 1988; Proença 1927;
Ribeiro 1991). Historically, it has been a production landscape associated
with both rainfed and irrigated agriculture (Batista et al. 2023). Each is
associated with a characteristic type of landscape that depends on the fertil‑
ity of the soils and the presence of water. The former type, associated with
less fertile soils, corresponds to the rainfed orchards of almond, fig, carob
and olive trees, formerly accompanied by arable crops and legumes (Feio
1949). The latter type of landscape, associated with the greater soil fertility
and the availability of water for irrigation, includes vegetable gardens and
citrus groves.
One and the other testify to two privileged expressions of the unity and
diversity of the landscape of this coastal plain as a legacy of Mediterranean
culture (Lagardère 1993; Ribeiro 1991). Its agrarian landscape is particularly
marked by the presence of trees in the fields (whether with crops under their
cover), considered one of the most characteristic features of the Mediter‑
ranean landscape (Ribeiro 1991), alongside vegetables to configure a tight,
strongly identifiable and diversified agricultural mosaic.
The Mediterranean polyculture characteristic of this coastal plain combines
rainfed and irrigated crops, depending on market fluctuations. This has also
experienced the integration of new plants over time as well as developments
to the cultivation and irrigation practices and techniques. Rainfed land (tradi‑
tional mixed orchards, legumes, vines, etc.) and irrigated land (vegetables and
fruit) have co‑evolved in accordance with a strategy of constant socio‑spatial,
technological and market adaptation. This process has resulted in the rich and
154 Desidério Batista et al.

diverse agrarian and hydraulic heritage that fuses ­Mediterranean heritage with
a locally inscribed territorial culture (Batista 2023).
The diversity of fruit and vegetable and nut production that complements
the Mediterranean agrarian trilogy of bread, wine and olive oil reflects the
legacy of a traditional economy that is simultaneously self‑sufficient and a
supplier of markets internationally. However, it is also the Mediterranean
synthesis of a landscape of mixed cultures that encounters its most com‑
plete representation in irrigation (Ribeiro 1991). Here, it is possible to find a
constancy of cultivation and irrigation practices and techniques, which can
be historically interpreted from the Arab‑Muslim presence. This is reflected
in the intense development of every form of small‑scale agrarian hydraulics
based on the mastery of water, resulting in landscapes capable of surviv‑
ing (Bazzana and De Meulemeester 2009). In the 11th century, Ibn Bassal
described the noria as a standard machine for irrigation and it remained in
use until only recently on the Iberian Peninsula (Al‑Hassan and Hill 1986).
Indeed, some vegetable gardens on the outskirts of Faro and Loulé still make
recourse to the practices of Moorish times with their norias, irrigation chan‑
nels, vegetable plots and orchards (Ribeiro 1991).
The 10th–12th‑century chronicles written by Arab historians and geog‑
raphers (Coelho 1989; Domingues 1971) describe the agrarian landscape of
the Algarve coastline and thereby enabling us to identify characters and fea‑
tures that have maintained formal and functional relations through to the
present day. Among these descriptions, we would highlight that of Al Râzî
(10th century) and Ibn Ghâlib (12th century), which describe the Algarve
coastline as flat and fertile, with excellent agriculture, many trees and good
seedbeds, very good fruit and watered gardens. The noria pots here represent
one of the essential features of irrigated agriculture as a medieval Islamic
legacy and with little difference in the products grown (Bazzana and Mont‑
messin 2006; Caldas 1998; Lagardère 2006; Mabberley and Placito 1993;
Schiøler 1973; Stanislawski 1963).

9.2.2 Noria(s) as an identity expression of water mastery

The animal‑drawn waterwheel (sâniya in Arabic, noria de sangre in Spanish,

nora in Portuguese) constitutes one of the main irrigation structures in the
Mediterranean world and particularly in the Muslim West (Spain, ­Portugal,
Morocco) (Bazzana and Montmessin 2006). This artefact did not arrive
here in isolation but rather as an integral component for a body of technical
knowledge, machines and tools linked to new agricultural practices in which
irrigated spaces take a central role (Poveda 2004). This “Green Revolution”
was based on the noria, which allowed farmers to irrigate individual plots
and cultivate a wide variety of plants, important both for the economies of
medieval towns and for feeding their inhabitants (Glick 1977).
While the Treatise on the Exploration of Groundwater, dated 1017, by
the hydraulic engineer Al‑Karajî refers to such systems, the perfecting of
 Water heritage and community-based cultural tourism 155

the animal‑drawn bucket gear and its first drawn record are attributed to
Al‑Jazarî (12th century) (El Faïz 2018). Nevertheless, the spread of norias on
the Iberian Peninsula is believed to have occurred in the 9th century (Poveda
2004), with the presence of norias in the Islamic tradition in the Algarve
noted from the 10th century onwards (Lagardère 2006). In whatever the
case, the clay pots on display in the Silves Museum date to the Almohad
period (12th–13th centuries). The description of how this device for lifting
water for irrigation worked by the Sevillian Ibn al‑Awwãm, in his Treatise on
Agronomy, also belongs to this same period (Caro 1955; Lagardère 1993).
Although the principle associated with its gearing is modest (Glick 1977),
they nevertheless represent complex and fragile machines (Bazzana 1994).
Norias are devices for lifting water in pots (alqaduzes, in Arabic, alcatru‑
zes in Portuguese) which, interlinked with a well, are moved by a hydraulic
wheel powered by the continuous circular movement of animals (donkeys,
mules, bulls, etc.). In its most basic version, norias in the Algarve featured
two wheels, with one horizontal and propelled by the animal and with the
second‑placed vertically, geared to the first, serving to attach a rope of buck‑
ets lifting the water to pour into a canal or tank. This model of animal‑drawn
water lifting machine is the same as that described in other studies carried out
on the Iberian Peninsula (Argemí et al. 1995; Caro 1955; Schiøler 1973; Dias
and Galhano 1986; Poveda 2004), and on Islamic technology (Al‑Hassan
and Hill 1986; El Faïz 2018).
Among the various typologies of norias inventoried and characterised in
Portugal (Dias and Galhano 1986), this solution was the most common in
the Algarve until the end of the 19th century. The vegetable gardens on the
Algarve’s coastal plain, watered by these norias, had hitherto remained small
gardens that met the main needs of the local populations for fresh vegetables
and fruit (Cavaco 1976).
With the arrival of the railway in the city of Faro in 1889, enabling the
subsequent increase in the sale of fruit and vegetable products in other mar‑
kets, the irrigation processes were both intensified and transformed. This
generated implications with an increase in irrigated areas drawing on the
heightened utilisation of underground water resources and not only a mul‑
tiplication of the number of norias but also their complexification (Batista
2023; Cavaco 1976). The technological evolution of the waterwheels
included replacing the wooden gear by a metal gear, which began then and
gathered pace over the first half of the last century. This contributed to the
generalisation of a new noria´s typology in which the animal’s movement was
no longer concentric in relation to the wheel but rather in relation to a small
structure built alongside. Subsequently, this transformation of the noria also
extended to integrating reinforced concrete structures in place of pre‑existing
traditional constructions.
The construction techniques in iron and concrete, and the ability to
sink wells further, particularly facilitated the expansion of irrigated areas.
This became especially evident following the introduction of a new type of
156 Desidério Batista et al.

irrigation system, centred on the motor‑driven high noria. This solution, based
on knowledge of agricultural hydraulics, henceforth became widespread and
correspondingly associated with irrigated agriculture on an industrial scale
and producing an indelible mark on the landscape.
This technological evolution in the waterwheels, incorporating new mate‑
rials and construction processes, also meant that animals came to be replaced
by irrigation motors and electric pumps (Batista 2023; Cavaco 1976). These
new methods of lifting water for irrigation gradually dispensed with the feed‑
ing of gear and replaced by the opening of artesian boreholes in the last dec‑
ades of the 20th century. The history of the noria tends to progressively close
with the advent of this process even though realisation of their importance as
a factor of cultural identity and their relative conservation by local commu‑
nities means that the diversity of this heritage can still today be inventoried
and recorded. This is water‑based heritage of historical, cultural and envi‑
ronmental values and of particular interest and significance in this context.
This stems from not only the large concentration of norias pots (with over
400 mapped so far) but also the prevailing typological diversity correspond‑
ingly produced by a historical, evolutionary and adaptive irrigation system.

9.3 Hydro‑agricultural heritage and sustainable cultural tourism

Sustainable tourism planning must consider the four dimensions of sustain‑
able development: economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainabil‑
ity (Bramwell and Lane 2000). Achieving sustainability and the Sustainable
Development Goals established by the United Nations requires participatory‑­
collaborative approaches and adopting innovative solutions represents another
essential prerequisite. Participation embodies “a process of involving all
stakeholders (local government officials, local citizens, architects, developers,
businesspeople, and planners) in such a way that decision‑making is shared”
(Haywood 1988). Thus, a participatory‑collaborative approach nurtures a bal‑
ance between different stakeholders and strives to achieve win‑win outcomes
in tourism contexts (Arnstein 1969; Ozcevik et al. 2010). Actively involving
citizens and local communities in decision‑making processes ensures the main‑
tenance of traditional lifestyles and respect for community values (Cater 1994;
Murphy 1985; Nunkoo and Ramkissoon 2011; Wild 1994).
This approach derives from a more democratic and inclusive governance
model aligned with the emerging smart territory paradigm which perceives
the application of technology and the participation of citizens as co‑creators
in decision‑making processes as decisive for achieving both quality of life and
quality of the environment (Simonofski et al. 2020).
Within this framework, the participation of the local population in tour‑
ism development and heritage management may therefore contribute to
improving their own quality of life and, simultaneously, boosting the very
sustainability of the territory (Nicholas et al. 2009), strengthening social rela‑
tions and preserving cultural heritage and the landscape.
 Water heritage and community-based cultural tourism 157

Thus, sustainable cultural tourism, understood as heritage‑based tourism,

supports integrated and sustainable development, especially in neglected
and/or peripheral areas (Ottaviani et al. 2023). Similarly, this hydraulic
heritage has become a symbol of the identity of territories and with the
heritage valorisation of norias capable of producing a cultural resource
associated with water routes for the diversification of tourism in various
contexts (Gil et al. 2020).
Historical irrigation systems are potentially able to provide several dif‑
ferent ecosystem services to society (Civantos et al. 2021), which include
cultural services related to recreation and leisure (Batista et al. 2023). This
reflects the perspective prevailing behind the proposal for cultural routes
focused on the hydro‑agricultural heritage of the Central Algarve coastal
plain in association with sustainable production and consumption practices
and participatory tourism.

9.3.1 Participatory‑collaborative approaches and innovative solutions

The participatory‑collaborative approach is detailed by international‑level

documents on sustainable tourism (UNWTO 2005) and academia (Currie
et al. 2009; Timothy 2010; Vernon et al. 2005). In the tourism literature,
­participatory‑collaborative approaches enable the sharing of experiences to
the benefit of communities (Vernon et al. 2005), which itself assumes an active
and decisive role in the planning, development and management of local
resources and the respective tourist products (Simpson 2008). This impacts,
and among other factors, the development of new products in accordance
with UN’s sustainable development goals. Furthermore, this approach con‑
tributes to promoting capacity‑building practices, optimising the multiplier
effects of tourism across local communities and increasing general support
for the development of local tourism while sharing responsibilities among
stakeholders (Bramwell and Lane 2000). The participation of local commu‑
nities allows tourists to interact with communities and learn about their cul‑
ture, habits, and the surrounding cultural and natural heritage during their
stays (Lucchetti and Font 2013).
In the pilot case on the Algarve’s agrarian coastal plain, local commu‑
nities and stakeholders constitute not only the main actors but also the
ultimate beneficiaries and play a direct and important role in the implemen‑
tation of the pilot actions (Batista et al. 2023). In this pilot, the following
participatory‑collaborative approaches were adopted: community‑based
­
tourism, training and education activities and cultural participation.

9.3.2 Community‑based cultural tourism

In the context of sustainable tourism development, the importance of

community‑based cultural tourism has been clearly recognised since the
­
1990s (Salazar 2012). This accounts for a particular and alternative mode of
158 Desidério Batista et al.

tourism that suggests a mutual relationship in which the tourist does not take
central priority but rather represents an equal part of the system (­Wearing
and McDonald 2002).
Communities and their identities are constantly being reconstructed and
redefined due to the way they live and interact, both with each other and with
other actors (Waterton and Smith 2010). They are social actors who share
cultural and collective identities, historical ties and emotional connections to
local heritage and the place where they live (Chitty 2011).
The participatory‑collaborative approach therefore aligns with the concept
of community‑based tourism in which residents, especially in rural communi‑
ties, are empowered with the ability to manage local tourist resources; generate
profit; diversify the local economy; preserve cultural, social and environmen‑
tal heritage; and generate innovation, among other aspects. Their narratives,
through storytelling, inform the design of innovative and authentic tourism
experiences (Moscardo 2020). This storytelling makes it possible to collect
data based on the stories told (Moscardo 2020) and with participatory Story
Maps assisting in recognising the different dimensions of the territory, thereby
enabling the georeferencing of the information told and collected.
This participatory‑collaborative approach is especially applicable to sustain‑
able heritage tourism contexts where a balance between conservation and tour‑
ism needs achieving to reduce and offset negative impacts (Timothy and Boyd
2006). Community‑based tourism should benefit from the support and par‑
ticipation of the local community with economic benefits correspondingly dis‑
tributed among local inhabitants while projects should prioritise protecting the
cultural and environmental identities of such locations (Wacław et al. 2015).
This understands the importance of the local community as the main
actor and decision‑maker in the planning, development and management
of the resources necessary to serving the purposes of tourism (Simpson
2008). Within this perspective, we may recognise the key role of the hydro‑­
agricultural heritage of the Algarve’s coastal plain, and the participation and
cooperation of local farmers and producers as an integral facet of the tourism
product and the destination itself. In this sense, the project sought to inte‑
grate two complementary approaches to surveying intangible heritage in a
prospective dimension, specifically the “study and survey approach” and the
“applied approach” (Costa et al. 2022).
The fieldwork therefore played a crucial role by collecting oral informa‑
tion on traditional cultivation and irrigation practices and techniques with
interviews carried out with elderly farmers, who are faithful custodians of
longstanding knowledge and know‑how that is now on the verge of disap‑
pearing. The study and diagnosis of hydraulic structures of exceptional his‑
torical, cultural and environmental values informed the developing recovery
projects. These tasks enable the owners to carry out restoration work on the
heritage and then organise visits as part of the cultural itineraries.
Participatory cultural routes activate the local economy, which ben‑
efits from the involvement of the farming community as producers and
 Water heritage and community-based cultural tourism 159

managers of visits to their smallholdings. Through such means, traditional,

family‑based socio‑economies become part of the tourist economy, exploit‑
ing tourism niches related to hydro‑agricultural heritage (agrotourism, rural
tourism, slow tourism). This also strives to ensure that this new tourism seg‑
ment, an alternative to the sun, beach and golf tourism that predominates
in the Algarve, makes an important contribution to combating seasonality.
­Furthermore, this may provide new and different experiences for visitors,
whose immersion in the local rural culture will certainly be remarkable
(Batista et al. 2023).

9.3.3 Training and education activities

In cultural tourism contexts, local communities stand out as fundamental

and integral components (Ottaviani et al. 2023). The implementation of
training and education actions and activities are decisive for the efficient uti‑
lisation of human capital and local resources, especially those with unique
value, such as cultural heritage (Scheyvens and Biddulph 2018). The act of
interpreting heritage is defined as a means of assistance enabling the broad
appreciation of heritage (Tilden 2007; Beck and Cable 1997). Or a creative
communication process designed to raise the awareness of both the resident
and the visiting populations as regards both appreciating and conserving her‑
itage (UNWTO 2011).
This pilot case included the organisation of various training activities, for
example, two participatory workshops on how to build cultural tourism itin‑
eraries and products. One session explored ideas and intervention strategies
for revaluing water heritage as a basis for defining cultural routes. The other
focussed on the cultural, economic and environmental values and social and
tourist interests in foodscapes based on traditional irrigation and regenera‑
tive agricultural techniques. In both cases, best practices were shared on the
implementation of cultural routes designed in collaboration with stakehold‑
ers and guided by local producers and small tourist businesses.
This participatory service‑learning model for hydro‑agricultural herit‑
age as a sustainable cultural and tourist resource was also explored in the
education activities carried out. Three scientific and cultural events took
place, attended by researchers, heritage managers, university students,
local entrepreneurs and citizens. These events made an important contribu‑
tion to exchanging experiences and knowledge about the role and impor‑
tance of the landscape and water heritage to sustainable development and
­community‑based ­cultural tourism.

9.3.4 Cultural participation

The tourism and culture sectors can mutually nurture each other, generat‑
ing reciprocal benefits, with cultural participation, coupled with culture and
cultural heritage, making a fundamental contribution to the attractiveness of
160 Desidério Batista et al.

tourist destinations (Guccio et al. 2018). In the methodological development

of this pilot project, this dimension reflected in the combination of inter‑
views with “guardians of memory” and storytelling, as well as the perception
interviews with to residents and visitors subsequently applied to draft the
participatory map.
In accordance with the objective of collecting oral information on tradi‑
tional cultivation and irrigation practices and techniques in the Campina area
and understanding the traditional importance of water in the lives of past
and present local communities, we opted for a qualitative methodology. This
qualitative methodology allows us to gain an in‑depth understanding of the
dynamics of social phenomena, considering their complexity and a multiplic‑
ity of variables (cf. Carmo 2021). This method serves when the aims involve
enabling study participants to share their stories and understanding scenarios
or contexts from the perspective of the individuals involved in the phenom‑
enon under analysis (Gonçalves, Marques and Gonçalves 2020). Storytelling
was applied as a data collection technique based on the narratives of key
informants about their experiences of water in the study area. The essence of
storytelling is narrative, i.e., the telling of everyday life situations (Fog, Budtz
and Yakaboylu 2005) through the memory of past events (­Chronis 2012).
Narratives hold the potential to create and interpret places just as getting to
know a place also means getting to know its stories (­Johnstone 1990). To
stimulate participant narratives, we drafted a script featuring key themes,
specifically approaching water collection methods, water utilisation and the
social life around water, both past and present.
The interviews to the farmers revealed the importance of the noria in the
complex process of historical construction of the landscape in the study area.
These changes were very evident in terms of the waterwheel’s construction
processes and irrigation techniques. At the same time, they extended to the
socio‑cultural dimension itself, considering the processes of sharing water
and the importance of some of these structures as a place of social gathering
in the past and an expression of cultural identity in the present. A summary
of the aspects revealed by the interviews can be seen in Table 9.1.
We simultaneously advanced with an online questionnaire for residents
and visitors in the Central Algarve coastline region, applying a convenience
non‑probabilistic sample (Batista et al. 2023). The first section of this survey
contained a set of questions related to respondent habits as regards using
routes as well as their attitudes and perceptions of cultural and water herit‑
age routes with a focus on the Campina de Faro. The second section was
designed to collect sociodemographic information. The questionnaire was
subject to a pretest.
The sample comprises 134 valid questionnaires with most respondent’s
resident in Portugal (88%), women (around 70%) and aged under 45 (56%).
The results demonstrate how almost 70% of respondents frequently visit or
walk along trails/routes with this activity generally performed with family
or friends. Most respondents (over 85%) agree they like to go hiking/visit
 Table 9.1 Summary of the aspects revealed by the interviews. Elaborated by the authors

Past Present

Category Sub‑categories FA FR (%) Category Sub‑categories FA FR (%)

Locating Sticks (Varas) 4 36,4 Materials 1 20,0

Water Construction and maintenance

water collection
methods methods maintenance of
use distribution collection of water collection structures

Construction

Water heritage and community-based cultural tourism

water To dig ‑ water borehole 7 63,6

structures
sources

and
Construction Instruments Sarilho 9 81,8
processes Hoe ‑ pickaxe 2 18,2

Materials Stone masonry 9 69,2 Water borehole 16 88,9

use distribution collection

Water
Concrete 3 23,1 Electrical system 2 11,1
Stone masonry and 1 7,7
concrete
Construction/maintenance process 34 100 Drip irrigation 5 83,3
Sprinkler irrigation 1 16,7

Water
Technology‑driven devices 20 46,5
methods

Animal‑powered devices 14 32.6

Water reservoirs 8 18.6
Springs and fountains 1 2,3 Agriculture 8 61,5

Water‑ related Water

Rega por rojo 21 43,8 Domestic use 5 38,5
methods

Levada 15 31.3
Water

Sequeiro 7 14.6 Water management 1 50.0

Drip irrigation 4 8,3 Socialising and festivities 1 50.0

social life
Sprinkler irrigation 1 2,1
Agriculture 39 68,4
Water

Domestic use 18 31.6

161
(Continued)
 162 Desidério Batista et al.
Table 9.1 (Continued)

Past Present

Category Sub‑categories FA FR (%) Category Sub‑categories FA FR (%)

Water management 19 47,5 Dams and reservoir 6 42,9

social life

Solutions
to Water
scarcity
related
Water‑

Socialising and festivities 15 37,5 Projects and infrastructures 4 28,6

Water Conflicts 6 15,0 Rainfed agriculture 3 21,4
Water mills 1 7,1
Water scarcity 39 100 Water scarcity 9 100
 Water heritage and community-based cultural tourism 163

the cultural trails/water heritage routes (e.g., waterwheels, aqueducts, tanks,

canals) around Faro. The percentage of respondents who would like to be
accompanied by a specialised guide from the community slightly decreases
(around 70%) and falls still lower when having to pay for the service (around
52% agree). More than 20% of the respondents are acquainted with the
region’s water and cultural heritage routes with 16% having already visited
this region. Furthermore, over 30% of participants had not visited the area
but had already heard about it. In overall terms, the respondents perceive that
Campina’s surroundings are ideal for establishing thematic routes related to
water‑based cultural heritage.
The results of these surveys lead us to conclude that the study area,
despite being in the most touristic region of the country, remains practically
unknown and only on the margins of tourist activities. However, the destina‑
tion gains recognition among those who know about its great cultural inter‑
est associated with historic irrigation practices. This legacy, which embodies
a strong identity, reflects the exceptional heritage and environmental value.
Interviews with the custodians of memory help tell the story of the usage
and management of water. Its (re)discovery through the participatory map
and cultural routes associated with community‑based tourism will generate
an important boost for the local economy while reconciling the objectives
of sustainable agricultural production and the enjoyment of water heritage.

9.4 Proposed cultural routes as a basis for community‑based

cultural tourism
Cultural ecosystem services correspond to the intangible benefits that people
obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development,
recreation and aesthetic experiences, spanning activities such as tourism and
the spaces and facilities that are at the centre of daily life (Church et al. 2015),
such as agrarian fields.
The Algarve´s coastal agrarian plain reflects a historical model of occupa‑
tion and spatial organisation based on the deep relationships between living
and producing, between the house and the garden. Here, a territorial culture
prevails, based on daily agricultural labour and experiences with a strong
connection to the land and the place. As an everyday landscape, this cultural
landscape materially reflects the old knowledge associated with traditional
cultivation and irrigation practices.
The proposal for cultural routes on this hydro‑agricultural heritage
answers three main objectives stemming from the UN‑SDGs (8, 11, 12 and
15) (Batista et al. 2023). The first objective involves revaluing the natural and
heritage resources associated with traditional agriculture and historic irri‑
gation, reactivating and inspiring a sustainable practice community around
landscape routes and water heritage. The second objective is to foster an
alternative to the established tourism services, building a sustainable tour‑
ism product around local heritage and the Mediterranean diet, targeting
164 Desidério Batista et al.

those tourists and visitors who appreciate local culture. The third objective
is to advance with an integrated territorial project that reconciles regenera‑
tive agriculture and participatory cultural tourism as a basis for sustainable
regional development.
To fulfil these objectives, the proposal incorporates four key strategies
(Batista et al. 2023). The first strives to revive the history and memory of
the places associated with traditional irrigated agriculture, making a decisive
contribution to increasing agro‑diversity and biodiversity. The second strat‑
egy involves promoting the production and sale of local products, which are
traditionally produced and processed according to local methods and recipes
and constitute living examples of the Mediterranean diet, thereby providing a
clear contribution to enhancing their value as the intangible cultural heritage
of humanity. The third strategy seeks to reinforce the position that the sec‑
tor’s economic profitability overlaps with its collective memory and cultural
identity, with lasting advantages for the development of sustainable tourism
based on the deep interrelationships between the cultural sector (cultural par‑
ticipation, cultural heritage) and the tourism sector. Finally, the fourth strategy
relies on participatory approaches and models that are widely accepted as the
criteria necessary for sustainable tourism given how they help decision‑makers
to maintain traditional lifestyles and respect community values (Wild 1994).
Furthermore, they also serve the purpose of developing the image and brand
of the tourist destination and increasing its competitiveness, producing both
better customer services and innovative tools (Wang and Fesenmaier 2007) for
promoting culturally and environmentally based tourist activities.
The proposed hydro‑agricultural heritage route is based on the exist‑
ing valuable set of hydraulic structures and helps to preserve the landscape
memories and reactivate its identity. The innovative approach suggested also
includes open‑air markets selling fruit and vegetables in the villages, which

Figure 9.2 Proposed cultural routes on water heritage based on project’s results.
 Water heritage and community-based cultural tourism 165

serve as an attraction for visitors, bringing tourism closer to polyculture and

the Mediterranean diet and furthermore contributing to the local economy.
This also promotes farmer‑led tours of the water heritage and foodscapes,
providing visitors with new and different experiences within living and
authentic communities of practice.

9.5 Final remarks

The historical process of building and transforming the landscape of the
Algarve’s coastal plain reveals ancient and continuous human occupation.
The organisation and management model of this agrarian landscape highlights
the Mediterranean heritage. Historically, vegetable and fruit productions have
drawn on cultivation and irrigation practices and techniques that reveal the
Arab‑Muslim influence. This is reflected in the mastery of water associated
with the efficient utilisation and management of irrigation water based on a
complex and sophisticated irrigation system. This system combines tradition,
the result of that heritage, which integrates the regional and local innovations
and adaptations that took place across different historical periods.
The noria buckets, as a fundamental hydraulic structure for fruit and vege‑
table production, demonstrate the evolution and adaptation of this ingenious
irrigation system in the transition from family farming to market farming at
the turn of the 19th century. Its historical and cultural interests and values,
as well as its importance in terms of the collective identity and landscape the
memory, endow the noria with a heritage dimension (material and immate‑
rial) that requires safeguarding and valuing in the face of progressive aban‑
donment and degradation. To this end, we propose a network of cultural
routes that, by combining production with recreation, enable this landscape
and water heritage to be rediscovered and made visible.
This study correspondingly adopted the participatory‑collaborative
model, which fundamentally includes community‑based cultural tourism,
training and education activities as well as cultural participation. The inno‑
vative approaches on which this approach is dependent comprise primarily
of fieldwork undertaken with two main objectives – firstly, the inventorying
and surveying of water heritage with a view to its recovery and valorisation,
integrated into cultural visits managed by the local community; secondly,
the collection of oral information from elderly farmers, the “guardians of
memory”, whose knowledge and know‑how help to tell the story of the land‑
scape and the utilisation of water and thereby contributing to drafting the
collaborative maps. These underpin the cultural routes through the hydro‑­
agricultural heritage generating a didactic resource, a tourism product and a
vector for territorial and social cohesion.
Studying this heritage involved both the photographic recording of over
200 hydraulic structures and their associated domestic architecture and the
surveying of 42 heritage sites and three historical estates in the three munici‑
palities making up the field of study. In accordance with this prior work, the
166 Desidério Batista et al.

findings produced five cultural heritage routes and two architectural ­projects
for the rehabilitation of the hydraulic structures. The key restraint faced
by the project stems from this water heritage being private property. Work
recently began on implementing one of the aforementioned routes with the
partnership and cooperation of the local community, the local authorities
and other stakeholders.

Note
1 This chapter is part of INCULTUM Project 2021–2024 financed by the H2020
programme of the European Union under Grant Agreement n. 101004552 and is
part of the CEAACP project UIDB/00281/2020 funded by FCT (Fundação para a
Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal).

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10 Historical water management
systems and sustainable tourism
The case study of Altiplano de
Granada (Spain)

José María Martín Civantos, Elena Correa

Jiménez and María Teresa Bonet García

10.1 Introduction
The proposal to create cultural routes using the historic acequias (irrigation
ditches) as content and vessel arises from work and research with the local
communities in charge of their management and maintenance. It is part of
the fruit of inter‑ and transdisciplinary collaborations that have generated a
great deal of information that must be transmitted to the population; in this
case, through tourist routes. It also arises from the need to value the work of
farmers and irrigators in rural and marginal areas. The approach is based on
the involvement of local actors in the design and content of these trails, and
always for the benefit of the populations and socio‑ecosystems, not to their
detriment.
These trails, which in fact already exist, as they are the historical paths
parallel to the canals along which the acequieros,1 offer the visitor a wealth
of information from different points of view:

A From an archaeological point of view, the “acequieros’ paths” are paths

full of history; they are paths parallel to the main acequias that still have
a servitude of way. In general, their layout dates back to the medieval
Islamic period, at least a thousand years ago. They are the result of a his‑
torical co‑evolutionary process in which the local ecological knowledge
(LEK) of generations of farmers and shepherds is contained. Therefore,
we can offer the visitor abundant historical‑archaeological information
through written sources, historical cartography, landscape studies and
analysis of the hydraulic infrastructures linked to these irrigation systems
and the associated human settlements themselves.
B From an environmental point of view, they generate a high level of agri‑
cultural diversity (crops, pastures, etc.) and biological diversity (species
and habitats). A large amount of flora can be seen along the banks of the
acequia. They increase the production of crops, pastures and other ecosys‑
tems, thus contributing to the food sovereignty of the territory.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-10
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
 Historical water management systems 171

Figure 10.1 Example of the Acequiero’s Path (acequia in Lugros, a municipality in

the Guadix region, Granada).

C From a geographic point of view, these channels provide information about

the settlement, territorial organisation and the organisation of urban and
agricultural spaces.
D From the Anthropological study, Irrigation Communities manage these
systems on the basis of LEK and communal governance institutions based
on historical irrigation rights with complex mechanisms for water distri‑
bution and conflict resolution.
E From Hydrogeology, as they regulate hydrological cycles, recharging aqui‑
fers and springs, they are water seeding and harvesting systems, exam‑
ples of Nature‑based Solutions (Martos et al., 2020) and Integrated Water
Management Resources.

10.2 Previous research and work: the study and recovery

of agricultural landscapes
The background to this proposal arises from the FP7 MEMOLA Project
(2014–2017). One of the main objectives of this project was the evaluation
of the historical and long‑term use of water and soils in the different study
areas. In the case of our research (Geographical context|MEMOLA Project:
Mediterranean Mountain Landscapes), it involved the contact and direct
participation of Irrigation Communities. Since then, traditional communities
have been the focus of our research, not only at the historical‑archaeological
172 José María Martín Civantos et al.

level, but also by providing them with institutional support, alternatives for
organisation and mediation, as well as the promotion of volunteer initiatives
and citizen participation in the recovery and cleaning of acequias (Delgado,
2017).
Through these proposals, we were not only able to document a large num‑
ber of historic acequias networks and all the elements associated with them,
but also to get to know and deal with many farmers and irrigators who have
kept these systems in operation to the present day, thanks to a sustainable
and efficient way of managing the environment and natural resources. We
have learned first‑hand about the problems that most affect these historical
and traditional irrigation systems and, therefore, threaten their survival: the
lack of generational replacement, the strong pressures of a voracious market
that does not establish fair prices for small producers, the overexploitation of
natural resources by intensive crops, or the contradictions of the administra‑
tion itself which, on the one hand, applauds conservation initiatives while, on
the other, finances millionaire projects of irrigation technification modernisa‑
tion and destruction of these historical irrigation systems, in pursuit of an
intensification and industrialisation of agricultural production with strong
environmental impacts to name just a few. Faced with these needs, we pro‑
moted the creation of the Association of Historical and Traditional Irrigation
Communities of Andalusia ACEQUIAS HISTÓRICAS – General Secretariat.
Its objectives are to defend the historical rights of the communities; to sup‑
port the defence of their territories and infrastructures; to promote social
recognition; to promote economic development; to act as an spokesperson
with the administration.
This situation of pressure and danger of extinction and destruction, not
only of the acequias themselves, but also of all the traditional knowledge
associated with their management and administration, led us to promote ini‑
tiatives to recover and maintain these socio‑ecosystems and, consequently,
the cultural landscapes they generate, as well as to transfer and compile all
the traditional knowledge of water management and administration. These
activities for the recovery of historic acequias have arisen mainly as a tool for
social intervention that aims, above all, to provoke, energise and set in motion
participatory processes of reflection and debate linked to action. These ini‑
tiatives, promoted from the university sphere, seek to reactivate communal
functioning mechanisms, through the participation of local and foreign vol‑
unteers (university students, environmental and cultural volunteers, etc.), the
transmission of knowledge and generational change. Since 20142 we have
been carrying out this type of activity every year with a large number of par‑
ticipants and with encouraging results.
The choice of the Granada Altiplano as a study area for the INCULTUM
project was based on previous work on historical irrigation systems. The
Altiplano of Granada is one of the areas in the southeast of the peninsula
where the risk of desertification is greatest. In recent years, it has been suffer‑
ing from a serious exploitation of water resources by intensive crops, causing
 Historical water management systems 173

significant and irreversible damage to small farms, which are the ones that
maintain the historical and traditional irrigation systems.
This initial work in the Altiplano was done in collaboration with local
corporations, specifically the Rural Development Group (GDR) Altiplano
de Granada. Together with the GDR, we were able to make contact with a
marginal area that is quite unknown and with an overwhelming historical
heritage. The information on the hydraulic heritage collected in this region
(historical irrigation systems, hydraulic infrastructures – mills, cisterns –,
water sources and springs, etc.) was only a first contact. This project was part
of a participatory process that arose from the presentation of arguments to
the Important Issues of the Third Cycle of Hydrological Planning. We wanted
to draw attention to the importance of this heritage and the need to establish
measures for its protection, without destroying the traditional values that
have kept it alive to this day. To this end, we drew up a “Catalogue‑Inventory
of hydraulic heritage” in which we set out the guidelines to be followed in
subsequent works, given the enormous number of elements that need to be
known and documented in order to be protected. Our work was a small
contribution which, together with the great work carried out by the GDR
Altiplano, resulted in the proposal of an “Alto Guadiana Menor” River Con‑
tract, a large‑scale participatory process that will lead to the protection of
this fundamental resource in the Altiplano region.
The INCULTUM project has allowed us to broaden the strategies for
better conservation, protection and knowledge of the historical irrigation
systems of the Altiplano by introducing sustainable cultural tourism as an
element that can provide tangible solutions.

10.3 Desert landscapes and oasis: Altiplano de Granada

The Granada Altiplano is a territory located in the north of the province of
Granada, which includes the districts of Baza and Huéscar. In our case, we
have also included a sector of the district of Guadix, which is part of the same
geographical entity and which, in fact, is also included within the Granada
UNESCO Geopark area.
The geographical peculiarities of this territory have contributed to the
creation of a unique landscape marked by impressive badlands where human
beings, in relation to the environment, have built balances based on a sustain‑
able use of resources, in particular water and soils. This synergy has generated
cultural landscapes in which historical irrigation systems play a fundamental
role in the creation of authentic oases of great beauty, with several cultural
and environmental values.
The construction of these systems dates mainly from the Middle Ages,
during the Islamic period. They are still in use, managed by local farming
communities, but are threatened by abandonment and agricultural intensifi‑
cation. The Altiplano is, in fact, part of the so‑called “empty Spain”, affected
by a worrying process of depopulation and with one of the lowest per capita
174 José María Martín Civantos et al.

Figure 10.2 Location of the Geopark territory and the different municipalities in

which the INCULTUM proposal has been implemented.

incomes in Spain. However, its enormous cultural and natural potential has
led to the recent declaration of this territory as a UNESCO Global Geopark
(10 July 2020).
The Granada Geopark covers a total surface area of 4,722 km and com‑
prises 47 municipalities (see map). It has more than 70 sites of geological
interest and represents an exceptional place for research from different sci‑
entific disciplines and the consequent dissemination and enhancement of all
these areas of enormous heritage and geological value.
The figure of “Geopark”, in addition to combining a space of great geolog‑
ical, anthropological and historical values, has as one of its main objectives
to enhance the value of the heritage of the territory, using it as a resource for
the development of the population. It is a way of diversifying resources, help‑
ing in many cases to curb depopulation, which is very present in rural and
marginal environments, such as the Altiplano area. It is in this exceptional
environment where our pilot case is located, although due to its extension,
we have focused on the municipalities of Castril, Benamaurel, Zújar, Baza
and Jérez del Marquesado.
As in most of the south‑east of the peninsula, in all these municipalities, the
historical irrigation systems, established in medieval Islamic times, have been
shaping the landscapes by taking advantage of the natural resources (water
sources, rivers, groundwater, etc.) of each of these places. The semi‑desert
situation of the Altiplano means that the historical irrigation systems have
 Historical water management systems 175

generated authentic oases that make the most of the water resources to create
meadows with a wide variety of crops based on small farms.
Historical and traditional irrigation systems are a fundamental part of our
landscapes and our cultural heritage. Their social, territorial, environmen‑
tal, productive and, of course, cultural significance have been fundamental
throughout the last millennium. These systems generate a large number of
ecosystem services and have proven to be highly resilient to social, environ‑
mental, political and economic changes over time. However, they are not
taken into account as unique and fundamental elements for the ecological
transition and sustainable development of these regions. Despite their values
and the ecosystem services they produce, they are being replaced by pres‑
surised and technified irrigation systems aimed at increasing production for
the global market. These new production systems not only tend to rapidly
deplete resources, mainly water, through overexploitation of aquifers, but
also contribute to the destruction of soils and, with them, of the biodiversity
associated with traditional agricultural production.
Historical irrigation systems are managed by farmers’ collectives with a
wealth of traditional and environmental knowledge, grouped in Irrigation
Communities. These are responsible for the management and distribution of
water and the maintenance of the infrastructure of these systems. They are
extremely complex communal institutions, which face significant economic
and demographic problems without recognition of their work by official
institutions. The empowerment and dynamisation of these Irrigation Com‑
munities is one of the fundamental objectives of our work, as this is the only
way they will be able to cope with the administrative obstacles and pressures
that they usually have to face.

10.4 Social innovation for a sustainable cultural tourism

The actions programmed in the pilot case are carried out by the University
of Granada (MEMOLab – Biocultural Archaeology Laboratory) in collabo‑
ration with the Provincial Tourism Board of Granada, the Association of
Historical and Traditional Irrigation Communities of Andalusia (Acequias
Históricas) and the Rural Development Group of the Baza‑Huéscar region
(GDR Altiplano), as well as town councils and Irrigation Communities and
other local associations and groups. The main activity is to convert some
of the existing paths adjacent to the main acequias into cultural itineraries
of great attraction for their landscape, cultural and environmental values,
and to link them to local agricultural production, rural heritage, traditional
practices and ecosystem services. The aim is to generate a cultural resource
based on agricultural heritage and agricultural‑based cultural landscapes. It
is ultimately based on the multifunctionality of traditional agrarian socio‑­
ecosystems, which generate a significant amount of ecosystem services,
including cultural ones. The ultimate objective is to contribute to diversifying
the economic activity of irrigation and farming communities and to generate
176 José María Martín Civantos et al.

a return directly to them while trying to avoid the negative impacts, not only
of touristification in territories and contexts with delicate balances, but also
of the intensification and industrialisation of agricultural production.
All this work involves a participatory approach, giving the Irrigation Com‑
munities a leading role in the proposal, design and management of the routes,
so that they have a direct return, both material and immaterial. Therefore,
these routes, which run alongside the historical acequias, will also cover part
of the cultural landscape, the historical and natural heritage and, of course,
the agricultural and gastronomic heritage of each locality.
With this, we intend to make the routes one more service offered by these
historical and traditional Irrigation Communities. These corporations have
been systematically undervalued and neglected by administrations. Within
the pilot, for the correct development and conservation not only of the cul‑
tural routes, but also of the irrigation systems and the landscape, we have set
up “payment for ecosystem services agreements”; this has been implemented
through the signing of administrative agreements between town councils and
Irrigation Communities. The agreements have been aimed at facilitating local
administrations to fulfil their competences and implement policies that con‑
tribute to local development and to the maintenance and improvement of
traditional and historical irrigation systems, especially the values and services
enjoyed by citizens and the environment. It is also intended to be a tool for
the promotion of local tourism, cultural and educational initiatives, fostering
new potential sources of employment and economic development, such as,
for example, the cultural itineraries associated with acequias and irrigated
areas. Finally, this agreement aims to institutionalise and give legal coverage
to municipal public investments in green and blue infrastructures, providing
a reference framework and greater legal security.
The agreements arise as a tool of recognition, in this case, of the city coun‑
cils (and municipalities in general), towards the irrigation communities for
the services they provide with their sustainable water management: (i) supply
services: they provide water and food, mainly; (ii) regulation services: cli‑
mate regulation, as they lower the temperature and increase the environmen‑
tal humidity and regulation of hydrological cycles, they reduce soil erosion;
(iii) support services, understood as an exceptional habitat for flora and
fauna; (iv) cultural services, they are historical agrosystems, which can be
offered as a sustainable tourism resource and learning for present solutions,
coming from the past. In this sense, within the administrative agreements
between the City Councils and the Irrigation Communities, one of the com‑
mitments on both sides has been the promotion of a network of cultural trails
through the rural roads and the easement of the acequias managed by the
Irrigation Community, combining their cultural and environmental function
with the social and promoting their contribution to local economies.
The tool of payment for ecosystem services is undoubtedly innovative. It
is true that there is already scientific literature on the subject, almost always
from a theoretical perspective on the number and nature of these services or
 Historical water management systems 177

how to calculate their importance or value, or how to establish compensation

or payment mechanisms. However, there are very few experiences that can
serve as examples of good practice or even as learning from failed processes.
For this reason, we have been obliged to act in a particularly prudent manner,
always encouraging reflection and debate between the parties, and not being
ambitious in the type of agreement so as not to force and create opposing
situations. Our role has been one of mediation and facilitation, but both the
town councils and the Irrigation Communities have asked us, as a university,
to also be guarantors of these agreements.
The models that can be counted on are very few, if any, always related
to environmental services. However, from our point of view, caution must
always be taken against the danger of commodification of natural resources.
In our case, payment for services does not necessarily refer to an economic
payment, but to an exchange of services and mutual support between the
administrative institutions and the local irrigation communities that implies
a recognition by the former of the value and importance of the latter. We
consider it essential not to lose sight of the local aspect and the contact and
protection of the traditional knowledge that these communities have in terms
of the historical management of natural resources, from which we must all
learn.

10.5 The pilot case: cultural routes through historic

irrigation systems
In the development of the routes, it has been essential for them to be
approved by the Andalusian Mountaineering Federation as a form of pro‑
tection, officialisation and dissemination. The approval process involves a
series of steps in which different actors are involved (University, City Council
and local communities), which makes it a slow process at times, but which
brings a series of benefits: firstly, that the trails are official and that they have
approved signage and signposting, which the whole population has assimi‑
lated and understands. In addition, all approved trails are included in official
guides, which make them more widely known. And, of course, it is also com‑
pulsory for the promoting entity, in this case, the town councils, to maintain
the path correctly.
The cultural routes along the acequias affect limited areas of intervention,
with similar geographical characteristics and often limited water resources.
However, each municipality offers very different elements and very specific
casuistry. For the correct preparation of the itineraries and knowledge of
the irrigation systems, as well as the subsequent publication of interpreta‑
tive guides for the routes, a large amount of cartographic information has
been compiled on all the acequias and the infrastructures related to them in
each of the municipalities: main acequias, catchment areas, branches, mills,
water mines, irrigation areas. All this is in order to generate a database of
the hydraulic heritage of the area with which to obtain information on the
178 José María Martín Civantos et al.

Figure 10.3 Example of official signposting (official trail number: SL A 389) on the

Acequia de Alcázar (Jérez del Marquesado. Granada)

Figure 10.4 Mapping of acequias in Benamaurel (Granada)

evolution of the landscape, produce specific cartography for dissemination

and use it as a tool for conservation and knowledge. A search for historical
cartography and the collection of oral sources through interviews with mem‑
bers of the irrigation communities has also been carried out.
The town of Castril (see map) has been one of the pioneers in the proposal.
It is a municipality where there are various water‑related heritage sites used
 Historical water management systems 179

as tourist resources (Cerrada del río Castril trail), as well as a long history
of fighting for the defence and protection of water resources, in this case,
the river that bears the name of the town. The good relationship between
the Irrigation Community and the Town Council has led to the signing of an
administrative agreement between the two entities, not only for the execution
and maintenance of the trail, which has been approved by the Andalusian
Mountain Federation, but also to establish a more institutional link between
the two entities, which will facilitate the resolution of conflicts and the provi‑
sion of environmental services in the immediate future. Prior to the design of
the trail, a historical‑archaeological report was carried out on the irrigation
community, compiling written testimonies about its historical existence, as
well as the mapping of the entire network of acequias in the municipality.
This was the precedent for the creation of an official, approved trail that
would run through one of the most important areas of Castril, generated
from these irrigation systems: the Vega de Tubos, which owes its name to the
main spring, through which the route also runs.
Another example of good practice, not only in the creation of a path along
the acequias, but also in the recovery of heritage and natural spaces has been
the municipality of Jérez del Marquesado (see map). This town has a privi‑
leged location between the fertile plain and the northern foothills of the Sierra
Nevada, which means that it has a large amount of water for a large part of
the year. Three rivers run through the municipality: the Alhorí, the Bernal
and the Alcázar. It is an ideal place in which five irrigation systems survive,
which are supplied by a dense network of acequias. The origin of these sys‑
tems is attributed to the medieval Islamic period, between the 8th and 10th
centuries, but from the 12th century onwards, the five original villages were
concentrated into a single one that makes up the current municipal territory.
Jérez del Marquesado is a municipality with which we have been collab‑
orating for years. It is a territory subject to strong pressures for the tech‑
nification and intensification of irrigation. As in other localities, there is a
close collaboration between the Irrigation Community and the town council,
although it is not without its problems. However, this relationship is by no
means institutional, but rather governed by custom. In the case of small vil‑
lages, most of the population owns land with water rights and is member of
the Irrigation Community, including the political leaders of the local admin‑
istration. The proposal of the agreements also serves to formalise and institu‑
tionalise these relations, giving them a legal framework.
Several heritage initiatives (Martos Rosillo et al., 2020) have formed part
of the “Acequia de Alcázar” trail in the town of Jérez del Marquesado. It is
a municipality with numerous heritage resources agricultural tradition that
has shaped the landscape. An example of this is the area known as Alcázar,
an area of great historical interest, which, in Islamic times, was one of the
centres of population. Today, several remains of the settlement are still rec‑
ognisable: the tower of Alcázar (14th century), the tower of Jérez and several
remains of the old village, as well as the cultivation terraces and, of course,
180 José María Martín Civantos et al.

the acequias. The area around the Alcázar tower had been abandoned for
about 50 years. In order to integrate this interesting place into the cultural
route, its recovery was promoted, in collaboration with the Town Council,
the Irrigation Community and the local Rambling Association: the excava‑
tion and restoration of the tower was carried out by the so‑called “Escuela
de Balates”, which is the name given to the dry stone walls that support the
cultivation terraces. The dry stone, declared Intangible Heritage of Human‑
ity by UNESCO in 2018, was used to rebuild several of the terraces taught
by several of the older residents of Jérez del Marquesado. The branch that
irrigated these terraces, belonging to the Alcázar acequias, was also recov‑
ered and local fruit trees such as chestnut and rowan trees were planted. This
initiative has not only achieved the recovery and investigation of the Alcázar
neighbourhood, but also the participation and social involvement and the
incorporation of all this space in the path along the Alcázar acequias.
Social involvement has also had two fundamental aspects: the participation
of the population in the initiatives for the recovery of spaces and in the design
of the routes, and the participation in the knowledge and dissemination of the
routes. For this reason, a plan for the dissemination of the routes and their
contents has been fundamental. Of course, all the tracks and descriptions of
the trails have been stored on the Wikiloc platform, which has 12 million
users and is translated into more than 25 languages. In order to diversify the
spaces for dissemination and to link other research and proposals related to
the subject, a specific section has been created for the routes along historic
acequias on the website Regadío histórico (https://regadiohistorico.es/), a web
infrastructure previously created to bring together collaborative information
on irrigation systems in Granada and Almeria (Martín et al., 2022). The main
objective of this section of the website is to host the current itineraries, as
well as to guide for hikers. This complements the information, condensing in
a didactic way all the research carried out on the irrigation systems of each
municipality. The proposal for the future is to house more routes of this type,
thus creating this concept of hiking routes along the path of the acequias.
Another way of dissemination has been through the Granada Tourist
Board, a partner of the INCULTUM project and an organisation created for
the promotion of tourism in Granada since 1982. Its website offers a wide
variety of cultural offerings, among which are the Excursions and hiking in
Granada|Patronato de Turismo.

10.6 Conclusions
The processes of design, creation, approval and dissemination of itineraries
along historic acequias have been a tool for intervention in the territory, an
alternative to mass tourism and the overexploitation of cultural and natural
spaces. It has allowed us to learn more about the problems surrounding water,
agriculture and heritage, which are so present today, as well as to propose solu‑
tions and alternatives through the mechanisms of payment for services.
 Historical water management systems 181

Tourism, an action that is so present today, should be an intervention

tool for the improvement of the territories and the people who live there.
Our proposal integrates the basic pillars of a sustainable and regenera‑
tive tourism that ensures positive changes in the territory and the societies
where it is developed. The aim of these itineraries is to promote sustainable
­economic development through the diversification of the cultural offering of
the municipalities, boosting local consumption and the circular economy. It
has ­promoted the social inclusion of marginalised and undervalued sectors
of the population, such as Irrigation Communities. Under the trail proposal,
the aim has been to conserve these resources, which form an essential part
of the landscapes, as well as to preserve cultural values, diversity and herit‑
age. The proposal is based on the multifunctionality of the agricultural areas,
their cultural, environmental and agronomic values and the ecosystem ser‑
vices they provide.
From there, we have always tried to ensure that the process was participa‑
tory, but above all that it had a direct return for the Irrigation Communities
themselves as a way not only of diversifying the economy and agricultural
income, but also of distributing the benefits of tourism beyond the special‑
ised economic sectors. In this case, the Irrigation Communities, the farmers,
provide the whole municipality with a cultural service, for which they are
paid through an administrative agreement with the town council. It is an
apparently simple tool, but one that requires a great deal of mediation and
facilitation work in order to reach satisfactory agreements for the parties.
Above all, it is a tool that opens up a very interesting path for the communi‑
ties and farmers themselves, not only as producers of food and raw materi‑
als, but also as service providers and, of course, custodians/caretakers of the
territory.
Throughout the INCULTUM project, the interest that this type of resource,
of paths along the acequias, could have among the population has been taken
into account. A first initial survey showed that 98% of the people questioned
were interested in this type of route. Also, a high percentage (93%) found
it very interesting that the routes were guided by members of the Irrigation
Communities and were willing to pay a small amount of money for it, thus
contributing to the improvement of the economy of the communities. With
this, we wanted to investigate the acceptance of this type of resource as
another element that the Irrigation Communities could integrate into their
organisational structure and that could be taken into account as a possible
tourist resource, generating possible jobs.
So far, four itineraries along historic acequias have been carried out in
the Altiplano region, with a total of 31 km of trails. This idea has aroused
interest in other localities in the province of Granada, since, as we have been
saying throughout this text, historical irrigation systems are very present in
the geography of the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula and a fundamental
part of rural society, but also of urban society. Two itineraries have been
proposed in the region of La Alpujarra, which stands out for the particular
182 José María Martín Civantos et al.

water management systems known as “careos”. The pilot municipalities

have been Cáñar and Pórtugos, where the agreements for payment for ser‑
vices have been carried out for the elaboration of an official trail. A total of
17 km of trails have been signposted. Another initiative in the province, in
this case in the capital of Granada, has been the recovery of one of the main
acequias that supplied water to the capital in medieval times, the Aynadamar3
acequias. Noy only has a section (3 km) of this canal, which had been aban‑
doned for 50 years, has been recovered, but also the path next to it, to make
it possible for the people of Granada to walk from the city along this now
millenary system.
These trails along historic acequias should be understood as a tool for social
intervention. A way of dynamising and diversifying the services provided by
the local communities of these rural and, moreover, marginalised municipali‑
ties. Through an instrument as powerful as learning and education, channelled
through sustainable tourism, alternatives can be proposed that benefit the
rural population, that protect these socio‑ecosystems and, in addition, gener‑
ate social and environmental awareness. The objective is to generate a cultural
service linked to the cultural landscape and agricultural heritage, built and
managed by the irrigation communities. An infrastructure at the service of the
local community and the municipality, not only for the enjoyment of the neigh‑
bours, but also as a tourist resource that allows diversifying the economy and
complementing it and making the irrigation communities visible by informing
the visiting public about LEK, practices and values.

Notes
1 “Acequiero” is a person nominated by the irrigation community who is in charge
of the distribution of water and also carries out social monitoring to avoid pos‑
sible conflicts.
2 Documentary on the recovery of the Barjas irrigation channel in Cáñar (Granada)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeQHef4NmI0.
3 Acequia de Aynadamar: the return of the fountain’s tears https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=eg3WPPV45jo&t=66s.

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muros‑en‑piedra‑seca‑01393
11 Ancient paths to the future
An integrated approach to
territorial communities and
entrepreneurship

Flore Coppin and Vincent Guichard

11.1 Introduction
The pilot project Ancient Paths to the Future (APF) is being tested in a
small part of the Morvan Regional Natural Park (420 km2, 3,800 inhabit‑
ants in 12 village communities), which covers a rural mountain region in
Central France (3,000 km2, 52,000 inhabitants) affected by a sharp fall in
population (−80%) throughout the 20th century. Today, the area’s econ‑
omy is based on three pillars: cattle rearing, forestry and, increasingly over
the last few decades, the residential economy (tourism and the arrival of
new residents).
The area’s tourist and residential appeal, which has increased since the
COVID 19 crisis, is based on the recognised quality of its rural landscape
and its relative proximity to major population centres, starting with the
Paris Metropolitan area. However, the landscape is changing rapidly under
the triple impact of the continuing decline in agricultural activity, brutal
forestry practices and the already very visible impact of climate change on
the forests.
Bibracte – Mont‑Beuvray is the site of an ephemeral town dating from the
1st century BC and the local main attraction for tourists. It is protected as
both a historical monument and a landscape heritage site. Since the 1990s it
has been home to a major scientific and cultural facility managed by a dedi‑
cated public body. The Bibracte museum attracts almost 50,000 visitors a
year, while the archaeological site attracts twice that number (Figure 11.2).
Based on the well‑established visitor numbers to the Bibracte site, Ancient
paths to the Future’s (APF) ambition is to irrigate the surrounding area by
developing a wide‑ranging offer and improving the quality of services (accom‑
modation, catering, mobility, etc.) by setting up a regional entrepreneurship
scheme, encompassing the various sectors of activity that shape the landscape
and the economy.
In addition, APF is concerned to develop a well‑managed and community‑­
based tourism offer that mobilises all the local players, including the pro‑
fessions that “make” the landscape. In other words, we believe that social
empowerment and self‑organisation are the only way to achieve a genuine

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-11
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
186 Flore Coppind and Vincent Guichar

Figure 11.1 Conceptual diagram of the territorial experimentation project into which

the Ancient Paths to the Future pilot project fits. Copyright: Bibracte
(Flore Coppin, Vincent Guichard).

enhancement of the area’s heritage, that is not simply a “make‑up for the
tourist offer or the creation of a beautiful scenography for projects using the
landscape as a showroom” (Poli, 2018, p. 110), and to ensure its economic
development.
Figure 11.1 details the components of the project:

• A territory considered as a Common that is generating different reasons

for attachment;
• Conceptual tools that are used in a logical order and in an iterative way,
with each cycle helping to strengthen the approach a little more;
• Stakeholders who need to be involved;
• Participatory mechanisms developed to build an active heritage and ter‑
ritorial community of stakeholders.

The following paragraphs briefly describe the conceptual tools in the order
in which they are used.
The regional project is based on a common territorial element, the land‑
scape, which is expressed in a number of ways, such as the paths, the forest,
the water and the material heritage bequeathed by the agro‑pastoral society
of past centuries.
 Ancient paths to the future: an integrated approach 187

The landscape approach is the driving force behind the community‑­

building method, because of its ability to mobilise people and the holistic
approach to the area that it enables.
The stakeholders involved in the project are organised into thematic con‑
sultation and project groups.

11.2 The landscape approach: cultivating an attachment

to the landscape

11.2.1 Expressing attachment to the landscape

Ancient Paths to the Future assumes that an area can be promoted all the
more effectively if its inhabitants are aware of its uniqueness and richness.
This awareness is a factor in commitment and motivation of the community
to maintain the area’s heritage features. It fosters a sense of place attachment,
collective spatial identity and pride.
Sharing the experience of attachment with others enables personal attach‑
ment to be extended to the dimensions of a community. The “symbolic” or
“identity” appropriation of place is therefore associated with a social group
to the point of becoming one of its attributes and to contribute to defining
its social identity.
What’s more, many local surveys show that place attachment is the most
frequently cited source of well‑being, and that this attachment is all the
stronger if the area is unique in terms of its landscape, in other words, if it
has escaped the trivialisation of space that affects the inhabitants of suburban
and “urban” areas lacking in quality (Dissart and Seigneuret, 2020).
To achieve this, the project relies on the “landscape approach”, under‑
stood as an

Act of bringing order, coherence and a return to the common good

in a fragmented territory, in a space that has hitherto been used by
each discipline according to its own logic, for its own exclusive ben‑
efit and in deliberate ignorance of the specific character of the place.
This unifying, all‑encompassing approach obviously makes use of all
the expert knowledge that deals with the many aspects of planning:
from construction to agronomy, from ecological engineering to the art
of building roads, from the know‑how of botanists to the creativity of
architects.
(Thibault, 2022, p. 40)

Ancient Paths to the Future is part of the Grand Site de France approach,
which has been implemented at Bibracte since the 2000s. This approach
stems from the French government’s concern, expressed in the late 1970s,
to combat the harmful effects of overtourism on the country’s most
emblematic protected natural and heritage sites. Grand Site de France is
188 Flore Coppind and Vincent Guichar

a label awarded by the French ministry responsible for landscape policy,

which is reviewed every six years. The label is designed to encourage local
authorities to take responsibility for the sustainable management of their
most emblematic sites, going well beyond tourism issues alone. One of the
special features of this policy is that it is not prescriptive: applicants are
free to define the geographical scope of the designated area, mobilise stake‑
holders and organise governance. In this sense, the Grand Site approach
is a genuine laboratory for innovation in the management of rural areas.
It assumes that the landscape approach is an effective and virtuous lever
for territorial action, through its capacity to mobilise stakeholders and
its ability to encourage a holistic and integrated approach to the territo‑
rial project. Some 50 local authorities are involved in the approach; they
are federated within an independent organisation, the Réseau des Grands
Sites de France, which over the years has become a think tank for public
policies based on the landscape approach and which shares its experience
within an international training centre (www.grandsitedefrance.com/en/)
(Boisseaux et al., 2022).
The integrated territorial project developed around the Bibracte site
took on a new dimension in 2021 when the Grand Site de France label was
renewed for the second time. The public body managing the heritage site is
the lead partner, with two other public partners’ organisations, the Mor‑
van Regional Nature Park and the Nièvre District. The project is resolutely
experimental. Its means of action mainly involve support for research and
innovation: at European level, the H2020/Horizon Europe programmes and
the European Innovation Partnership for Agriculture, and at national level,
calls for projects from the French National Research Agency.
A large multidisciplinary scientific community is being mobilised across
the region. In a rural context, where the population is sociologically very
fragmented, we are also banking on artistic mediation to establish dialogue,
to renew the way in which local people look at their environment and to
help them share in the “storytelling” of the regional project. Since 2021, a
cultural coordinator and artists have been working on this project thanks to
the European LEADER programme.
At the local level, the mayors of the 12 village communities involved have
been given a special role, while thematic working groups have been set up
to explore the various issues facing the area. A number of bodies with legal
status have also been set up at the same time. An association provides sup‑
port for the Agriculture working group, while another, CHEMINS, is a much
more cross‑disciplinary non‑profit association working on one of the area’s
most important heritage themes.
The approach is run on a day‑to‑day basis by a small operational team
made up of staff from Bibracte and its partners, some of whom are paid on a
project basis. As part of this team, the INCULTUM project manager led the
APF project.
 Ancient paths to the future: an integrated approach 189

11.3 Recognising the landscape as a common good

As defined by the European Landscape Convention, landscape is consid‑
ered to be a part of a territory as perceived by the population, whose
character is the result of the action of natural or human factors and their
interrelationships. As a resource that contributes to the general interest,
the management of which implies responsibilities for everyone, the land‑
scape defined in this way can be considered as a common good in the sense
of Elinor Ostrom (1990), as long as it is considered as a resource that gives
rise to a community’s attachment to its living environment, and as long as
the community provides itself with the means to manage it using appropri‑
ate rules.
Considering a landscape as an ecosystem, an area inhabited by a wide
range of socio‑economic players and an object of shared attachment (Besse,
2018) also makes it possible to address all the diverse issues facing an area in
an integrated way: agriculture and forestry, water and biodiversity, tourism
and the residential economy and, of course, local governance. The success of
the approach requires a collective awareness of the territory, understood as
“the awareness acquired through a process of cultural transformation by the
inhabitants, of the heritage value, of the territorial common goods, material
and relational, as essential elements for the reproduction of individual and
collective, biological and cultural life”, to use the vocabulary of the work of
the Italian territorialist school (Magnaghi, 2010). In the terminology of the
Grands Sites de France, the term “spirit of the place”, genius loci, is used to
express this concern metaphorically. From an operational point of view, it is
a question of identifying the constituent elements of the territory’s experience
that provoke the shared attachment of its inhabitants. In the case of Bibracte,
the area’s exceptionally dense network of paths proved to be an excellent
indicator of this attachment.

11.4 Rural paths: the revelation of a common ground

For the territorialist school, “representing the different specialised knowledge
of territorial heritage is the first step towards knowing, managing and socially
reproducing territorial heritage”, in order to “re‑territorialise” policies that
throughout the 20th century led to territories being reduced to spaces to be
developed devoid of identity (Poli, 2018, p. 117).
With this in mind, the Grands Sites de France are developing participatory
tools and methods that aim at giving everyone a voice in order to bring out
the reasons for attachment shared by the inhabitants, which define the area’s
heritage value. This heritage value forms the basis of the regional project,
which aims to place the development of this area within a long‑term histori‑
cal trajectory while respecting its heritage value.
In the case of Bibracte, preparations for the 2nd renewal of the Grand Site
de France label, between 2017 and 2021, have made it possible to redefine
190 Flore Coppind and Vincent Guichar

Figure 11.2 Restoration work on an abandoned path on the Bibracte – Morvan des

Sommets Grand Site de France. Copyright: Bibracte (Antoine Maillier).

the boundaries of this area and the elements that make up its heritage value.
In practical terms, this survey took the form of Landscape and Heritage Days
organised in each village community. On each occasion, local councillors
and interested residents were invited to show us, along a walking route, the
places they found most interesting in their environment. These days inevita‑
bly revealed a strong attachment to the paths.
In fact, the existence of a very dense network of footpaths is a unique
feature of the Morvan. This network is the result of a combination of two
factors: the wide dispersal of settlements since the Middle Ages and the lack
of agricultural consolidation in the second half of the 20th century. With the
population declining by 80% over the last century, many of these paths are
now disused and buried under bushes and woodland, but almost all of them
have been preserved. Even more interestingly, they are legally rural roads,
owned by the village communities as a public authority.
This network was largely underestimated by the inhabitants and their
elected representatives and its legal status was also poorly understood. It
is the vestige of a genuine, centuries‑old territorial common that has been
neglected since the beginning of the rural exodus at the end of the 19th cen‑
tury. What’s more, attachment to the paths is largely based on the quality
of the landscapes they cross. Preserving the paths then naturally leads to
concern for preserving the quality of the countryside as a whole. This attach‑
ment, which was not foreseen by the initiators of the approach, now serves
as a powerful lever for building an active heritage community that includes
the 12 village communities concerned.
 Ancient paths to the future: an integrated approach 191

The network of paths criss‑crosses the landscape, providing a framework

and hierarchy for the landscape features, showing how the village land is appro‑
priated; it is a spatial and social revealer. The path is also characterised by an
associated “small heritage”: dry stone walls, stream crossings, fountains and
calvaries; it bears witness to ancient agricultural know‑how and the rational
use of local resources: planted hedges, fruit trees, spring catchments, etc. The
path also provides environmental services: its hedgerows protect against ero‑
sion, enrich the soil, improve water quality and moderate the climate; an essen‑
tial link in the preservation of biodiversity, they offer refuge to many species
and act as an ecological corridor. The path offers a range of amenities; it is a
much sought‑after and much‑appreciated place for walking. Its maintenance is
justified by different, sometimes conflicting, uses: access to dwellings or agri‑
cultural plots, logging, recreational or sporting use (hunting, hiking, etc.).
It is also worth noting that this new interest in footpaths in France is part
of a broad national movement, reflected in numerous local initiatives.

11.5 The heritage inventory, a first step towards the

“territorialisation” process
The internship of a geography and geomatics university student has made it
possible to develop and validate a protocol for inventorying and classifying
the paths, using a GIS embedded in a tablet (QFIELD) so that the data can
be entered in the field: the actual route of the path and associated param‑
eters (heritage value, uses, state of conservation, maintenance methods). This
inventory is based on a network of referents identified in the town councils
and brought together in a dedicated working group, with the Grand Site de
France management team providing the method and technical advice.
The inventory resulted in an atlas of the region’s rural footpaths, with a
network of 1,100 km covering an area of 420 km2. This heritage is all the
more important given that, in the Morvan, village communities rarely own
any other communal land.
Only a third of these paths are currently the subject of formal protection
(included in departmental hiking policy) and management measures, with
dedicated resources provided either by the village communities (Communes)
or by groups of village communities (Communautés de communes). For the
others, maintenance is left to the initiative of the users (inhabitants, farmers,
foresters, hunters, sports organisations, etc.) according to their needs.
During the summer of 2022, a “General Assembly on Rural Paths”
brought together most of the parties involved in their management – villages,
groups of village communities, districts (Départements), tourist offices, the
French hiking federation, etc. – and reiterated the particularly complex regu‑
latory and administrative framework for their management.
Following consultation at the end of 2022, the village communities then
embarked on a shared approach to path management. One of the aims of
this approach is to produce a rural path management plan in the short term,
which could take the form of a charter.
192 Flore Coppind and Vincent Guichar

11.6 Levers for activating and stimulating the heritage community

11.6.1 Supporting the emergence of the heritage community

Historically, the collective management of assets of community interest

such as paths has been slowed down, and often even interrupted, by several
consecutive events. In our case, the first was the promulgation of the Civil
Code following the French Revolution of 1789, which enshrined the right
of ownership (private and public) and swept aside the notion of community
resources. Then came the collapse of traditional peasant society throughout
the 20th century. At the start of the 21st century, community management of
resources in rural areas has become marginal – in the Morvan, it still exists
only for some of the sources of drinking water – and we need to reinvent it
in a socio‑economic framework that is radically different from that of tradi‑
tional peasant society.
Reactivating the common good involves raising collective awareness of the
landscape resource – which has been achieved over the course of the INCUL‑
TUM project – and then establishing management rules and mobilising sus‑
tainable resources to ensure its preservation. The joint creation of a network
of paths that criss‑cross the landscape is thus a step towards the joint creation
of the landscape as a whole.
Once the network of paths had been identified as a key factor in attach‑
ment to the area, the next step in activating this attachment was to explore
the paths with the help of landscape illustrators working in the frame of
artistic residencies. This group exploration provided an opportunity to
gather everyone’s point of view on the area’s landscapes and to collect the
stories associated with the area. The landscape artists capture the feelings
of the participants and translate them into images and writing in the form
of village survey notebooks, which evoke in a poetic and sensitive way the
spaces and landscapes travelled through, experienced, loved, looked at and
admired by the residents along the paths. Produced in small runs using a
traditional silk‑screen printing process, but also available for consultation
on the Grand Site de France website, these notebooks make a major contri‑
bution to strengthening the attachment of local residents. They also help to
produce original images that are a favourite material for the area’s commu‑
nication tools.

11.6.2 Organising the heritage community

As part of the Grand Site de France initiative, the activation of the landscape
community is based on working groups formed around the different compo‑
nents and issues of the landscape.
These groups are led by members of the management team, supported as
far as possible by scientists, experts and cultural players involved in the ter‑
ritorial project.
 Ancient paths to the future: an integrated approach 193

The Rural Paths group brings together around 30 people (elected

r­ epresentatives, volunteer residents and local professionals). Its main objec‑
tives are to:

• Draw up an inventory of the network of footpaths and their uses;

• Prepare a shared management plan based on priority uses;
• In the area of recreational and sporting uses, to identify routes, enhance
them (by restoring them and marking them out), organise the services
required by users (access, accommodation, catering) and promote them
(publication of maps);
• Work in synergy with other working groups where necessary.

The Rural Paths group is led by the GSF’s Heritage and Tourism Officer, who
is also the APF project coordinator. Her role is to help set and achieve con‑
crete short‑term objectives, which is essential to ensure the long‑term com‑
mitment of the group’s members. This involves drawing up the inventory
(atlas), putting in place tools and working methods (field survey, maps, etc.),
organising field trips and participative workcamps and devising and imple‑
menting an enhancement strategy.
The assessment of the current situation and the preparation of the man‑
agement plan will primarily involve elected representatives and members of
the public who are members of the working group, while the strengthening
of recreational and sporting activities will also involve tourism and service
providers, in particular those who are members of the Tourism group.

11.6.3 Enhancing the value of the path network for local

residents and stakeholders

Different approaches are being used to enhance the value of the network of
paths and strengthen the attachment of local residents to it. We have already
mentioned the artistic survey notebooks, which played a decisive role in the
initial phase of the project. We’re continuing here with two other actions: the
organisation of enhancement projects and cultural walks along the paths.
In 2022 and 2023, volunteer summer heritage work camps were organised
in partnership with the national NGO Rempart Federation, which brings
together nearly 200 associations that organise heritage restoration work
camps open to volunteers, and the regional association Tremplin – Hommes
et Patrimoine, which uses heritage restoration as a means of socio‑economic
reintegration. The dozen or so volunteers were able to take part in the resto‑
ration of an abandoned path and its dry‑stone boundary walls and to learn
about the Grand Site de France approach and the regional project developed
within this framework, thanks to contributions from experts (archaeologist,
restorer, landscape architect, etc.). This original offer has attracted architec‑
ture, archaeology, landscape and art history students who are sensitive to
environmental issues. As a result of the work carried out, a section of the
194 Flore Coppind and Vincent Guichar

path has been restored and is now part of a new discovery trail on the slopes
of Mont Beuvray. At the end of this experiment, the aim is to make this
training course a permanent feature in the form of a summer school, during
which students will come and learn about the working method used in the
Bibracte – Morvan des Sommets ecological transition laboratory, while also
getting their “hands dirty”.
Walking along the paths is a great way of discovering the richness of the area
and, at the same time, creating links between those taking part in the excur‑
sions. For this reason, as part of the pilot project, cultural walks have been
organised along the paths under the name of Balades attentionnées – the word
attention being used in French in two complementary senses: the concentration
required of participants in order to be attentive to their environment and the
solicitude required to preserve that environment. In addition to providing an
opportunity to discover the area along the way, these walks showcase the peo‑
ple involved in the area (a farmer who looks after his hedges in an exemplary
way, the owner of a water mill who has restored it, etc.). They also involve
“experts” (such as scientists invited to explain the area’s geology, hydrology
and biodiversity, environmental and forest management technicians, etc.) and
artists who are invited to “shift the focus” of participants and facilitate dia‑
logue between them. In 2022–2023, around 15 walks were organised in the
12 villages of the area, each time attracting several dozen participants, which
is more than enough to manage the group and encourage discussion. It should
also be noted that participants were attracted mainly by word‑of‑mouth, with‑
out any formal (and costly) means of promotion.
Through these actions, the paths are regaining their function as spaces for
sociability and are tending to become third places, understood as

spaces in which the desire of a community of citizens to move towards

a better world is embodied, whose network redraws the territory in
which they are anchored with common sense, cooperation and solidar‑
ity, and positions itself at the heart of exchanges between public play‑
ers, private players and citizens.
(Wikipedia France, adapted)

From another point of view, we could also talk about Political Arts practi‑
cal workshops along the way. In the thinking of sociologist and philoso‑
pher Bruno Latour, Political Arts consists of the simultaneous use of scientific
methods and artistic practices to analyse societal issues and enrich political
decision‑making processes (Latour, 2021).

11.6.4 Taking a step back and learning from the experience of others

Organised on an annual basis, the conference Entretiens de Bibracte‑Morvan

was initially intended to discuss the issues facing the region in the light of sci‑
entific opinion. Open to all, in recent years, they have explored the concepts of
 Ancient paths to the future: an integrated approach 195

the Commons, climate change, solidarity between humans and non‑humans

and agro‑ecology. The concepts were explored in practical terms through
sessions organised in the field, in close contact with local players and, for the
most recent editions, with the involvement of artists.
In 2023, the 17th Entretiens, organised as part of the INCULTUM pilot
project, looked at the concept of heritage and the role of the arts and cultural
action in fostering local people’s attachment to their area. Over 150 partici‑
pants took part in the series of lectures, walks and meetings, sharing experi‑
ences and engaging debates.

11.7 The tourism project as a lever for the regional project

11.7.1 Encouraging and supporting the projects that the region needs

Elinor Ostrom (1990) gave a new perspective to the management of com‑

mon goods by giving them a value of utility and the creation of a civil and
solidarity‑based economy. The Grands Sites de France landscape approach,
which calls on citizens to manage and, where necessary, transform a common
asset to facilitate the ecological transition, is in line with this principle.
In this respect, the development of territorial entrepreneurship is an integral
part of the territorial approach. In France, territorial entrepreneurship is defined
by the Banque des Territoires (a large French State‑owned bank), as “an entre‑
preneurial movement that reinvents new, more collective ways of doing busi‑
ness, with the aim of generating responses in favour of economic development
that is more locally rooted, more sustainable and more inclusive”. It can cover
a wide range of issues: safeguarding traditional activities, maintaining the rural
socio‑economic fabric, adding value to local products, developing new activi‑
ties, etc. It is an alternative between public action and private entrepreneurial
projects. This type of entrepreneurship can take the form of a traditional busi‑
ness or new forms of cooperatives based on the social economy.
Responsibility for planning, financing and managing projects is left to
local players and legitimate local authorities, with the Grand Site de France
community offering socio‑economic players a space conducive to dialogue
and project construction, with the support of the Grand Site de France initia‑
tive management team, which is striving to integrate the project management
dimension of territorial entrepreneurship, which consists of:

• Federating, decompartmentalising and guiding professionals in their desire

to bring projects to life by promoting partnerships;
• Leading multi‑sectoral working groups and interest groups in the develop‑
ment of the tourism offer;
• Helping to (re)discover local industries by promoting them;
• Supporting new entrepreneurs by encouraging multi‑activity, particularly
between the agricultural and service sectors, in order to strengthen the
economic viability of projects;
196 Flore Coppind and Vincent Guichar

• Developing skills;
• Acting as a mediator and ensuring that the project is fair, so that no local
resident feels left out.

11.7.2 A federative initiative: the Tour du Morvan des Sommets

The Tour du Morvan des Sommets is a new cultural itinerary for discover‑
ing the region and the flagship project developed as part of INCULTUM.
It responds to a desire shared by the elected representatives of the 12 vil‑
lage communities and its implementation makes a major contribution to the
desire to work together on a regional scale.
Workshops held by the Rural Paths group to design the route led to the defi‑
nition of an itinerary that has been improved with the support of local walking
associations and technicians from the Morvan Regional Natural Park.
The Tour is a 140 km long hiking tour that links the 12 villages, making
the best possible use of the network of paths. By linking the 12 village com‑
munities, the itinerary invites visitors to discover a rich and living heritage
that expresses the ways in which people have lived here, past and present. It
aims to become a tool for raising visitors’ awareness of climate change and a
showroom for traditional practices and know‑how that can inspire solutions
for sustainable land management.
The route was tested in 2022 by a tourism professional, who validated its
interest and feasibility. It was put into service in summer of 2023, with the
support of temporary promotional material pending its homologation as a
national hiking route, which will enable it to appear on the maps published
by the French National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information.

11.7.3 Sectoral working groups on the common landscape

This discovery route now serves as a catalyst for landscape initiatives and is a
means of federating economic activities based on shared landscape resources.
In addition to the Rural Paths group mentioned above, the Grand Site de
France initiative gathers four other thematic groups.
The Tourism group brings together around 20 local players (tourist offices
and tourism service providers) who are working to build a “slow tourism”
offer throughout the four seasons, combining leisure activities and outdoor
sports, heritage and cultural discovery and encounters with local people, par‑
ticularly along the Tour du Morvan des Sommets.
The Art & Territory group brings together around 20 local artists to
develop collective projects.
The Agriculture group was set up to forge links between long‑established
farmers, all of whom raise cattle, and new farmers, who are often developing
diversified projects geared towards short distribution channels. To this end,
it has the support of the Grand Site de France project manager, who is sec‑
onded on a part‑time basis by a local chamber of agriculture. The priorities
are to facilitate the takeover of farms, create links with the local economy
 Ancient paths to the future: an integrated approach 197

(farm visits, farm‑to‑fork offers) and strengthen solidarity within the farmers
community. The group is now an association set up in 2022 with around ten
members and it has been accredited as a Groupement d’intérêt économique
et Environnemental (GIEE), a Ministry of Agriculture label designed to pro‑
mote the local organisation of players in the agricultural sector around sus‑
tainable collective projects. The next step is to implement concrete projects,
such as the creation of a reception area or the development of a catering offer
available in the form of buffets.
The Forest group is a part of the forest experimentation laboratory set up
in 2021. Led by Bibracte’s Forest Project Manager, this group is being set up
at the time of writing with the aim of establishing a dialogue on forest man‑
agement, at a time when it is the subject of very lively debate in the Morvan,
because industrial logging methods are damaging the landscape in a way that
is less and less accepted by the local population.
Another example is the participatory approach launched in autumn 2023
on the subject of water, designed both to better characterise this resource,
which is subject to shortages in the summer months, and to make it a com‑
ponent of the local community by relying on an original system of shared
management of springs, the Associations syndicales libres, which is widely
developed locally. Here again, the creation of a dedicated working group is a
means of action that we aim to deploy.
Finally, the theme of professional integration has been developed over the
last two decades to help enhance the Bibracte – Mont‑Beuvray heritage site
(restoration of archaeological remains, forestry maintenance). It is now being
mobilised in support of the Grand Site de France initiative, for example to
maintain the network of paths.

11.7.4 The region’s tourism observatory

The development of the tourist economy is a real lever for the sustainable
development of the region. However, this development potential comes up
against widespread mistrust among the local population, who fear that their
living environment is being “touristified” in an uncontrolled way, as other
areas are suffering.
In response to this mistrust, a system designed to create a form of territo‑
rial tourism intelligence has been in place at Bibracte since 2019. Based on the
EVALTO method (Fabry et al., 2012), the aim is to overcome preconceived
ideas and objectify knowledge of tourism activity by means of in‑depth sur‑
veys produced and analysed with local residents and stakeholders. In fact, the
first edition of the survey showed that both local decision‑makers and local
residents had a very distorted perception of tourism, particularly as regards
holiday tourism, which is much more developed than they think. A new edi‑
tion of the survey will include hiking and green tourism around Bibracte, in
order to provide a more complete picture of the profile and practices of visi‑
tors to the area.
198 Flore Coppind and Vincent Guichar

11.8 Conclusion
By using sustainable cultural tourism as a means of recognising and diversify‑
ing economic activities based on the resources of a shared landscape, Ancient
paths to the future is a local initiative that strengthens territorial synergies
and enables tourism policy to be seen not just as a policy of economic and
residential attractiveness, but as one facet of an integrated territorial project.
This territorial experiment is an attempt to put into practice the recommen‑
dations of Bruno Latour, host of the Entretiens de Bibracte‑Morvan in 2019,
for whom it is vital and urgent to “land”, i.e. to invent on a local scale, in
each place, the arrangements that will enable the community of the living to
preserve the habitability of the Planet at a time when it is seriously endan‑
gered by the entry into the Anthropocene (Latour, 2018).
The pilot project has shown that a local community can develop as a
local “collective enterprise” in which all the players have a role to play,
provided that a shared vision of the territorial project has been built collec‑
tively through the activation of a territorial common. This common ground
is made up of the various elements of the area that are a source of attach‑
ment for its residents and visitors and which, taken as a whole, make up
its landscape.
The three years of the Ancient Paths to the Future project, which were
also the time when the Grand Site de France Bibracte – Morvan des Som‑
mets project was gaining momentum, will obviously not have been enough
to put in place a sustainable entrepreneurship system capable of ensuring the
economic viability of the local project, but this prospect seems to us to be
much more attainable at the end of the project, now that the mobilisation of
local players has been achieved. Its success will clearly depend on the ability
of Bibracte and its partners to strengthen the synergies between the various
categories of players in the interests of a shared project, which will undoubt‑
edly involve, as a priority, decompartmentalising the area’s three main sec‑
tors of economic activity (agriculture, forestry and services) and creating
multi‑skilled professional profiles straddling the three sectors. This will bring
us closer to the characteristics of the rural economy that have been erased by
the specialisation that has been promoted since the post‑war decades in order
to increase the productivity of rural areas. The renaissance of multi‑activity,
backed up by a concern to preserve the territorial resources on which people
rely, is undoubtedly a factor of resilience that will enable us to better face the
many challenges posed such as climate change or depopulation.

Acknowledgements
This chapter is the result of a collective process, and it would take too long to
list all the players involved: elected representatives, residents, professionals,
scientists, experts, etc. We would like to thank them all for their involvement
and apologise for not mentioning them by name.
 Ancient paths to the future: an integrated approach 199

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12 Measuring rural tourist
behaviour and engagement
Inside the mind of the visitor
Sabine Gebert Persson, John Östh,
Mikael Gidhagen, Marina Toger and
Anna‑Carin Nordvall

12.1 Introduction
Rural tourism has been emphasized as a sector highly prioritized by a num‑
ber of countries, as it offers a means to stimulate socio‑economic develop‑
ment by generating new job opportunities and providing alternative income
streams for rural communities (Quaranta et al., 2016; UNWTO, 2023).
Within hospitality research, customer engagement is identified as an impor‑
tant factor that can “enhance the overall visitor experience as well as the
value proposition of the destination” (Bergel & Brock, 2019, p. 576). A chal‑
lenge though is the double‑edged sword of attracting tourists while preserving
cultural heritage and minimizing the negative effects associated with tourism
(Cöster et al., 2023), thus ensuring sustainable development of destinations.
To achieve a balance, it is important to consider the specific context of the
rural destination in relation to what attracts and engages visitors. When an
individual is engaged in an object – a destination – this demonstrates their
inclination to dedicate resources towards learning more about the place,
interacting and discussing their experiences with others, or expressing their
opinions (so‑called word of mouth, WOM) (Harrigan et al., 2017). Previ‑
ous research has demonstrated the positive effects of visitor engagement on
revisits, commitment, loyalty, spending, and on relationships between the
visitor and different stakeholders at a destination (cf. Rather et al., 2023).
Hence, understanding the underlying processes and mechanisms driving visi‑
tor engagement, including the triggers of engagement, is central for attracting
visitors to a destination, especially in rural areas. Given that the experience
of a visit unfolds within a spatio‑temporal context, real‑time measurement of
visitors’ behaviour is necessary for understanding the factors engaging tour‑
ists (De Cantis et al., 2016). While visitor engagement is evolving through
on‑site experiences such as activities, encounters with different services, and
interactions with the local communities and the landscape, previous studies
on tourist engagement rely on post hoc survey‑based data (So et al., 2014).
Although survey data offer insights into preferences and motives, the results
capture the cognitive experience perceptions after the visit, i.e. post hoc,

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-12
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
 Measuring rural tourist behaviour and engagement 201

rather than the mid‑visit experiences. Therefore, while survey data can help
researchers and practitioners in understanding engagement post‑visit, it fails
to provide insights into the engagement process occurring during spatio‑­
temporal mid‑visit engagement. One way of tracking real‑time movement
has emerged with new technology, such as GPS loggers (De Cantis et al.,
2016; Ferrante et al., 2018). However, while capturing movements, such
technology has as of yet not been utilized for measuring tourist engagement.
This chapter contributes to research on visitor engagement with a method
combining GPS trajectories, OpenStreetMap, and surveys to capture and
measure visitor engagement and experienced value. By illustrating how the
method has been implemented in rural destinations, the research contrib‑
utes to the understanding of the nature of spatio‑temporal engagement in a
destination and provides insights into how engagement affects individuals’
value co‑creation processes. In doing so, it contributes to research on engage‑
ment (Bergel & Brock, 2019; Brodie et al., 2019; Dessart et al., 2016), while
offering practical insights for destination developers in rural areas on how
engagement levels are formed and what development efforts should focus
on for further growth or in mitigating overcrowding risks. Here, “visitors”
refers to consumers engaging in tourism activities (Smith, 2000) and trav‑
elling to places outside their usual environment for no more than a year
(cf. Frechtling, 2006).

12.2 Engagement and experienced value

Given our interest in understanding the mechanisms underlying engagement,
it is essential to start with defining the concept per se. When an individual is
engaged in an object or, as in this case, a destination, it reflects that individu‑
al’s disposition to invest resources into learning more about the destination,
expressing emotions, and sharing experiences (Harrigan et al., 2017). Previ‑
ous research shows that engagement has a positive effect on loyalty, intention
to return, and brand evaluations (cf. Harrigan et al., 2017; Kumar et al.,
2010; Kumar & Pansari, 2016). Understanding how visitors become engaged
in a rural destination, and in preserving the cultural heritage, requires meas‑
urement of the process of engagement. This helps to identify what triggers
­engagement and to track its evolution over time, i.e. both prior to, during
(also called mid‑visit), and after the visit. Despite the acknowledged impor‑
tance of engagement in marketing research, there is a lack of consensus
regarding its conceptualization (cf. Rather et al., 2023). Within engagement
research, there are two dominant streams, which view it either as behav‑
ioural (cf. Harmeling et al., 2017; Kumar et al., 2010), or as a psychological
state – sometimes also referred to as the disposition to engage (cf. Brodie
et al., 2011; Rather et al., 2023; Storbacka, 2019). Within the behavioural
approach, customer engagement is defined by behavioural manifestations,
such as customers posting reviews, generating content concerning a product,
making suggestions for improvements, or through spreading information by
202 Sabine Gebert Persson et al.

WOM. Common to all these forms is that they to different extents add value
to the firm/object, as the customer’s activities indirectly or directly contribute
to strengthening the brand (cf. van Doorn et al., 2010). The customer in this
view becomes a marketer of the firm, brand, or object. All of these activities
are voluntary from the customer side and are based on the willingness of the
customer to promote a specific brand or firm. Defining engagement by behav‑
ioural manifestations suggests that it is a unidimensional concept, focusing
on behaviour that goes beyond a core economic transaction (Harmeling
et al., 2017).
While the unidimensional perspective of engagement contributes with
insights on how engagement behaviour can be captured, it has been criti‑
cized for disregarding the cognitive and affective/emotional processes, i.e. the
psychological state, which plays a part in forming and influencing customer
engagement behaviour (cf. Brodie et al., 2011). By including the c­ ognitive
and affective/emotional processes, not only the manifestations but also the
dispositions to engage (Storbacka, 2019) are involved. Combining the psy‑
chological state with the behavioural view offers possibilities for captur‑
ing the whole process of engagement, from the disposition to engage to the
manifestations expressing the engagement. Considering that tourism is an
experiential activity in which hedonic consumption is an essential part (expe‑
riencing feelings such as fun, excitement, or curiosity), both the behavioural
aspects and the psychological state are important for understanding visitor
engagement (Zhang et al., 2018). This multidimensional perspective has been
defined by Brodie et al. (2011, p. 260) as:

a psychological state that occurs by virtue of interactive, cocreative

customer experiences with a focal agent/object (e.g., a brand) in focal
service relationships. It exists as a dynamic, iterative process within ser‑
vice relationships that cocreate value. It is a multidimensional concept
subject to a context‑ and/or stakeholder‑specific expression of relevant
cognitive, emotional and/or behavioral dimensions.

This quote highlights important aspects of the multidimensionality of engage‑

ment; its dynamic nature, and how it is dependent on the context in which
the interactions take place. This dynamic nature furthermore implies that
the level of engagement changes and depends on an individual’s perceptions
and reactions to an experience. The cognitive aspect of engagement denotes
the mental processes in relation to an object and refers to how an individ‑
ual activates their cognitive processes, such as seeking information. It also
encompasses the willingness to exert that effort (Brodie et al., 2011; Hol‑
lebeek et al., 2019). The cognitive aspects thus include the mental processes
and investments in an object, such as a destination. Whereas the cognitive
aspect involves a process that requires the mental effort of an actor, the affec‑
tive aspect is an emotional reaction to something, or a feeling (Dessart et al.,
 Measuring rural tourist behaviour and engagement 203

2016; Hollebeek et al., 2019). This feeling is also something that destinations
appeal to when promoting love, passion, or other emotional expressions.
To summarize, the cognitive and affective/emotional aspects are an i­ ndividual’s
tendency, here called disposition, to engage in an object (Fehrer et al., 2018;
Storbacka et al., 2016). It is the continuous process of adjustments of the
disposition that has effects on and is revealed through engagement behav‑
iour. In this chapter, we apply a multidimensional approach to ­engagement,
as it allows the researcher to capture both the enduring psychological
­connection to a brand, object, or destination in conjunction with behav‑
ioural manifestations (So et al., 2014). While studying activities may provide
an indication of the individual’s behaviours, the psychological state provides
an understanding of the engagement valence, where positive engage‑
ment is an actor’s positively associated feelings or evaluations towards an
object, brand, or destination. This positive engagement is important for the
“enhanced value co‑creation experience” and is expressed in the form of
behaviours such as repurchasing, positive WOM, and/or collaborations (Li
et al., 2018, p. 492).

12.2.1 Spatio‑temporal context of actor engagement

While a visitor’s experiences during a visit are crucial for shaping their dispo‑
sition and willingness to become engaged in the destination, the experiences
and psychological expressions are embedded in and affected by the time and
place in which they occur. The experiences are influenced by the context
through a variation of touchpoints or interactions with other actors or the
place, as “each and every actor experience occurs in a specific time and place,
the connections surrounding the experience contribute to the framing of a
psychological state or disposition” (Chandler & Lusch, 2015, p. 9). Thus,
these connections, in a spatio‑temporal context, in turn influence and are
influenced by the cognitive and affective processes as well as the valence and
strength of the visitor’s engagement. Through a number of touchpoints or
interactions, taking place before, during, or after the visit, the experiences
and valuations of the destination and the visit evolve. Interactions are here
understood as interactions with the place and also with “social others” (i.e.,
travelling companions), individually or in a group, which are essential in
forming and influencing an individual’s visit (Hamilton et al., 2021) during
the entire process. Prior to the visit, the individual may have different reasons
to go to a particular destination and a varying level of prior knowledge. This
can in turn result in a search for information online, or by asking friends,
family, or other individuals. The degree of attention, vigour, and enthusiasm
towards learning more about the place represents the individual’s affective
and cognitive dimensions of engagement pre‑visit. Engagement valence can
be positively or negatively influenced or can remain unchanged. As the indi‑
vidual, alone or with others, visits and interacts with the destination (and its
204 Sabine Gebert Persson et al.

historical artefacts, traditions, languages, architecture, artistic expressions,

inhabitants, and other visitors), the affective and cognitive aspects are evalu‑
ated and interpreted directly or indirectly. Through the interactive processes,
the experiences are in turn formed, reformed, and reinterpreted mid‑visit.
As the visit ends, the value co‑created through impressions and experiences
have effects on the disposition to engage. Recognizing its multidimensional
nature, as highlighted by for example Brodie et al. (2011), that evolves over
time and in a context, implies that measuring engagement post hoc is insuf‑
ficient for capturing the intricacies of both the engagement process and its
multidimensionality. Following this line of reasoning, we argue for the neces‑
sity of measuring pertinent indicators of engagement throughout the whole
process.

12.2.2 Measuring actor engagement

With the insight that actor engagement is multidimensional, including cogni‑

tive and affective/emotional dimensions and behavioural activities and mani‑
festations that are formed by interactive processes dependent on the context
and occurring over time, a complex concept emerges. Previous research on
hospitality has measured online engagement. While there are deviating defi‑
nitions of engagement, this is also reflected in how it is operationalized and
measured. While So et al. (2014) identify five dimensions that commonly
define the concept – enthusiasm, attention, absorption, interaction, and
­identification – Vivek et al. (2014) propose attention, enthusiastic partici‑
pation, and social connection. In an early study on customer engagement,
Patterson et al. (2006) emphasized vigour, dedication, absorption, and inter‑
action as important dimensions. Mollen and Wilson (2010), studying online
engagement with a brand, characterized engagement as captured through
emotional congruence with the brand’s online narrative together with the
vigour of the cognitive processes in relation to utility and relevance. The
emotional aspect was also part of Brodie et al. (2011) definition where pas‑
sion was expressed by the respondents in relation to a brand. In combination
with immersion (being absorbed in an activity; the individual is engrossed in
something) and willingness to spend time and energy on an activity related
to a brand (called activation), this reflects an individual’s engagement in
that brand. Previous and disparate ways of measuring engagement all have
some commonalities, such that the cognitive aspect is reflected in aware‑
ness, knowledge, interest, being engrossed, or assimilation. On the affective
side, the emotions evoked are reflected in measuring excitement or devotion.
While the cognitive and affective aspects take place inside the mind and heart
of the individual, the behavioural aspect shows through different activities
such as willingness to recommend a place (WOM), to interact with others,
or, as can be seen in a destination, in the form of exploring and staying longer
in a place.
This can be summarized as in Table 12.1.
 Measuring rural tourist behaviour and engagement 205

Table 12.1 Classification of dimensions of engagements

Engagement aspects

Cognitive Awareness
Knowledge
Interest
Being engrossed
Assimilation
Affective Excitement
Devotion
Behavioural Willingness to recommend
Exploration
Length of stay

12.3 Developing a method to measure multidimensional

engagement
To capture the multidimensional concept of engagement in a destination/
place, it is essential to understand the individual’s different interactions
and cognitive and affective processes in relation to where and when in a
­spatio‑temporal dimension they take place. This calls for, as argued above, a
broad approach in data collection to be able to capture the pre‑, mid‑, and
end‑of‑visit journey of the individual.

12.3.1 Designing data collection

In understanding the whole process, two different datasets were used: survey
and GPS loggers with a like‑click function. In addition to these two, GSM
data (mobile phone data) was used to better understand mobility changes at
a meso‑scale. While the latter category cannot be linked to survey or GPS
responses, it does provide a generic depiction of visitor behaviours in the
studied regions.

12.3.2 Data collection in three different locations

to test/verify the method

Within the INCULTUM project, three different destinations in Sweden were

selected for studying and testing the method for measuring engagement:

• Gotland. The largest island in the Baltic Sea, with the city Visby (read
more at Toger et al., 2023b). Visby is characterized by its walled medieval
city – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – which is on the verge of over‑
crowding during parts of the summer, but it has rural surroundings that
could be developed further (Figure 12.1a).
• Öregrund – A picturesque coastal town in the region of Roslagen, rich
in recreational amenities but not a “passer‑by destination”. It needs to
develop its attractiveness to tourists (Figure 12.1b).
206 Sabine Gebert Persson et al.

Figure 12.1 Examples of the three studied sites: (a) Gotland (view from wall over the
town); (b) The harbour area of Öregrund, Roslagen; (c) Drone photo of
parts of the Torsö archipelago (west of Brommö).

• Torsö. An archipelago in the largest lake in the EU, a “stop‑on‑the‑­highway

place” between Stockholm and Göteborg (Figure 12.1c) that needs to pro‑
mote itself as an engaging destination to attract new potential inhabitants,
as the population is decreasing.

12.3.3 Survey

As the purpose of this chapter is to understand engagement with a specific desti‑

nation, the survey requires that the questionnaires are distributed to those who
are visiting the area. A questionnaire can provide insights on pre‑visit engage‑
ment, while also providing insight on the characteristics of the visitors. For each
of the locations, we handed out a two‑page, single‑paper survey and pencils,
for easy response in outdoor locations, to each party that agreed to participate.
Demographic information was collected to provide an understanding of
who the visitor is and the reasons for the visit. To measure the cognitive aspect
pre‑visit, the questionnaire contained questions measuring previous knowledge
about the destination, expectations, and any information search prior to the visit
(referred to in Table 12.1 as Awareness, Knowledge, Interest, Being engrossed,
and Assimilation). The questionnaire was also designed to measure mid‑visit
behaviour by asking the individual to state the places visited and the activities
undertaken, such as whether the individual visited museums, specific sites, or a
restaurant/café. A critique raised against questions asked post hoc is that they
ask the individual to recall what they did during the visit (cf. Stewart & Hull,
1992). To overcome this, the volunteers were asked to take the questionnaire
with them and fill it out during their visit. Another critique of questionnaires
concerns using preformulated answer options, as alternatives important to the
respondent may not be included. The questionnaire was therefore pre‑tested
and discussed with different stakeholders prior to data collection.
In measuring mid‑visit behaviour, the unique opportunities and challenges
that come with each of the regions make it difficult to develop identical meth‑
odological approaches for the collection of data. Therefore, slight alterations
to the surveys were made to ensure that cross‑location comparisons could
be conducted at the same time as location‑specific questions could be inves‑
tigated. The main challenge in our study was, however, to select the best
 Measuring rural tourist behaviour and engagement 207

location and time for involving respondents. On Gotland, and in particu‑

lar in Visby, tourist information desks, tourism information boards, web
resources, etc., are widely available, but in Roslagen, and in particular on
Torsö, there are few or no locations where all tourists would go for informa‑
tion gathering. This means that there are too many options on Gotland, and
few or none at the other sites. In addition, finding one information locus
implies that we only identify one type of visitor and not those who already
have knowledge about the locations. To solve this, we mainly collected data
in liminal spaces where visitors spend time before continuing their journey.
For all of the selected sites, visitors wait for ferries (Torsö and Roslagen) or
for ship‑to‑town transport (Visby). In addition to these locations, we also
selected alternative data collection sites for sensitivity analysis.
To measure the end‑of‑visit behaviour and disposition to engage in the
future, the questionnaire assesses satisfaction level (which is an estimate for
Excitement in Table 12.1, an affective aspect), and willingness to recommend
the destination (a behavioural aspect in Table 12.1).

12.3.4 GPS loggers

While much previous research measures engagement post hoc, there is still a
lack of research measuring engagement mid‑visit in real time. The inclusion of
this analytical dimension is essential as the experience of an individual visit‑
ing a place develops and is affected by the processual spatio‑temporal dimen‑
sion (Aho, 2001; Caldeira & Kastenholz, 2019; Godovykh & Tasci, 2020).
Recent research has introduced methods for tracking tourists’ move‑
ments with new technology such as GPS loggers (De Cantis et al., 2016;
Ferrante et al., 2018). While the technology makes it possible to follow
in the tourists’ footsteps, this technology has primarily been used to understand
the consumption of place, i.e. the movements per se. Although adding to the
knowledge on how individuals move in a place, how long they stay and where
they go, use of the technology for understanding the engagement process is new.
The GPS loggers used in the INCULTUM project are the size of a USB flash drive
and have a button on the top that can be used for different purposes, in this case
to capture what the individuals like (a “like‑click” button) – see Figure 12.2. This
technology offers the opportunity to capture how tourists move and interact with
the place, how long they stay at different points of interest, and, when given the
instruction, it shows what they like as they click on the button (Figure 12.2c).
We asked a member of each party to wear a GPS logger as a necklace
and instructed the volunteers to like‑click locations that the travelling party
enjoyed (see details below). Since each GPS logger has a unique number noted
in a designated part of the survey, trajectories and survey responses could be
connected. We selected times according to ferry/ship arrival timelines and
made sure to be available for collection of GPS loggers and survey responses
upon the participants’ return. We also selected days with similar weather, to
make sure that activities and choices were comparable between locations and
over time.
208 Sabine Gebert Persson et al.

Figure 12.2 GPS logger.

Table 12.2 Classification of dimensions of engagement and temporal subdivisions of

the tourist experience

Construct dimensions Type of data Pre‑visit Mid‑visit End of visit

Cognitive Survey x
GPS x
Survey x
Affective GPS like‑click x
Survey x
Survey x
Behavioural GPS x
GSM x

To measure mid‑visit engagement, the GPS loggers’ like‑click function is

used as an estimate for affective and behavioural aspects of engagement. While
like‑clicking on a general level can work as an indicator of engagement, it is
hard to estimate to what extent the level is high or low, unless also considering
the number of like‑clicks in relation to attention and vigour. The reason for this
relative measure is that an individual’s like‑clicking once during a 7‑hour visit
could be argued to indicate relatively less engagement in the destination than
an individual like‑clicking once during a 1‑hour visit. Attention is here opera‑
tionalized as duration, in this case in the form of time spent at the destination,
whereas vigour is measured as distance travelled during the visit.
In Table 12.2, the multidimensional classifications of engagement, as sug‑
gested in the literature section, are situated from pre‑, mid‑, and end‑of‑visit
perspectives, and the method for data collection presented for each perspec‑
tive. The table output suggests that while surveys are central, the combination
of surveys and GPS loggers is essential for the understanding of engagement.
Preliminary studies suggest (under review) that there is a significant positive
correlation between the number of like‑clicks and the stated value indicating
how pleased the respondents were with their visit.
 Measuring rural tourist behaviour and engagement 209

In addition to the relationship between surveys and GPS logging, it is also

possible to draw conclusions from survey responses and the observed GSM
behaviour over time, although the temporal dimensions became very differ‑
ent. In Table 12.3, responses from the 2021 survey from the Torsö archi‑
pelago revealed long‑term behavioural changes in preferences as a result of
the pandemic. GSM results confirmed the survey results (see Figure 12.5).
Using a combination of GPS trajectories and questionnaires, with
the latter’s answers matched to amenities and features identified in GIS
resources (here collected through the GPS logger), we can match spatial
activity to engagement. Starting with the GPS material, the GPS trackers

Table 12.3 Survey responses from Torsö 2021 to the question about how and when
they have changed their tourism/recreation behaviour because of the
COVID‑19 pandemic

How did the pandemic affect your behaviour? Last This Next Not at
year year year all (%)
(%) (%) (%)

Avoiding crowds 36 44 9 16
Avoiding cities 14 13 5 6
Using private vehicle 19 25 6 7
Outdoor activities preferred 26 33 6 5
Nature important 19 27 5 6

Figure 12.3 GPS trajectories and like‑clicks in Visby (Gotland).

210 Sabine Gebert Persson et al.

Figure 12.4 GPS trajectories and like‑clicks on the island of Brommö in the Torsö
archipelago.

render results as shown in Figure 12.3a, where the line shows the trajec‑
tory chosen by a randomly selected tourist to Visby, Gotland, and the
needle points indicate locations where the tourist has like‑clicked. In Fig‑
ure 12.3b, a full set of trajectories from tourists to Visby are overlaid. The
patterns reveal two things about the visitors’ behaviour: (1) the visitors
are more or less keeping to the town streets of Visby, and do not wander
beyond the medieval town wall that encircles the core part of Visby, and
(2) the spatial distribution of GPS tracks and like‑clicks are similar, sug‑
gesting that like‑clicking is an activity conducted in the moment, and not
an activity saved to a later or better moment, but an activity reflecting the
experience of the moment.
In Figure 12.4, trajectories and like‑clicks from tourists on the island of
Brommö in the Torsö archipelago during the COVID‑19 pandemic (sum‑
mer of 2021) are shown. Using a slightly different technique compared to
that in Figure 12.3, the density of trajectories and like‑clicks are illustrated.
Brommö Island is known for its long sandy beaches and rich fauna. The
few private motorized vehicles that exist on the island are allowed to be
used only by islanders (and property owners), making the mainly car‑free
island a cycling and hiking haven for tourists. From the common point of
entry (the ferry connection, seen in the lower right part of each image),
the visitor trajectories strictly follow the stretches of roads and tracks on
the island (left‑hand image), and the like‑clicks (right‑hand image) depict
a similar pattern. The greatest density of tracks can be seen leading to the
four main beach areas on the island (two in the north, one to the west, and
one to the south). The patterns reflect what we observed in Figure 12.3, i.e.
the visitors follow the designated paths, and like‑click scenic locations as
they travel.
 Measuring rural tourist behaviour and engagement 211

12.3.5 GSM mobility patterns

Uppsala University hosts the GSM database MIND, which contains pseu‑
donymized, longitudinal records of GSM mobility. The database allows us to
trace phone mobility patterns over limited time spans, but the spatial detail is
limited to the location of the GSM antennas, which means that we can associ‑
ate phones with areas and also match these areas to contextual statistics or
land use data from GIS resources, but we cannot match locations of phones
to addresses or specific amenities. By aggregating phones per spatial unit, and
by comparing the relative density over time, we can determine whether indi‑
viduals (phone users) are more or less likely to spend time in areas of different
recreational qualities during vacation times, regular weekdays, and weekends.
The association between phones and amenities was elucidated in several steps:
(1) GSM antenna locations were transformed to km2 units in which the phones
were located; (2) mapped land use features from OpenStreetMap were used to
calculate the dominance (area dominance using focal statistics in GIS) of differ‑
ent kinds of green and blue amenities in each of the GSM‑designated km2 units;
(3) study preferences in land use exposure on different days, or as a change in
preferences over time. In a series of papers, the GSM material described has

Figure 12.5 Difference in population density between July 2020 and July 2019, in
the central parts of Sweden. Darker colours indicate greater population
change (for a full colour version of map cf. Östh et al., 2023). Map
produced with ESRI ArcGIS®, base map ESRI Light Gray, map data
sources: Lantmäteriet, Esri, Garmin, GeoTechnologies, Inc., METI/
NASA, USGS.
212 Sabine Gebert Persson et al.

been used to depict recreational mobility behaviour in Sweden. In Östh et al.

(2023), the changing choice of locations during the pandemic is studied. They
used a first differencing approach to show the relative change in population
density during a Thursday in July, the main vacation period in Sweden (see
Figure 12.5). The figure clearly shows how individuals are avoiding densely
populated regions and favouring remote areas, and especially areas close to
water, during the pandemic. The selection of nature amenities studied by Östh
et al. (2023) was based on the survey conducted on Torsö.
Toger et al. (2023a) and Shuttleworth et al. (2023) find similar patterns
where rural amenities are favoured during weekends, and during holidays
such as Easter. Both of these studies include the Roslagen archipelago in the
Baltic Sea, and both studies concluded that the archipelago gained popula‑
tion during recreational periods. The results are not spatially detailed enough
to help us understand the engagement of individual visitors, but it helps us to
understand the general change of behaviour in broad brushstrokes.

12.4 Concluding discussion

A cornerstone of our chapter is to reason about the nature of visitors’ engage‑
ment and how to design the methodological setup for the measurement of their
engagement in rural settings. We exemplify our discussion about visitor engage‑
ment using data from three rural and coastal but otherwise relatively different
locations in Sweden. For each of the three regions, we have employed the same
methods, which primarily means using survey and GPS logging techniques for
the measurement of tourist engagement, but by adding GSM data, we are also
able to show how, over time, changes in locational patterns for phones can be
matched to survey responses, and where proximity to nature, avoidance of
densely populated areas, etc., can be traced in both kinds of datasets.
What can we learn from our analysis? We propose that the engagement of
visitors at tourist destinations is best measured using a combination of tools,
where the different temporal dimensions of a visit are considered using a
combination of survey and GPS measurements. By using surveys, the engage‑
ment of visitors before (when initially handed the survey, if this takes place
before the trip) and after (upon return) can be measured. However, the tem‑
poral and spatial distribution of like‑clicks observed by GPS loggers and the
positive correlation between like‑clicks and the stated pleasantness of the
visit (as expressed in surveys) suggest that like‑clicking on GPS devices and
using GPS loggers can facilitate the analysis of engagement, and is suggested
as a key method for measuring mid‑visit engagement. On an aggregate level,
the results from the GPS studies also reveal another important result. There
seems to be a strong link between the duration of stay and like‑clicking,
in that areas with more and longer stays have a corresponding increase in
engagement. Although the causal relationship between stay and like‑click can
be difficult to tease out using our technique, the results suggest that unattrac‑
tive areas are not only not “liked”, but they are also quickly passed.
 Measuring rural tourist behaviour and engagement 213

12.4.1 Limitations

An issue with our studies of engagement is that data collection took place dur‑
ing different phases of the pandemic. The pandemic affected peoples’ behav‑
iour to a considerable extent, and in ways that challenged behavioural norms
and distribution of visitors. The pandemic enabled us to study the change
in behaviour triggered by a shock, and as such, our studies were rewarding
in providing evidence of a change in preferences towards more nature and
solitude at times of risk. However, we have been unable to specify a state of
normal behaviour during our study period. Uncorrelated, but worth noting,
are also the effects of climate change, which is rapidly affecting tourism. Over
a five‑year period (2018–2023), Torsö experienced the warmest summer and
the rainiest vacation period in a 100‑year period, and the other study regions
were almost as heavily hit. This underlines the challenge of finding a normal
behaviour among tourists, and it also highlights a long‑term challenge for
tourism development.

12.4.2 Suggestions for future studies

The method was developed and tested in three locations in Sweden. As behav‑
iours are context‑specific, testing in other contexts is important for refining the
method. In this study, the pandemic may have affected the results. Future stud‑
ies would also benefit from an analysis of the resilience of destinations, in terms
of how well they are coping with or mitigating the effects of both the pandemic
and increasing climate changes, and how these are affecting visitor behaviour.

Note
Maps throughout this chapter were created using ArcGIS® Pro software
by Esri. ArcGIS® is the intellectual property of Esri and used herein under
license. Copyright © Esri. All rights reserved. For more information about
Esri® software, please visit www.esri.com.

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13 Cultural tourism, cutting‑edge
technologies and participatory
planning in the context
of worth‑living integrated
development
Vaios Kotsios and Sotiris Tsoukarelis

13.1 Introduction
The INCULTUM project explores the challenges and opportunities in the
field of cultural tourism, with the aim of enhancing social, cultural and eco‑
nomic development, exploiting the real potential of remote areas, by the local
communities and anyone who is interested. In particular, nine methodologi‑
cal approaches are developed, with active participation of all stakeholders
at the core, for the development of cultural tourism in areas with different
geographical, socio‑economic and cultural characteristics.
This chapter aims at presenting the innovative approaches of Integrated Out‑
puts, used for the recording, analysis, synthesis and visualization of the natural
and socio‑economic reality of the region, aiming at the development of cul‑
tural tourism under the prism of Worth‑living Integrated Development (Rokos,
2004a, b), utilizing cutting‑edge technologies and the integrated infrastructure
system and policies for environment and development IDPSS (Kotsios, 2016).
The methodological approach consists of the following steps:

1 Creating a knowledge geobase for the region, linked to business intel‑

ligence tools, with information on the set of data on its physical and
socio‑economic reality.
2 Conducting empirical research to collect primary data on the constraints,
problems, opportunities and prospects for the development of cultural
tourism in the region.
3 Entering the data into the integrated cadastral infrastructure system for
the environment and development (IDPSS) and obtaining actions for the
development of cultural tourism in the study area.

13.2 Cognitive Geobase

13.2.1 Secondary‑administrative data

For the analysis of the natural and cultural resources, data were collected,
with a brief description and the relevant bibliographic reference where the
DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-13
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
 Cultural tourism, cutting-edge technologies 217

Figure 13.1 Arrivals of residents and foreigners.

Source: ELSTAT

information comes from and the coordinates of each resource. In addition,

accompanying images were collected for each of these elements so that users
could view the images in combination with the interactive map of the sites.
In order to achieve a proper use of the data, we began with the necessary
corrections, the grouping of the data into specific columns in the database
and finally we carried out a “join” of the tables in order to synthesize the
information. In addition, for most of the data, the necessary links for the
Google Street View were collected. Where possible through Google Maps,
the location was identified and the relevant link was recorded and, as a result,
users of the interactive map have access to the street view.1
For the analysis of the economic reality of the study area in the field of
cultural tourism, data from ELSTAT and the internet (Google Trends) were
used in a comparative analysis of three regions with common characteris‑
tics (Konitsa, Metsovo and Zagori). As can be seen in Figure 13.1, foreign
and domestic arrivals over time are mainly related to the Municipality of
Zagori.
In addition, online searches for the area were investigated. Also, F
­ igure 13.2
shows some connecting diagrams indicating the total searches per month over
the last five years based on four specific keywords in Greek and Latin char‑
acters. The study area showed variation in terms of the searches in December
and August and the search language. As shown in the chart below, searches
for the term “Konitsa” in Latin characters rank much lower in searches.
At the working level, a comparative analysis of the structure of salaried
employment in business activity in three regions (Konitsa, Zagori and Met‑
sovo) was carried out. It was observed that the structure of entrepreneurship
and salaried employment in the region of Konitsa is distributed across other
218 Vaios Kotsios and Sotiris Tsoukarelis

Figure 13.2 Area online searches.

Source: Google Trends

sectors and is not highly concentrated in the accommodation and food ser‑
vices sector as in other neighbouring destinations with similarly high cultural
and environmental reserve.
At the same time in Konitsa, one‑fourth of employment is in wholesale
and retail trade and one‑fifth in human health and social work, while these
activities in the neighbouring destinations are largely absent. In Konitsa,
464 people are in the registry of whom 246 are women and 218 are men.
It appears that the unemployed are found across the age grid with a higher
concentration in the 40–49 age group. Half of them are young unemployed.
We also note that of the registered unemployed, half are unmarried and the
vast majority have no children.
As documented later, based on the research conducted among the Cul‑
tural Associations of the Municipality of Konitsa, as well as from previous
research of the ME.K.D.E., it seems that demographic issue is a major and
common problem for all mountainous regions.

13.3 Empirical research to collect primary data on the

constraints, problems, opportunities and prospects for the
development of cultural tourism in the region
Along with the collection of secondary data, qualitative empirical research
was conducted using structured interviews with the cultural associations of
the region (see Annex), in order to collect critical data for the development of
cultural tourism in the region. Research results were presented and discussed
with the associations themselves, in order to take specific actions, in the con‑
text of the participatory process of promoting collective intelligence of the
pilot project “Aoos, the shared river”.
 Cultural tourism, cutting-edge technologies 219

Figure 13.3 Major assets of the region.

On the question “what in your opinion are the most important cultural
and environmental assets of the region?”, it was found that the main assets
were the Monastery of Stomio, which was mentioned by almost all partici‑
pants, Mastorochoria, i.e. all the villages that make up the old Municipality
of Mastorochoria, the house of Agios Paisios, Panigiria, as a cultural produc‑
tion activity, the bridges, the house of Hamko, Smolikas, and the monastery
of Molybdsvodskepastis. Other important assets mentioned by the Associa‑
tions are traditional music, the trails, the monastery of Klidonia, Bourazani,
the Muslim mosque, and the monastery of Zermas, the Amarantou baths, the
folklore museums, the waterfalls in Vathylakkos, the cauldrons as a cultural
activity, the Drakolimnes, the route of Agia Varvara, Derveni, the Zermas
bridge (Figure 13.3).
Asked to highlight the most important problems of the region, the Asso‑
ciations indicated infrastructure as a major problem. The road network and
the health and education infrastructure in the region appeared to be problem‑
atic. A second major issue raised by the Associations’ responses is the issue
of demographic depopulation, which is directly linked to employment and
unemployment in the region. A third issue also linked to these is social activ‑
ity. The fourth issue in order is unemployment (Figure 13.4).
There are many unused infrastructures found in the region that could be
reused. According to the responses to the survey, the most important one
available for use is the Anagnostopouleio Agricultural School. The second
unused resource mentioned is the old leather and tannery factory, followed
by schools that exist in almost every village, the cultural centre in Plagia and
the café that has rooms for the operation of a guest house, the traditional
bridge in Elefthero. Also an unused infrastructure seems to be the paths and
festivals without microphone “in the plain”, as mentioned by the Associa‑
tions (Figure 13.5).
220 Vaios Kotsios and Sotiris Tsoukarelis

Figure 13.4 Major problems of the region.

Figure 13.5 Unused infrastructure in the region.

When asked which products can be considered as traditional, quality

products in the region, the first one mentioned was melon. The second prod‑
uct was cheese. However, in the district of Konitsa, there is not a single cheese
dairy or cottage industry. Other products such as peaches, giant legumes,
aromatic plants, sea buckthorn, fodder, tsipouro, cattle, trahanas, pies, trout,
apples, honey, jams, vegetables and nuts follow (Figure 13.6).
Although one of the major problems highlighted by the survey is demo‑
graphic decline, according to the responses of the cultural associations, there
are possibilities for reoccupation (62%). One in four was not certain and
only 12% said there are no such possibilities in the area.
 Cultural tourism, cutting-edge technologies 221

Figure 13.6 Traditional products of the region.

Figure 13.7 Possibility and preconditions for reoccupation of the region.

The preconditions for reoccupation, according to the survey, are the devel‑
opment of agriculture and livestock, entrepreneurship and employment in
accommodation and food services sector, which is very low, the utilization
of housing, improved infrastructure and transport. Finally, another prospect
mentioned by the Associations is the exploitation of the aquatic potential of
the region (Figure 13.7).
When asked if the Associations could cooperate with each other, two out
of three Associations were positive, which is very encouraging, only one out
of three said that there can be no cooperation between the Associations. An
important parameter: in order to create another reality for the region, at the core
222 Vaios Kotsios and Sotiris Tsoukarelis

Figure 13.8 Possibility of cooperation between the Associations of the region.

of an integrated development philosophy, there must be cooperation between

sovereign, active and conscious citizens and their associations (Figure 13.8).
Is it therefore also possible to have cross‑regional cooperation? A plural‑
ity, less than half, 45% say it is difficult in practice to do so. But some, 40%,
think it is important.

13.4 Results and planned actions

After the implementation of the above methodological approach, the data
were analysed with the IDPSS system and a first extraction of actions for the
development of cultural tourism in the study area was carried out in coopera‑
tion with the institutions and citizens who participated in the implementation
stages of the methodological approach of the project:

13.4.1 Development actions

• Programmatic Agreement with the Municipality of Konitsa (associated

partner of the project) for the exploitation of the Mansion of Hamko
(unused resource according to the research), through the unique collection
of rare records of traditional music of the region and the Balkans (unused
resource according to the research), of the Grammy award‑winning musi‑
cologist and collector Christopher King who resides in Konitsa.
• Development of an Open Source Water Monitoring Tool (waterjet2) in
collaboration with the associated partners of the project P2PLab and
researchers from New Dexterity, in order to protect the local water
resources and boost scientific tourism in the area. Taking advantage of the
“design global, manufacture local” model, which builds on the conjunc‑
tion of the digital commons of knowledge and design with desktop and
 Cultural tourism, cutting-edge technologies 223

benchtop manufacturing technologies (from three‑dimensional printers

and laser cutters to low‑tech tools and crafts), we decided the organiza‑
tion of three workshops using the facilities and equipment of the public
library of Konitsa in order to locally produce a water monitoring tool
called “waterjet”. The local community was involved in the 3D printing
process of the waterjet and trained on the use and the maintenance of the
tool. The waterjet is available to scientists who want to conduct research
on the water resources of the area and to the local society in order to
monitor the condition of their water environments. Aoos River and the
Dragonlake of Tymfi where identified as major natural assets according
to the research.
• Opening and recording of a hiking path3 leading from the village of
Kallithea to the Agios Konstantinos chapel (cultural heritage monument),
identified by the Cultural Association of Kallithea. The action will be
implemented by using network tools such as “work away” as a way of
addressing problems highlighted by the research, such as lack of human
and financial resources through the use of solidarity and voluntary tourism.
• Recording of a Transregional pastoral route4 in cooperation with the other
pilot of the project “Vjosa, the shared river” in the framework of the
cross‑border piloting and in the joint promotion of Vlach culture, pasto‑
ralism and transhumance.
• Inventory of licensed distilleries in the area (cultural asset according to the
research), their owners, their capacity and their supporting facilities for
the organization of a relevant cultural tourism product.
• Collaboration with social economy actors in the region to create a web
platform5 for the promotion of the region (searches for the term “Konitsa”
in Latin characters rank much lower than neighbouring areas in Google
Trends according to the research), as well as a participatory design of
cultural experiences, aimed at creating supply, demand and evaluation of
cultural products and services.

Appendix: cultural associations that participated in the survey

• Rural Cultural Association of Aetopetra
• The Brotherhood of Agia Paraskevi of Konitsa “Kerasovo”
• The Kerasovo Brotherhood of Kiato “Zarkadi”
• Konitsa Sports Association
• Social Cooperative Enterprise Kaleidoscope
• Cultural‑Mountaineering‑Improvement and Sports Association of
Paleoselli
• Improvement and Progressive Association of Konitsa
• Improvement‑Cultural Association of Mazi “Aoos”
• Educational‑Cultural Association of Heliorachi
• Cultural and Improvement Association of Elefthero Konitsas.
• Museum of Ali Pasha and Revolutionary Era
224 Vaios Kotsios and Sotiris Tsoukarelis

• Mountaineering club
• Cultural‑Improvement‑Folklore Association of Zerma (Plagia) “The pass‑
ing of Theotokos”
• Cultural Association of Amarantos
• Cultural Association of the Vlachs of distrato
• Cultural Association of Vourbiani
• Cultural Association of Kalithea of Konitsa “ Goritsa”
• Cultural Association of young people of Konitsa
• Cultural‑Sports Association of Kledonia “Litoviani”
• Cultural Developmental Improvement Association of Gorgopotamos
• Progressive Union Pyrsoyanni
• Progressive Charitable Association of Kastaniani “Agios Nicolaos”
• Women’s Association
• Association of The Fraternity of Oxias of Epirus “Agios Nicolaos”
• Dance Association of Konitsa

Notes
1 The interactive map “Aoos, the Shared River” is available online: https://public.
tableau.com/app/profile/social.analytics.gr/viz/Aoosthesharedriver_RS_Update/
Aoosthesharedriver.
2 https://newdexterity.org/autoboat/.
3 https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking‑trails/cultural‑route‑in‑kallithea‑by‑the‑high‑
mountains‑incultum‑116151825.
4 https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking‑trails/vlachs‑transhumance‑path‑grammos‑
by‑the‑high‑mountains‑incultum‑140975712.
5 https://culturaltourism.gr/.

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14 Experimental reconstruction,
cultural memory and cultural
tourism
Vlach minority heritage in the
Upper Vjosa Valley, Southern
Albania

Eglantina Serjani and Ardit Miti

14.1 Introduction
In the 2010s, while undertaking archaeological field research in the Upper Vjosa
Valley, southeastern Albania, we initiated our interest in the Latin‑speaking
community of the Vlach. Historically, they inhabited swathes of the Balkans
but are predominantly located within southern and central‑western ­Albania,
north‑west and central‑eastern Greece, and western and central North Mac‑
edonia. The name Vlach is assumed to derive from Slavic as a designation
for Latin speakers, originating from the Germanic word Wälsche meaning
‘stranger’ (Dvoichenko‑Markov, 1984, p. 525; Winnifrith, 1987, pp. 1–35).
Other names have been given to them by locals, such as Çoban in Albania,
Kutsóvlachi and Arvanitóvlachi in Greece, Macedo‑Romanian in Romania
or Tsintsar and Vlasi in Serbia and Bulgaria. To the Vlach themselves, they
are known as Aroumāni, Armâńi or Rrămăńi (Kahl, 2002, p. 145; Winnif‑
rith, 2002, p. 121).
The Vlach ethnonym appears for the first time in 11th century AD Byz‑
antine sources describing events in Greece, though an even earlier date can
be inferred in association with two episodes that took place in the territo‑
ries around Kastoria and Thessaly during the years 976 and 979 (Wolff,
1949, p. 204; Kaldellis, 2019, p. 240). From the second half of the 12th
century AD, the name Vlach also emerges as a geographical label, such
as Wallachia or ‘Great Vlachia’ in the Thessalian highlands, ‘Little Vla‑
chia’ in Aetolia‑Acarnania and ‘Upper Vlachia’ in Epirus (Soulis, 1963,
pp. 271–273; Osswald, 2007, p. 129). Their ethnic origin has long puzzled
scholars and several hypotheses have been drawn, with some sharing the
assumption that Vlachs are the descendants of Romanized local Balkan
tribes who settled in isolated highland pockets during the Slav penetra‑
tion in the Early Middle Ages (Wace & Thompson, 1914, pp. 265–273;
Winnifrith, 1987, pp. 88–89). Historical sources often depict Vlachs as
transhumant shepherds (Gyóni, 1951, pp. 29–41), although there are also

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-14
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
226 Eglantina Serjani and Ardit Miti

instances when they appear as muleteers, keepers of passes, guides and

tradesmen, with the distinguished pattern of being ‘always on the move’, as
an aid to their remarkable survival (Winnifrith, 1987, pp. 71–72, 105–106,
110–112, 125, 148).
The Upper Vjosa Valley marks the northern border of the historical region
of Epirus and played an important role in connecting the hinterlands of
central Albania and the Ionian and Adriatic coastlines with northern and
central regions of Greece and western North Macedonia (Soustal, 1981,
pp. 88–89). Given this position, the valley was one of the main corridors of
Vlach nomadic movement, from the winter pasture lands of coastal Ionian
plains to the summer pastures of the immediate valley uplands and further
east in the districts of Kolonja and Korça. These territories record a consider‑
able presence of Vlach settlers, likewise the neighbouring mountainous area
of Pindus in Greece to the south of the valley.
There are several stages of Vlach settlement in the Upper Vjosa Valley,
stemming from the first record in the early 15th century AD, until their final
settling at the end of the 1950s. The Vlach historical trajectory was not an
easy one, but ultimately, they managed to preserve their language, culture
and identity. It is unfortunate that in more recent years, these distinctive
ethno‑cultural features have been threatened with an imminent risk of extinc‑
tion. It was this potential loss that drew our attention and directed the focus
of the research in the Vjosa Valley towards capturing the last surviving mem‑
ories of Vlachs who once conducted a transhumant way of life. They pro‑
vided significant information about their temporary settlement locations and
organization as well as their long‑distance nomadic routes. The mobile way
of life required Vlachs to temporarily reside in an area during the summer
and winter pastoral seasons, where they established a domestic environment
consisting of single family hut dwellings known as kalive. While these would
perhaps appear to some as ‘simple huts’, this would contradict the complex
conception of space that characterizes the Vlach way of life. As such, the
kalive is a traditional building, no less important than a stone‑built structure.
Archaeological studies have proven that communities have lived in ephemeral
dwellings since prehistory. Today, these structures are widely reconstructed
experimentally as a means of testing an archaeological interpretation, as well
as creating heritage landmarks for education and presentation purposes.1 In
the Vjosa Valley, we were limited by the absence of archaeological data and
therefore, we used surviving memories to build a Vlach hut dwelling site,
and eventually recreate a lost symbolic aspect of their heritage. Traditional
data can be used to interpret the past similarly to scientific archaeological
experiments (Stone & Planel, 1999, pp. 1–7). The difference, however, stands
in the type of validated data collected. In our case, the goal was to validate
information gathered from an ethnographic survey through a practical con‑
struction experiment, while also trying to recreate and interpret an aspect of
Vlach past. In so doing, it also rescued a traditional knowledge that is fast
disappearing. Past memories were used equally to record, design and map
 Experimental reconstruction 227

the nomadic routes, which were assessed and surveyed on the ground, so as
to preserve the historic practice of transhumance and create a visual heritage
product.

14.2 Vlachs in the Upper Vjosa Valley

Today, Vlachs are becoming increasingly less evident in the southern
­Balkans, and there are obvious reasons for this disappearance. To begin
with, the loss of transhumance, which had been the source of the Vlach’s
survival for many centuries, encouraged a movement towards large urban‑
ized areas, where it was difficult to preserve a minority identity (Hammond,
1976, p. 46; W­ innifrith, 2002, pp. 112–121). Additionally, the establishment
of one‑language national schools and the abandonment of endogamy further
accelerated the integration and assimilation process of the Vlachs. This is
well reflected in the Upper Vjosa Valley, where many of the Vlach inhabited
villages located in isolated upland areas are now abandoned and there are
only a few among the descendants of the Vlachs who are aware of their iden‑
tity and even fewer who can speak the language.
The assimilation process of Vlachs in the Balkans seems to have begun
with the establishment of independent nation‑states during the 19th and early
20th centuries. The formation of new states led to their geographical areas
of origin being divided by new national borders. Although it was impossible
to develop a state of their own, many among the educated Vlachs in Albania
became prominent figures of the country’s national movement, as did their
counterparts in Greece. At the same time, the Romanian state also began
influencing activities that encouraged an independent Vlach identity. They
used the proximity of the Vlach language to Romanian, sending missionary
teachers to establish Aromanian schools in Macedonia, Thessaly and Epirus
(Kahl, 2003, pp. 208–214). Such schools were also set up in the Vjosa Valley,
in the town of Përmet and the village of Kosina, which may have influenced
the preservation of the Vlach identity amongst their pupils.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the communist regime in
­Albania encouraged the rise of a fiercely nationalistic identity and the for‑
mation of a ‘New Man’ for their new, modern society. In this context, the
traditional Vlach way of life and their socio‑economic organization were per‑
ceived as relics of the past that belonged to an era of ‘medieval slavery’ (Prifti,
1971, pp. 12–13). Furthermore, the sealing of national borders between
Greece and Albania prevented pastoral mobility across the two countries
and the Albanian reforms for state‑led collectivization banned Vlach pastoral
nomadism, forcing them to settle permanently. However, Albania’s isolation
and control of its internal population movement somehow aided the preser‑
vation of the Vlach identity. Following the collapse of the communist regime
in 1991, the country endured a long political, economic and social crisis
which created an unfavourable climate for the survival of a minority identity.
During these years some Vlachs attempted to seek a new Greek or Romanian
228 Eglantina Serjani and Ardit Miti

nationality, whereas others retained their Vlachness and still remained loyal
to the ­Albanian home state.
Another potential threat to the survival of the Vlach identity is a disturb‑
ing persistence of prejudice. This is likely associated with a general percep‑
tion of them as shepherds, following a ‘primitive’ nomadic way of life with
temporary hut settlements. It was this particular lifestyle that led the seden‑
tary Vlachs in the Vjosa Valley to differentiate themselves from their nomadic
fellows. Moreover, it is not unlikely that these feelings of intimidation may
have been cultivated continuously; indeed, since the earlier appearance of the
Vlachs in historical sources, they are often described as ‘faithless, infidel, per‑
verse, untrusted, barbarians, brigands, etc.’ (Kaldellis, 2019, pp. 241–242).
The Vlachs in the Vjosa Valley (district of Përmet) distinguish themselves
into two groups. The first is a large group of earlier dwellers known by
­Albanians as Çoban, a term loaned from Turkish for shepherd, but they gen‑
erally call themselves Aromani. The second, a smaller group, locally known
as Vllah and among themselves as Rrmani/Ramani have conducted a semi or
fully nomadic way of life until the end of the 1950s when they were settled
permanently in the territory.
Historically, the earlier Vlach residents inhabited the highland regions of Dan‑
gëlli and Shqeri, expanding from the lower valley towards the east and centred
mainly around the village of Frashër. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this
village was a large rural settlement and a trading post along the route between
the Vjosa Valley, the district of Kolonja and the medieval town of Voskopoja
(Moschopolis) in the Korça district, which was once the most famous Vlach
settlement in the Balkans (Adhami, 1998). A smaller presence is recorded in the
villages along the western flank of the Vjosa Valley, at the foot of mountains
Dhëmbel and Nemërçka, including the town of Përmet (Figure 14.1).2
Those Vlachs living in villages were mainly shepherds of their flocks or
hired herdsmen, muleteers and excellent charcoal makers, whereas those in
city were craftsmen such as tailors, blacksmiths and tradesmen.
There is an assumption that it is from the village of Frashër that the name of
one of the largest Vlachs groups of the southern Balkans originates. These are
known as Farsherot, or by the Greeks as Arvanitovlakhi, and are to be found
in central and south Albania, Greece and North Macedonia (Wace & Thomp‑
son, 1914, pp. 206–218, 223). Some of the later Vlach residents in the valley
also claim a Farsherot origin, whereas others say they have come from different
areas in northern Greece, particularly from the village of Kefalovrison, located
at the southern end of Mount Nemërçka, close to the Albanian border (Fig‑
ure 14.3). The Vjosa Valley was a regular seasonal nomadic route for many
Vlachs, and once it became their permanent home, they settled in the villages
of Kosina, Kutal, Badëlonja and Lëshica. The first three of these villages have
continuous historical records of Vlach presence, whereas the latter has no ear‑
lier evidence, but was a camping ground along their transhumance route.
There is no point in defining ethnic and cultural boundaries between the
earlier Çoban residents and the later settled Vlachs. This is a present‑day
 Experimental reconstruction 229

Figure 14.1 Map of settlements with Vlach presence in the Upper Vjosa Valley.

social distinction, particularly amplified when the latter group becomes per‑
manent residents of the valley, at the end of the 1950s. Both groups speak the
same dialect, are conscious of their Vlach identity, confess to Eastern Ortho‑
dox Christianity and consider the Upper Vjosa Valley a homeland or a main
hub of their nomadic movement. It is likely that over time, transhumant Vlach
colonies settled in the valley and either established new settlements or formed
hamlets on the edges of existing villages, most probably where other Vlachs
230 Eglantina Serjani and Ardit Miti

resided. The pattern of constant movement is reflected by a mid‑19th‑century

census of the Eparchy of Përmet, which records village families based on their
Christian and Muslim religions (Aravantinos, 1856, pp. 370–375). Some
of the villages traditionally inhabited by Vlachs, such as Bodar, K ­ ostrec,
­Zavalan, Miçan and Suropull are listed in this census as only having Muslim
families, inferring there were no Christians and therefore no Vlach habit‑
ants. Earlier in that century, however, Vlachs were reported in Kostrec and
Christian families in Bodar (Pouqueville, 1826, pp. 265, 270). A particular
type of movement may be deduced for settlements along the western side of
the valley, where Vlachs are generally smaller in number. Here, newcomers
are in a continuous flow, but only for a brief temporary stay. For example,
the village of Buhal always had few Vlach families who only stayed for a
generation and worked as hired herdsmen, practicing year‑round pastoralism
with short‑distance movements on Mount Dhëmbel. Later, when a family left
to settle elsewhere, i.e., in the village of Draçova to the south, others came
from the village of Fratar to the north. The settlements in the uplands to the
east, unlike those in the west, have greater population numbers and longer
staying migrants. This may be due to extensive rich summer pastures, a more
independent economy, as well as being located along main transhumance
routes with other Vlach centres of Kolonja district and Voskopoja nearby to
facilitate a constant population flow and presence.

14.3 Tracing the past

Earlier evidence for a Vlach presence in the Vjosa Valley comes from the
1431 AD Ottoman cadastre of Këlcyra (medieval Kleisura), which mentions
the town as having a Vlach population and a hundred dwellings (Soustal,
1981, p. 182). Subsequently, there is a chronological gap of nearly 400 years
until the Vlachs briefly re‑emerge in a written account by the French travel‑
ler François Pouqueville (1826, p. 270), where he mentions that the village
of Kostrec was inhabited by Vlachs who had moved there from Voskopoja.
This does not mean, however, that there was no Vlach presence during this
interlude or prior to their first mention.
Këlcyra occupies a dominant position at the northern extreme of the Upper
Vjosa Valley, overlooking roads from the west and northeast. The archaeo‑
logical and historical data suggests that the site was an important fortified
centre with occupation phases dating from Hellenistic to Medieval times.
Outside the fortification, there are stone‑built houses recorded over an area
of c.9.80ha which were likely part of a nucleated settlement, developed from
the 10th to 11th centuries AD with a later expansion during the 13th to 14th
centuries (Miti et al., forthcoming); these houses may be associated with those
mentioned in the Ottoman cadastre. In late 13th‑century historical accounts,
the town appears as an administrative and commercial Byzantine centre,
which soon afterwards was under the control of Albanian lords with Vene‑
tian merchants also residing there (Xhufi, 2009, pp. 176–177). It is, therefore,
 Experimental reconstruction 231

doubtful to assume that Këlcyra was entirely inhabited by Vlachs for in the
late Byzantine sources that described events from the region of Epirus, Vlachs
appeared to be coalesced or confused with A ­ lbanians (­Osswald, 2007,
p. 130). The early 19th‑century traveller, Thomas Hughes (1820, p. 272)
recorded an oral history describing the settlement being abandoned half a
century earlier, and that the people had migrated to the neighbouring moun‑
tain region of Kolonja. It is not certain whether these were Vlachs, but their
recorded shift towards Kolonja, an area of Vlach habitation, and their tradi‑
tion for moving to places where other Vlach resided, may infer they had a
presence in Këlcyra.
The Ottoman cadastre of 1435 AD for the vilayet (province) of Përmet
(Caka, 2018) contains no direct accounts of Vlachs, although some of the
place names listed may indicate a Vlach presence at that time or even earlier.
For instance, the village of Vllaşova/Ulasova that could be identified as Vllás‑
ovon (present Lashova) mentioned in the mid‑19th century by Aravantinos
(1856, p. 372) is clearly an ethnonym deriving from the Slavic‑Bulgarian name
Vlas denoting Aromanian (Ylli, 2000, p. 188). This may suggest an earlier
use of the name, perhaps from the time, the territory was under the Bulgar‑
ian domination during mid‑9th and 10th centuries AD. The same origin and
explanation may be implied for the village of Vllah, located at the border with
Greece, which appears in the early 19th century as a hamlet inhabited by shep‑
herds (Pouqueville, 1826, p. 253), and a century later as having three Vlach
families living there (Burileanu, 1912, p. 358). Today, the village is inhabited
by Greek‑speaking minorities and it remains unclear whether the then‑settled
Vlachs moved elsewhere or were absorbed by the local majority.
There are a number of place names with Latin origin that emerge from the
Ottoman registers, including the town of Përmet (Premeti), and it is tempt‑
ing to suggest that the Vlach language may have been responsible for their
survival. Among these Latin toponyms, however, only a few may be directly
related to the Aromanian language, such as Frata, Fratan (Fratar) and Sifrati
(Sfrat), which are probably from the word frater meaning ‘brother/brother‑
hood’, and also Furka (Furkëza) from furca meaning ‘distaff’. Of all these
place names, only Fratar, now hosting an exclusively Albanian population
had previously evidence of Vlach presence. Sifrati and Furka were previ‑
ously abandoned and there is no information about their ethnic composition,
while Frata remains as yet unidentified. Other village names, such as Kaliuvi
(­Kaludhi) and Katunişte (Katundishta, located at the outskirt of Këlcyra),
may perhaps have once been associated with Vlach settlement. These place
names may derive from the Aromanian words kalive/călívă meaning ‘hut’ and
katun/cătùn meaning ‘hamlet’, although both originated or were borrowed
from other southern Balkan languages.3 We should also consider that in the
­Albanian lexicon there are many words of Latin origin. Indeed, it would be a
mistake to use the toponomy as a sole argument for interpreting Vlach history
in the Vjosa Valley, for as many present‑day Vlach‑inhabited villages have a
non‑Latin toponymy, namely of an Albanian or Slavic‑Bulgarian origin.
232 Eglantina Serjani and Ardit Miti

Archaeological research in the Upper Vjosa Valley suggests a fairly densely

occupied Roman and early Byzantine (mid‑2nd century BC to the 6th century
AD) rural landscape, with sites located in the lowlands along the main route
and Përmet acting as a central place (Miti & Serjani, 2023). It is perhaps
from this time that one has to look for the origin of many of these Latin
place names. During the 9th and 10th centuries AD, when the territories
were under Bulgarian dominance, archaeology has detected traces of occupa‑
tion in the fortified strategic sites of Këlcyra, Përmet and Petran, suggesting
an increased interest over the main route through the Vjosa Valley, and the
revival of a secondary artery that started from Petran and ran east towards
upland territories. This is also a section of the main transhumant Vlach
route. It is thus not impossible to surmise that many of the upland settle‑
ments with Slavic names, such as Vllaşova/Ulasova may have been founded
at this time, or if previously inhabited were only to a small degree. Some
scholars have assumed that there were Vlachs hidden behind or mingled with
the Bulgars, and the latter may have perhaps somehow aided the survival of
the Romance language (Wace & Thompson, 1914, pp. 272–273; Winnif‑
rith, 1987, p. 100). Furthermore, the location of known Roman sites do not
correspond with the present‑day upland Vlach‑inhabited settlements, with
the exception of Kosina, Kutal and Bodar, whose inhabitants claim to have
migrated from the region of Dangëlli. On the other hand, it is impossible to
assume the presence of ‘Romanized’ pastoral communities in these upland
territories for as long as archaeological evidence is absent. Besides, there is
a long chronological gap to bridge from the time the Vlachs were first men‑
tioned in the Vjosa Valley and any surviving group of Latin speakers in the
Early Middle Ages.
Any attempt to associate archaeological artefacts or architectural building
remains found in the Vlach‑inhabited villages with a particular ethnic group
could lead to a hasty and erroneous interpretation. For example, the 11th
to 12th century AD silver bracelets found as grave goods in the village of
Ogren are of a typical Byzantine fashion (Anamali, 1980, p. 11, n. 24); while
the early 13th century AD church at Kosina represents a regional architec‑
tonic style widespread in the Despotate of Epirus (Koch, 2006, p. 43). The
same may be said for the mid‑16th and late 17th century churches of Trem‑
isht and Ogren, whose ground plan and wall painting style are similar to
other churches in the region (Thomo, 1998, pp. 89, 236). Equally, the Vlach
stone‑built houses in the village of Lupcka are no different to the houses of
Albanian co‑inhabitants, or indeed from traditional dwellings in other vil‑
lages of the valley.

14.4 Reconstructing a lost heritage

As yet, it is unclear what the ancient Vlach settlement looked like with
history and archaeology unable to fully assist in this descriptive regard.
 Experimental reconstruction 233

However, if we assume that Vlachs conducted a nomadic way of life

for many centuries, then it is fair to say that their traditional settlement
resembled the hut‑encampments recorded in early 20th‑century accounts.
­Traditional dwellings are usually considered as a built‑form of expression,
usually of common people, that once adopted as the norm of a ­particular
society is then transmitted through generations (Bourdier & Alsayyad,
1989, pp. 5–6). In so speaking, the Vlach hut‑dwelling, the kalive, may be
seen as a traditional type of architecture, whose form and symbolism were
the result of a transhumant way of life that called for an entire family to
become part of a continuous seasonal journey. It represents a particular type
of built heritage that demonstrated the adaptability of Vlach builders, who
made do with whatever the local environmental had to offer, yet also man‑
aged to display notable cultural indicators. The kalive dwelling was made of
perishable materials, meaning no ground remains are left for documentation
purposes. Also, Vlach builders did not design plans for their houses, and
yet the construction knowledge persisted to be passed down between gen‑
erations. Some of the Upper Vjosa Valley Vlachs were once part of mobile
pastoral societies who relied on kalive‑building knowledge to house them‑
selves during seasonal movements across the landscape of southern Albania
up until the mid‑20th century. During our field survey, many elderly Vlachs
were interviewed and provided essential information about various aspects
of their past transhumant life, including the nomadic movements, settlement
settings and organization, as well as many details of the kalive construc‑
tion. However, when interviewing people about the past, in the context of
a contemporary setting, there may be a lack of consistency between what
is told and what might really have happened, which can result in a frag‑
mentary type of data that limits the understanding of the past (Hodder,
2012, p. 43). This necessitated us to gain some verification of the collated
word‑of‑mouth evidence in order to present a reasoned interpretation of the
Vlach past. It was at this point that the project undertook an experimen‑
tal reconstruction to verify these last surviving first‑hand memories of the
Vlach people regarding their historical dwelling. The building process was
particular as it followed the lead of the traditional builders who retained a
detailed memory of the kalive construction and who, once in contact with
the chosen material, had the ability to work these with methods widely used
in the past. By involving previously active kalive builders, it enabled us to
document the construction techniques and materials of this specific building
in the hope that this information may also be used as a reservoir of ideas to
inform wider studies. A constructed heritage object is particularly important
because of its extraordinary power to attract the wider public (Blockley,
1999, p. 16), and therefore it offers more opportunities for the unknown
historical narrative to be communicated. Furthermore, it offered the local
Vlachs an opportunity to appreciate their culture, rediscover their past and
develop a sense of belonging to the Vjosa Valley territory.
234 Eglantina Serjani and Ardit Miti

14.4.1 Construction of the kalive

The kalive/călivă was the focal point of the Vlach encampment.4 It housed
a nucleated family with many domestic activities being undertaken there,
mainly wool processing which was a female‑dominated endeavour. An
encampment often consisted of 20–30 hut dwellings, although in earlier
times, fifty to one hundred of these were estimated to have existed (Gyóni,
1951, p. 31). Sometimes, summer encampments retained a fixed location for
two or more years and if dwellings withstood the temporary abandonment,
they could be repaired for use with little effort. In many cases, the kalive was
also the winter dwelling, meaning it was the primary year‑round residence.
Historical evidence regarding Vlach dwelling is scarce and limited only to a
general depiction of their rounded form and the interior layout (Burileanu,
1912, pp. 114–116; Hammond, 1967, p. 25). A better descriptive account is
given by the Albanian scholar Koço Zheku (1973, pp. 81–83), who not only
details the construction techniques used, but also attempts to regard it as a
traditional rural dwelling.
The new kalive construction site was set on the outskirts of Qilarisht vil‑
lage which was once a temporary station along the Vlach’s transhumance
route. The entire construction process, including the in situ material collec‑
tion, involved the work of seven people for 13 days. As many years had
passed since the leading elderly Vlach master had constructed his last kalive,
this process took a longer time than it would have done in the past. Thus,
certain construction stages had to be repeated and more time was dedicated
to learning and transferring key skills or building techniques. The process
involved basic working tools, including axes, crowbars, saws, hammers, sick‑
les, scissors, string, wire, etc.5
It was initiated by drawing a circle of 5m in diameter with a wooden stick
tied to a string measuring the radial length set on a fixed wooden pole at the
centre point of the hut. Next, 30 Ash (Fraxinus sp.) poles of c.0.05–0.08m in
diameter and 2.50–3.50m long were set into post‑holes dug at 0.40m inter‑
vals around the perimeter, leaving a space of 0.80m for the doorway. For the
roof, 30 poles of 0.04m in diameter and over 3m long were tied around a
0.45m diameter wooden‑ring made of a thin cornel branch. This was placed
at the top of a wooden beam at a height of 4.60m and moved at the centre
of the hut, remaining there for structural stability until the end of the con‑
struction process. The ends of the roof poles were then joined with the upper
ends of the side wall poles. These vertical poles were secured on the outside
with thinner horizontal branches (80 pieces) set every 0.25m from the base
upwards to form the skeletal frame for the building (Figure 14.2a). The pro‑
cess of covering the frame began by placing bunches of ferns along the outside
walls, secured using horizontal withies lashed on with wire (Figure 14.2b).
The roof was covered with straw and bulrushes using the same techniques
as for the walls (Figure 14.2c). The inner walls were covered with tightly set
reeds of 0.80m in height from the ground level to make a solid base upon
which a mud‑plaster render could be keyed onto. Inside, a hearth was placed
 Experimental reconstruction 235

Figure 14.2 Construction of the kalive dwelling site.

opposite the doorway which consisted of a firepit lined with tufa stones and
two stone‑covered upper platforms. In addition, a two‑shelf rack made from
string‑lashed rods was set along one side of the inner wall. The next step
236 Eglantina Serjani and Ardit Miti

was to complete the floor and render the interior walls. The plaster for this
was prepared by mixing clay, water, straw and manures, which was heavily
treaded to form a compact and gooey mass. This was then hand‑thrown and
smoothed on the walls and floor of the dwelling. Once dried, several layers
of diluted plaster were applied to cover any cracks and give it a neat finish.
The door was made of woven cornel branches and attached to one side of the
doorway pole. Finally, a drainage ditch was dug around the outside of the hut
and a stone slab threshold was set in front of the doorway (Figure 14.2d–e).
Additionally, the building’s interior was furnished with a selection of
essential, everyday items from a previous nomadic life, giving it a more cap‑
tivating and engaging museum‑like quality. The results of a questionnaire
administered onsite, as well as ongoing communication between staff mem‑
bers and visitors, demonstrate that the recreated dwelling and the inherent
complexity of Vlach nomadic life as a whole represent a cultural heritage
asset of particular interest to the local cultural tourism sector.

14.4.2 The transhumance routes

For as long as the Vlach practised long‑distance transhumance, each late

April pastoral family groups were taken on a migratory journey accompany‑
ing a caravan of livestock movement from lowland pastures towards grazing
lands in the high mountains, returning the same way at the end of October.
The principal itinerary of this seasonal nomadic movement started from the
Ionian coast towards the southwest on both sides of the Greek‑Albanian bor‑
der and continued northeast across the Drino Valley and further east through
the Dhëmbel mountain pass. From here, just above the town of Përmet, the
route diverted into three alternative branches that ran eastwards across the
fertile pastures of the Dangëlli region to rejoin at Frashër. The route then
continued further east to Mount Gramoz as well as northward to the pasture
lands around Vithkuq and Voskopoja.
The journey lasted from two to three weeks over a distance of c.220km,
depending on the weather, local opportunities to trade goods or the emerg‑
ing rich grazing that may delay flock movement. Along the way, they resided
in daily camps of woolen tents. Upon arrival at the summer pasture site,
the Vlachs built their hut‑encampments which were normally located at the
periphery of inhabited areas and close to water sources. It is not surprising
therefore that once the opportunity arose, these temporary camps grew to
become permanent quarters of the nearby settlements. Other long‑distance
pastoral routes may also have passed along the Vjosa Valley, such as those
coming from the Myzeqe plain summer pastures on the Adriatic coastline to
the northwest, or from the lowlands and mountainous pastures to the south
in Greece.
These itineraries were compared with the available historical infor‑
mation and processed with the aid of GIS. This enabled to predict and
map secondary or alternative pathways that lead to pastures near the
 Experimental reconstruction 237

Figure 14.3 Map of the transhumant routes and the main centres with Vlach presence
in the region.
238 Eglantina Serjani and Ardit Miti

historical Vlach‑inhabited settlements. Furthermore, a section of the route

was ­subsequently surveyed to assess the preservation and viability of the
track as well as evaluate its future potential use as a heritage trail. The sur‑
veyed section begins at the Dhëmbel mountain pass and runs towards the
upland region of Dangëlli, ending up on the western slope of Mount Gramoz
(Figure 14.3). The hike lasted for five days covering a distance of 97km and
enabled us to collect information about traditional villages, monuments and
other historical landscape resources along the way. The route was recorded
using GNSS and presented as a digital online map,6 which can be accessed by
scanning QR codes included in an information panel at the kalive dwelling
site and in the recently launched tourist leaflets. The online accessibility of
the route is important as it allows visitor numbers to be monitored, and an
evaluation of its use as an emerging tourist destination.

14.5 Concluding remarks

When considering the creation of a heritage asset that embodies an ethnic
marginalized group, the expectation of receiving support from that commu‑
nity itself is quite low. It was not an easy task to convince the Vlachs to
speak about their past life, which is understandable since it is an aspect that
has differentiated them from other parts of society. The research approach
for overcoming this initial hurdle was to generate a historical narrative that
could make the community feel proud of their history, with the hope it would
provoke an interest and reveal past memories. For such initiatives, this meth‑
odology may be the route to success. This was clearly demonstrated by the
words of the kalive lead master, who while experiencing the unexpected
interest of visitors during the experimental reconstruction, enthusiastically
expressed: ‘Our house was simple but at the end that was our tradition, and
if we build other huts and preserve our language, we have created a heritage
that would distinguish and represent us today’.
The reconstructed dwelling site is located in a previous Vlach encampment
that at present is a camping site area associated with the promotion of nature
and cultural tourism, which has therefore enabled the Vlach hut to become
an attractive focal point for visitors. Also, the nomadic trail route concept,
while preserving and promoting the historical practice of transhumance,
could equally contribute to enhancing the visibility of the living historical
landscape. We cannot anticipate what will happen in the near future, but
what is certain is that this initiative managed to activate an interest in local
communities about the Vlach’s history, which may guarantee a future insti‑
tutionalization and eventuate the long‑lasting sustainability of this minority
heritage.
The peaceful survival of the Vlachs in an ethnically troubled Balkan soci‑
ety is remarkable, and this deserves recognition. During the last century, the
Vlachs were located in disputed borderland territories, but they were never a
potential source of any major ethnic conflict as has been the case with other
 Experimental reconstruction 239

ethnicities in the Balkans. On the contrary, they co‑existed peacefully and

contributed to the progress of the nations in which they lived, making them a
good example of how an ethnic minority can aid in bridging the gap between
national divergences and social‑cultural diversities.

Acknowledgements
We thank all those who supported the project in the Vjosa Valley, in particu‑
lar the Vlach kalive lead master Mihal Kuro, his son Jorgo, and project team
members Ervis Kasa, Renald Meta and Miklevan Deliu. We are also grateful
to Emily Glass and David Bescoby for proofreading the paper.

Notes
1 For reconstructed prehistoric huts in England, see Townend, 2007, pp. 97–111;
see also other examples in England, Denmark, Germany, and etc., in Stone and
Planel (eds.), 1999.
2 Our survey data combined with late 19th and early 20th century historical sources
recorded a Vlach presence in 43 villages and hamlets (Burileanu, 1912, p. 392;
Adhami, 2001, pp. 53–54; see also a map by Thede Kahl published in www.­
farsharotu.org/vlach‑map‑of‑albania).
3 The word kalive probably originates from ancient Greek kalúve, kalívion mean‑
ing hut/tent, appropriated in Albanian and southern Slavic as kolibe. The word
katun appears for the first time in the Byzantine sources as katouna to denote a
Vlach mobile hamlet, and was later adopted in Albanian as katund and in the
southern Slavic as katun to describe a previous hamlet that has become a perma‑
nent village (Ajeti, 1976, p. 108; Kaldellis, 2019, p. 241).
4 The term kalive is generally associated with dwellings in temporary encampments,
although there are cases, as, for example, the Vlachs of Mount Pindus, who use
the word kasă for both a hut and a stone‑built dwelling (Wace & Thompson,
1914, p. 99), or the Farsherots of southern Albania who distinguish between
kalive, a dwelling in summer camps, and cásă a winter house, which probably
suggests a semi‑nomadic way of life.
5 The tools are the same as those used in the past, except for the steel wire utilized
for lashing; they used brush broom (Spartium junceum) branches in traditional
construction, but due to the limited time and the need for assuring a long‑lasting
stability of the structure, wire was used instead.
6 https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking‑trails/vlachs‑transhumance‑route‑1086
59966.

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15 Community genealogy as a tool
for heritage tourism
John Tierney, Maurizio Toscano
and Amanda Slattery

Since the development of the World Wide Web, genealogy has evolved
into a key element of multidisciplinary historical investigations of human
mobility and migration, name studies (onomastics), micro‑ and macro‑­
histories as well as amateur family histories. This chapter concentrates on
an approach to genealogy developed by Irish communities and a team of
Irish ­archaeologists using the web platform historicgraves.com, where good
quality gravestone survey datasets, recorded in the field, are published and
enriched, as a collective citizen‑­science project. The individual benefits of
the increase in digital availability of historical datasets are obvious but there
are wider community and national benefits to these ostensibly individual
surveys. National and international benefits are recognised and supported
at different levels within different countries, particularly in those territories
with strong associated diaspora populations.
Irish community approaches to genealogy offer interesting lessons in com‑
municating with migrants, understanding the development of diaspora popu‑
lations across generations and also assisting in identifying common elements
with other ethnicities. We differentiate local community‑led heritage projects
as a subset of citizen science projects, on the basis that a group of unrelated,
place‑based individuals undertake a particular project for a broader benefit.
Community‑led genealogy in Ireland received a short‑term boost with the
2013 Gathering Ireland project (Miley, 2013). The Gathering was a national
campaign which had the foresight to give preference to a bottom‑up approach
with local communities, encouraged and supported to deliver a wide range
of genealogical projects, which constituted 56% of all events organised (Tot‑
tola, 2018). Our own Historic Graves Project was recommended as part of
the subsequent Diaspora Toolkit (Kennedy & Lyes, 2015) along with the
Ireland Reaching Out project, which also has a strong community volunteer
element built on top of a web platform.1
Communication with heterogeneous diaspora populations is challenging
in both the home and destination countries but it is achievable. The Irish
diaspora is one of the most developed of global diasporas and its study can
help us work out potential directions for global assimilation with newer
and often very recent migrations, inward and outward. By this, we mean

DOI: 10.4324/9781003422952-15
This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
 Community genealogy as a tool for heritage tourism 243

that community genealogy projects have relevance for current and future
­population movements and also social policies.
The significance of the diaspora can vary among different European con‑
texts. Countries such as Ireland, Scotland (Tottola, 2018), Italy, Greece and
Poland, with significant historical emigration, strongly promote tourism ini‑
tiatives targeting their diasporas (Higginbotham, 2012; Li et al., 2019). In
Ireland, the Epic Emigration Museum in Dublin City has developed as a
national Diaspora centre working as a cultural tourism initiative aiming to
add up to 300,000 visitors per annum, as well as aiming to provide a focal
point for an otherwise fragmented tourism offering (Miley, 2013). The size
of the Irish diaspora is difficult to measure but published figures range from
60 to 80 million (Boyle et al., 2013) with approximately 30 million claim‑
ing Irish ancestry in the USA in 2022.2 Most of those people are more than
second‑generation Irish, unlike Britain where most people with Irish ancestry
are first‑ or second‑generation migrants, with 10% of the current British pop‑
ulation having an Irish parent or grandparent. It is believed that up to 14%
of Canadian3 citizens claim full or partial Irish ancestry, while just under
10% of Australians4 do so also. Such a large global diaspora, dating back
300 years, has a significant impact on tourism figures with approximately
30% of overseas visitors to Ireland claiming ancestral ties. The number of
overseas tourists visiting Ireland has increased from approximately 8 million
in 2007 to just under 11 million in 2019, i.e. pre‑Covid, while numbers had
recovered to 7 million in 20225 following pandemic disruptions. Tourism
metrics are tracked by Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development
Authority, and currently the most common method for measuring tourism
activity at local level is to gather room and bed‑space occupancy data from
the full range of accommodation providers.
While it is difficult to determine the economic value of cultural tourism
in Ireland, a related figure of €1.5 billion per annum has been suggested
by the statutory body, the Heritage Council, which commissioned in 2011
a study of the economic value of the Irish historic environment (ECORYS,
2012). Admittedly, the historic environment (built and natural) attracts visi‑
tors from both the New World diaspora populations listed above but also
from the large contingent of mid‑European tourists who visit from Germany,
France and Italy in particular, without known ancestral links.

15.1 The historic graves project in Ireland

The Historic Graves Project (Toscano, 2019; Toscano & Tierney, 2020),
based in Ireland, uses geolocated community genealogy surveys of historic
graveyards to generate a grassroots tourism product in which every parish
with a graveyard becomes a tourism resource. Starting in 2011, the web
platform has published over 900 hyperlocal6 gravestone surveys containing
historic biographical details for over 250,000 individuals across 15 coun‑
ties. Recognised as a nationally significant genealogical tourism resource
244 John Tierney et al.

since 2015 (Kennedy & Lyes, 2015), the project has seen its main market
shift from a local base (Ireland and the UK) to a global audience, based
predominantly on the Irish diaspora populations in Australia, Canada, New
Zealand, the UK and the USA.
A community‑led approach was built into the Historic Graves Project
from the very beginning. Designed and built by archaeologists, it was
initially intended to be a community archaeology project. Community
archaeology is a relatively recent phenomenon in Ireland and our own
engagement with it dates to the World Archaeology Congress (WAC6),
held in UCD in 2008. At WAC 67 several different community archaeol‑
ogy models were evident, and the main contrast was between the English
community archaeology approaches (Thomas, 2014) and a series of indig‑
enous community projects shown from North America and Australia, in
particular. Neither model fit our Irish experience and WAC 6 stimulated an
internal dialogue within the team about defining possible archaeology pro‑
jects that would have equal positive benefits for communities as well as for
archaeologists. Rural Irish communities have a strong community volun‑
tary ethos, particularly in local sporting organisations, and lessons learned
in this context greatly informed our approach to designing community
archaeology. Community volunteering organisations in Ireland rely heav‑
ily on local volunteers (their unremunerated time input essentially having
a financial value), have limited resources and have low donor potential
(Gallo & Duffy, 2016).
Two key lessons we learned from community volunteerism that benefited
the Historic Graves Project were:

1 The problem is often the opportunity.

2 Funding will be found if the community agrees on the problem and the
solution.

In Irish heritage historic graveyards, care and maintenance were a serious

problem for underfunded statutory authorities and for local communities
deeply invested in the burial grounds (most of which are recorded archae‑
ological monuments with associated protections) where their own family
members were often still being buried. Our proposed approach was informed
by local community needs and focussed on survey, recording and online pub‑
lication (usually within a few weeks rather than months) as a first step to
conservation and maintenance. We also brought an organisational ability to
assist informal community groups in making funding applications for sur‑
veys and subsequent conservation works8.
Building trust and maintaining it over the last 13 years has been an impor‑
tant part of the project and a key element in our request that communities
share ownership of the heritage surveys under Creative Commons licences
rather than regular copyright; another element of innovation developed
within the digital‑born origins of the project.
 Community genealogy as a tool for heritage tourism 245

Digital cameras had become mainstream in field archaeology by

2008–2010. We were no longer using film cameras by then and, allied with
affordable GPS loggers developed for hobbyists, the geolocation of digital
photographs was now accessible to the public. While not as accurate as dif‑
ferential GPS, the early adoption of this technology offered a new element
of local history and genealogy, i.e. the geolocation of genealogical datasets
which was perhaps our main heritage tourism innovation back then. Geolo‑
cated genealogical datasets are a tourism resource because they become
points of interest in maps. In our case, our genealogical documents were
carved headstones inside historic graveyards – they were already points of
interest in a historic landscape and their online publication would serve two
purposes. Firstly, to accommodate online individual family tree research and
secondly, potentially, to bring those seeking such information to that place.
The latter point was obvious to us as we worked with local communities.
Self‑selected volunteers with a deep interest in their family histories recorded
their own historic graveyards with us, and soon began to independently visit
other graveyards and associated communities as the database grew.
Our system mapped the location of graveyards and then geolocated the
mortuary monuments (with attached biographical detail) within those grave‑
yards, immediately making the places themselves more accessible and easier
to find. And while Irish people led the way, the involvement of diaspora
visitors wasn’t far behind. Our original survey design was based on Mytum
(2000) and our original purpose was to follow his methodology, aiming for
a detailed survey combining archaeological and genealogical data. However,
at a very early stage, we decided to focus on the genealogy first, to build
up a broad geographical database of mortuary monuments and geolocated
photographs with biographical details as the main priority rather than the
complete archaeological record. This strategic shift resulted in an interesting
counterpoint to the Mytum approach in England resulting, we believe, in the
building of a first stage ‘shotgun’ survey, covering a wide area in low‑medium
detail, in terms of archaeological data, which can subsequently be used for
more detailed archaeological purposes.
A further element in the design of the Historic Graves Project was the role
of the EU LEADER9 funding source. Between 2011 and 2013, LEADER was
the main funding source for the community surveys. LEADER funds come
with a strong community‑led ethos which considerably benefited our surveys.
Equal partnerships were established between the survey trainers and the local
communities, with the local groups bearing the main responsibility for driv‑
ing and completing the surveys. The Leader funds were managed by Local
Action Groups and county councils. Still, not all such pairings had an equal
interest in community heritage projects, so the initial intention of building
a complete national resource soon changed to a more pragmatic tactic of
‘follow the funding’. As a result, some countries are very well surveyed/pub‑
lished and others less so, in particular those already engaged with their own
solutions (e.g. Kerry, Galway and Clare).
246 John Tierney et al.

15.2 Surnames, genetics and migrations in community genealogy

At first glance, Ireland seems especially suited to genealogical tourism. Island
geopolitics of the 10th and 11th centuries resulted in the development of
hereditary surnames, approximately 100 years earlier than in neighbouring
England and 500 years earlier than in Wales (King & Jobling, 2009). Indeed,
in the 5th–7th centuries, standing stones inscribed with Ogham contained
personal names and possible sept affiliations in Early Primitive Irish and
Latin (Stifter, 2022).
Interestingly, with the development of large‑scale global migration since the
mid‑1600s, the geographical clustering evident in genetic kinship must now
be changing significantly. One genetic study test of being a local was having
four grandparents born in the same county or province; with increased global
mobility in the last 20 years, the question arises as to whether this method
of assessment will be as easy to fulfil for populations in the next 100 years.
As Irish septs were highly localised, surnames can then have strong
geographical concentrations. For example, O’Dohertys dominate in the
Inishowen peninsula on the north coast and McCarthy’s, while being found
all over the southern province of Munster, are concentrated in Co. Cork,
where one of the senior lines are associated with the famous Blarney Castle
and the Blarney Stone.
It is interesting to compare this 10th‑century Irish naming system with a
still surviving alternative Irish system that matches the medieval Welsh sys‑
tem, which is the use of a tripartite name structure using forenames only e.g.
a famous 20th‑century matchmaker in Co. Kerry was known locally as Dan
Paddy Andy, indicating three generations of forenames being Dan himself,
Paddy his father and Andy his grandfather – this system was designed to
generate a unique identifier at a local level that could also involve matrilin‑
eal naming patterns if that clarified identification, and is especially useful in
areas with a limited range of surnames e.g. O’Keeffe in the Clonmeen/Ban‑
teer/Kanturk triangle of Duhallow. This naming system is still used in parts
of Ireland (Lele, 2009).
Until 100–120 years ago, much of Ireland was bilingual and this mani‑
fested itself in official documents, including on gravestones, in several dif‑
ferent ways. Firstly, official documents were mostly in Latin or English.
Headstones are predominantly in English all over Ireland, even for parts of
the country that were still using the Irish language, probably because most
Irish graveyards were administered through the Church of Ireland until the
1860s (McDermott, 1970). While surnames were mostly written in their
English forms on most gravestones, in some cases, the English spelling is
derived from Irish pronunciation e.g. Daly in Irish is Ó’Dalaigh which is
often pronounced O’Dawly and that form is encountered in some localities
in Munster. Phonetic spellings are often encountered before the establishment
of a national school system in the 1830s, with names like Wynn being spelt
Wing and similarly, Flynn being found as Fling in parts of Co. Waterford.
 Community genealogy as a tool for heritage tourism 247

All of this becomes particularly relevant for genealogical tourism as the

global expansion of the Irish diaspora began, particularly throughout the
19th century. In the early 1800s, economic depressions, and increased land
agitation, allied with fever epidemics, pushed Irish families to emigrate to
parts of Wales, England and Scotland in large numbers, especially in areas
associated with the Industrial Revolution, such as south Wales and the mill‑
ing areas of Lancashire and Yorkshire. Indeed, the first English civil registra‑
tion of 1837 hints at early 1800s migration being influenced by geographical
proximity – migrants from Leinster and the Irish midlands travelling by sea
from Dublin to Liverpool and its broader hinterlands of Lancashire and West
Yorkshire, while southern Irish surnames appear to be found more in London
than in northern England (Redmonds et al., 2011).
Surnames, combined with DNA analysis, are a powerful tool for genealog‑
ical tourism, although not a silver bullet in many ways. The real benefits of
DNA to genealogy appear to lie on the personal level, especially where emi‑
gration split up families who subsequently lost touch. There are also strong
personal benefits for adopted individuals who can learn via genealogical
DNA sites their country or region of origin as well as family lines. However,
the ability to assess population movements across Europe and the extent to
which old families clung on in localities or to which new families moved into
regions entail a detailed local focus for genealogical tourism, which will then
be mirrored by following where migrant families spread.
Until recently, surnames were a keyway of signalling ethnicity and iden‑
tity. At a local level, names were used to assess social status. While at the
diaspora level, many people use surnames to assess ethnicity, with all the cul‑
tural elements that might signify, stereotypical or otherwise. The connection
between surnames and social status is interesting, especially when a historical
perspective is taken.
However, the study of the relationship between surnames and genetics is
still in its infancy. Cases have been published indicating linkages with key
historical figures as common ancestors, going back 100s of years with one of
the first such analyses involving the Guinness family (Guinness, 2008) and
even over 1,000 years (e.g. O’Neill & O’Briens), but a more multidiscipli‑
nary approach seems warranted (Swift, 2013). It is possible that Irish sur‑
names were generally given to male members of a sept, regardless of lineage.
Local polities plotted by Tudor administrators,10 for example, could be called
Pobail (people of) (Heffernan, 2022), which is of interest because it allows
men to be attributed a surname with the application of new bureaucratic
systems, without a genetic or blood connection i.e. the name ‘people of the
O’Keeffe’s’ can be attached to families who were tenants but not offspring of
a high‑status O’Keeffe male.
Many Irish people can trace their family trees to the early 19th century,
but it is often difficult to get back into the 1700s, unless higher-status fami‑
lies are involved and, even then, most genealogies older than the 1700s are
considered suspect, with each case having to be treated separately on its own
248 John Tierney et al.

merits (Swift, 2013). As Irish gravestones only developed a broader social

use from the early 1800s onwards, and a really broad usage from the early
1900s onwards, historic gravestones lose their general applicability in com‑
munity genealogy before the 1750s, but they have value in establishing solid
genealogical foundations from which to work backwards.
Our Historic Graves research model was designed to tap into the strengths
of Irish surnames. Gone was the earlier model of recording the gravestones
of significant families or individuals11 or of recording only those records of
one’s own family – community genealogy recognises the importance of doing
all the records and the broader benefits for home and diaspora demograph‑
ics. Community genealogy is driven by the intrinsic factor that gravestones
represent family relationships within a community, and that we are not sim‑
ply mapping family memorials but also identifying networks of connections
between different family lines, fostering the generation of good quality family
trees, which are important tools for community genealogy.
A genealogical family tree becomes a tourism or diaspora engagement
resource through the addition of location to people’s life biographies. Family
trees become itineraries for planning tourism visits or even for developing
self‑identity based on ethnicity. Depending on the smallest size of church
or civil administration units used in a country, quite fine granularity can be
achieved, or aspired to, when making genealogy local. Hyperlocal worked
for us in two ways – firstly as an artefact of digital marketing and communi‑
cations (as text became hypertext with HTML) and secondly by our ability to
assign genealogical data to very precise locations, i.e. from a 20m wide bubble
of space in a graveyard, using low‑cost GPS devices a decade ago, to less than
5m in 2023, using smartphone GPS technology. This means that digital herit‑
age practices can bring genealogical tourists not just to the smallest admin‑
istrative land unit, e.g. a village or a townland (average 70 acres in size) but
often to precise places within those administrative units, meaning genealogi‑
cal tourism resources are no longer centralised in archives and museum but
are found throughout the country. In Ireland, historic land administration
units vary through time, but they do share a common history with surname
development. Family names are often specifically associated with particular
baronies, civil parishes, church parishes and townlands within, with most
Irish genetic clusters relating to provincial boundaries (Gilbert et al., 2017).
The Irish townland is a subdivision of the larger parish, which when com‑
bined with a range of historic (OS maps) and genealogical records (census,
valuations, burial records for example) can make for a very precise tourism
offering (see challenges of the Peter Robinson case study below).
In Ireland, some surnames are so frequently encountered that one can meet
individuals who claim to share a surname for all four grandparents without
consanguine relationships, e.g. the Ryan surname is frequently encountered
in Co. Tipperary and there are 600 different identified nicknames applied to
differentiate one branch from another. With such geographic concentrations
of surnames and with the challenges of increased migration into European
 Community genealogy as a tool for heritage tourism 249

countries, it is no surprise that surnames and claimed ethnicity have become

politically charged. In recent years, anti‑immigrant campaigns often use the
anti‑immigrant phraseology of ‘Ireland is Full’ and ‘Ireland for the Irish’ and
surnames seem to be one method for defining Irishness.
If one agrees that citizens of a democratic country have equal status
and that countries have moral and legal responsibility for fair and decent
treatment of refugees and migrants, as well as the potential to benefit from
immigrant families, then the negative use of ethnicity must be considered
in community genealogy projects. Are we claiming that we are identifying
the core local families who define a place over many generations or are we
rather identifying a dynamism of occupation involving many families, many
of whom do not persist for long at all? Taking a longer time perspective, we
think this question answers itself quite quickly. Both archaeological12 and
sociological studies (Roth & Ivemark, 2018) view ethnicity as having strong
self‑selection elements.
As for North America, the development of the Irish diaspora is dominated
by two separate but long‑running phases. Firstly, the Protestant/Presbyterian
Scots‑Irish who had migrated to Northern Ireland following the Ulster Plan‑
tations (1606 onwards), subsequently migrated to North America in large
numbers throughout the 18th century (Horning, 2002), becoming a signifi‑
cant proportion (around 30%) of the population of the Appalachia region
in particular. Secondly, the number of Irish migrants to North A ­ merica
increased considerably throughout the 19th century (Ó Gráda, 1977), partly
explained by the massive growth of the Irish population from a total of
5 ­million in 1800 to over 8 million in the 1840s (Ó Gráda, 2019), with par‑
ticular increases at the time of the Great Irish Famine (1845–1852) (Crowley
et al., 2012).
It is estimated that over 250,000 Scots‑Irish left Ireland for America in the
1700s, followed by between 2 and 4 million Irish emigrants throughout the
1800s. These broad movements of people within the then British Empire were
largely anonymous until recent times and the increased ability to give names
to the emigrants has its roots in the digital genealogical revolution mentioned
earlier, providing the potential for good quality historical investigations.

15.3 Assisted emigrations

In contrast to the general waves of emigration experienced by the Irish, sev‑
eral specific assisted emigration schemes are very time and place‑specific.
The politics and practicalities of assisted emigrations were much discussed
throughout the 19th century within the British Empire, and it appears local
resistance prevailed except in times of crisis. Two of the better‑known Great
Irish Famine‑assisted emigrations were the Landsdowne Estate Assisted
Emigration scheme, which sent over 234 South Kerry people to Manhat‑
tan in New York, and the Grey’s Orphan Scheme, which sent 4114 orphan
girls from Poor Relief Workhouses in all 32 counties to Australia in 1849
250 John Tierney et al.

and 1850 (Ó Gráda, 2019). Another well‑known assisted emigration was

­organised by the Quaker James Hack Tuke (Moran, 2022) and was focused
on a localised famine in Connemara, in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Tuke
raised substantial charitable contributions in England, which were then used
to pay for the assisted emigration of 1300 people from the Clifden area of
Connemara to the USA in 1882.

15.3.1 Peter Robinson–assisted emigration: case study

The Peter Robinson–Assisted Emigration13 (PRAE) (Slattery et al., 2016;

Donnelly 2009) was very specific in time and people. Two ships carrying
almost 600 migrants (or economic refugees) left Cobh/Queenstown in 1823
and a further nine ships in 1825 bringing almost 2000 named people. It was
organised by a former soldier, fur traders and colonial administrator Peter
Robinson, a British Loyalist who left the US during the Revolutionary War,
settling in the Kawartha Lakes area north of Toronto, Canada. For genealogi‑
cal tourism purposes, it is interesting to note that approximately 307 families
are represented, being selected by three key landlords and another 37 smaller
landowners. The 1823 group consisted of 182 families, and they principally
occupied lands in the Ottawa Valley. The second larger group then arrived in
1825 and were allowed 70‑acre farm lots on the Upper Canada frontier lands,
in the Kawartha Lakes area where lands had only recently been ‘acquired’ in
an 1818 treaty signed with Kawartha Mississauga First Nations (Pammett,
1936), which was going to pay the equivalent of 10 dollars per annum to the
members of the local tribes but only for the lifetime of the living First Nations
people, for an area amounting to approximately 2 million acres. Having the
biographical details of about 2,500 people who moved from the Blackwater
Valley in Ireland to the Ottawa Valley and Kawartha Lakes in Canada has
diaspora significance for both sides of the migration.
Our involvement in the project (a Leader project led by Ballyhoura
Development CLG) has primarily focussed on the survey of as many his‑
toric graveyards in the region from which the families emigrated, in order
to build up a database which could potentially bring related diaspora fami‑
lies to their ‘home’ places in Ireland. Allied with over 100 graveyard sur‑
veys published on the Historic Graves platform (Figure 15.1), a systematic
attempt was made by medieval historian and genealogist Dr Paul MacCot‑
ter (MacCotter, 2013) to trace the point of origin for the families listed
on the passenger lists for the PRAE, using the conventional genealogical
information sources associated with birth, deaths and marriages. On the
Irish side of the equation, Dr MacCotter summarised that approximately
10% of all families could be traced to the townland of origin, with 25% of
families being traced in the admittedly scant church records of 1800–1830
(Slattery et al., 2016). Combined with the surname patterns discussed ear‑
lier, approximately 40% of the Peter Robinson settlers are considered trace‑
able to relatively precise locations.
 Community genealogy as a tool for heritage tourism 251

Figure 15.1 Local community and Eacthra team surveying the Old Graveyard in Kil‑
behenny, as part of the Ballyhoura PRAE Project. Photograph by Han‑
nah McMahon.

On the Canadian and United States side, some patterns have emerged.
Firstly, some families have remained on or very near the farms they were
granted. Secondly, intermarriage between the families commenced on the
three‑month sea journey over and continued for generations afterwards.
Third, many of the families generated lineages who moved on from the core
Canadian territories settling throughout Canada and the USA, and that,
because of the detailed biographical data available for family groups, have
become highly traceable elements in the otherwise overwhelming Irish migra‑
tions to the continent.
An interesting element of the PRAE is the time depth revealed in the colo‑
nial process. A core area of the Peter Robinson emigrants was Doneraile in
north Cork. This was also the core of the 1580s Tudor plantation of Munster,
which resulted in the devastation of local populations and significant changes
in the local elites, with the old Gaelic and Old English lordships being largely
replaced by new English families. Although temporarily displaced by the later
Nine Years War (1594–1603), they were part of a 100‑year‑long process which
led to the establishment of the Protestant Ascendancy by the 1680s, and the
various inequalities based therein. The economic migrants of the 1820s PRAE
were in many cases the descendants of the survivors of the colonial depreda‑
tions of 1580–1680, and with their transplantation to Ontario, they were set‑
tled into lands farmed and hunted (owned) by First Nations polities.
252 John Tierney et al.

A community genealogy approach to this type of migration episode can

consist of the following exercises. Firstly, we propose historic graveyard sur‑
veys as a gateway heritage project, as such surveys are very accessible and a
good introduction to other heritage projects, using principles of field record‑
ing, transcription, and research. These are then to be followed by geolocated
photographic surveys of identifiable farms and homesteads, in both the place
of origin and arrival.
Graveyard surveys are easier to do than settlement/farmstead surveys, as
burial places are usually more confined and static than settlements and home‑
steads. Settlements occasionally persist under a single family but more often
involve a sequence of structures and associated family groups depending on
marriage, intermarriage, and onward migration of the occupying families.
Limitations to this approach to community genealogy include copyright,
privacy and heritage legislation as well as the availability of resources and
sources. For example, legislation in several countries prohibits the publica‑
tion of private data on gravestones and restricts the publication of sources.14
Also, the further back we go in time the more the need for professional input
into the projects increases. Most community groups can access sources such
as the 1901 and 1911 population censuses in Ireland, but localised estate and
village records from 1750 to 1850 are often only accessible, decipherable,
and meaningful to trained historians.
A significant challenge remains in how to trace the subsequent generations
who settled elsewhere in Canada and the USA. As this process continues by
individual family tree researchers, the potential for locally significant tourism
projects emerges, but good quality family trees are required for this. With the
Peter Robinson settlers in mind, we have surveyed 120 graveyards in the core
areas of North Cork and South Limerick, creating the background dataset
within which the Peter Robinson settlers’ surname patterns are found. The
impetus of the 200th anniversary of the 1823 and 1825 migrations is leading
to a variety of projects and events being coordinated by groups in Canada
and Ireland. When the anniversary has passed, we believe the real benefit will
continue as the citizen‑science/community genealogy works continue to accu‑
mulate good quality genealogical datasets, of benefit not just to direct descend‑
ants but to other members of related communities also. Shared effort and wide
benefits create positive engagement, and this is a key element of this case study.

15.4 Communities measuring tourism

The final element we propose for a community genealogy project is to build a
broader tourism product, based on the communities’ researches but designed
to develop communications with the genealogical tourists at several lev‑
els. As part of the INCULTUM project, we tested two connected tourism
products – the first is an online destinations module, based on a genealogical
approach and built into the Historic Graves website. The Destinations mod‑
ule15 contains a geographically defined region with associated genealogical
 Community genealogy as a tool for heritage tourism 253

Figure 15.2 A pocket‑sized trail for eight POIs in Ardmore roundtower graveyard.
Source: John Tierney.

stories, for example the Ballyhoura region, and links to the early 18th cen‑
tury Palatine refugees, who travelled to Ireland from the Rhineland16; many
stayed in Ireland, but others migrated from the 18th century onwards to the
USA, including at least two families who participated in the Peter Robinson
emigration (Youngs and Teskey families).
The second genealogical tourism product is an A7‑size brochure (­Figure 15.2),
produced in printed and digital format and branded The Past in Your Pocket.
This product is based on a community survey and research into local stories,
and is designed to develop communications and gather feedback from herit‑
age tourists. The zig‑zag accordion file includes a cover, a map, acknowledge‑
ments, background information, a QR code with a tourism questionnaire, and
eight points of interest, each one with a photograph and a QR code linking to
a web page or digital asset; designed to be used with the A7 printed brochure in
one hand and triggering interactions using one’s smartphone in the other hand.
The digital version of the brochure is a simple PDF file with hyperlinks and can
be accessed via a download link in a local tourist office or from a dynamic QR
code affixed to a sign on the graveyard gate. A trial of this system was used
in one of our community group graveyards (Ardmore, Co. Waterford17) and a
surprising amount of tourism information was garnered.
254 John Tierney et al.

Firstly, the tourism questionnaire was triggered on a sign fixed to the gate.
While maintaining user anonymity, we were able to gather information on
the time and date of the visit as well as the town/region/country of origin of
the visitors. Using the QR codes for each of the eight POIs (point of interest)
we were able to measure the number of clicks and assess the level of interest
from visitors for each of the POIs and also consider site characteristics that
might favour clicking one POI and not another; for example, sheltered indoor
POIs did garner more QR scans than outdoors (see Table 15.1 for QR scan
metrics associated with an Early Medieval ogham stone situated inside the
ruined cathedral building in Ardmore graveyard). An attractive element of this
product is the minimal investment required in onsite signage, as well as follow‑
ing good practice in heritage signage (ICOMOS, 2008) resulting in low cost,
clear and non‑intrusive interpretation. The A7 POI pages can also be printed as
cards, laminated, and affixed adjacent to the POI. As part of the INCULTUM
experiment, to assess differences between usage of the printed and digital prod‑
ucts, we measured the use of both the brochure and site‑specific cards. Forty
printed A7 brochures were issued to attendees of a site tour at the end of July
2023, while the POI cards were affixed from early July onwards.

Table 15.1 Example of number and percentage of scans/clicks of the QR codes,

according to the provenance, for Point of Interest 02 (an Early Medieval
Ogham stone) in Ardmore graveyard, Co. Waterford

Rank Country Scans/Clicks % of Scans/Clicks

1 Ireland 245 52.46

2 United Kingdom 60 12.85
3 United States 42 8.99
4 Germany 26 5.57
5 France 21 4.5
6 Spain 14 3
7 Netherlands 13 2.78
8 Italy 12 2.57
9 Poland 6 1.28
10 Australia 4 0.86
11 Austria 4 0.86
12 Switzerland 4 0.86
13 Belgium 3 0.64
14 Romania 2 0.43
15 United Arab Emirates 1 0.21
16 Czech Republic 1 0.21
17 Colombia 1 0.21
18 Hungary 1 0.21
19 Iceland 1 0.21
20 Portugal 1 0.21
21 Malta 1 0.21
22 Denmark 1 0.21
23 Canada 1 0.21
24 Luxembourg 1 0.21
25 Sweden 1 0.21
 Community genealogy as a tool for heritage tourism 255

15.5 Conclusion
Despite a decade‑long history, the INCULTUM project represented a unique
opportunity for the Historic Graves project to further refine and extend
its methodology of community genealogy projects, including innovative
­tourism‑oriented products to complement the previously used set of ele‑
ments, composed by geolocated photographic graveyards surveys and field
surveys, surnames studies and family trees.
As seen, recent innovations in the community genealogy approach on the
Historic Graves web platform (historicgraves.com) include a tourism module
that identifies local communities as Destinations and creates stories, itinerar‑
ies and trails as appropriate, including a small format printed brochure, which
uses dynamic QR technology to extend the geolocated heritage database into
a means of interacting with and capturing tourism related intelligence such
as peak visits, and identification of origin/tourism markets, potentially aug‑
menting the conventional tourism data being gathered already.
Our original intention was to communicate with tourists via the onsite
questionnaire only, however, as only a small percentage of site visitors par‑
ticipate in such questionnaires, we believe there is merit in augmenting the
data using the dynamic QR codes on the POI cards, as these capture a com‑
plimentary dataset, i.e. users choose to interact with a QR code to trigger
information to be delivered to them. This approach can also measure activity
levels on the site and will allow comparisons to be made between sites. The
first experiment focused on a site‑specific graveyard trail, which was selected
with the intent to test a less niche trail, offering information on the major her‑
itage/tourist points of interest in the broader parish. The model is adaptable
and scalable to the nature of the local heritage resources and the preferences
of the local community researchers.
The Past in Your Pocket brochure provides heritage information to visitors,
but it also garners local tourism intelligence otherwise not collected, without
requiring additional efforts from the tourist. Voluntary community surveys gen‑
erate hyperlocal genealogical datasets that help increase a sense of place, attract
tourists and now have the potential to generate hyperlocal tourism intelligence,
augmenting the more established Fáilte Ireland methods of measuring bed‑night
metrics.18 This then places local communities in the role of collecting tourism
data that can be of use for local, regional and national strategies, particularly in
planning for the management of tourist flow to less visited areas.
The lessons learned from this Irish case study are relevant to other Euro‑
pean countries interested in developing their genealogical tourism resources.
Genealogical tourism organised on a community‑led basis is a pragmatic
model for crowd‑sourced digital humanities projects. Even if local legislation
does not suit the publication of grave memorials online, other genealogi‑
cal resources can be substituted for gravestones. Genealogical tourism is not
strictly seasonal in nature and therefore has the potential to extend the length
of the tourism season, particularly for rural areas.
256 John Tierney et al.

Notes
1 https://www.irelandxo.com.
2 https://data.census.gov/table?q=B04006:+PEOPLE+REPORTING+ANCESTRY.
3 Statistics Canada, 2016 Census of Population, Statistics Canada Catalogue no.
98‑400‑X2016187, www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
4 “Census of Population and Housing: Cultural diversity data summary, 2021”.
Abs.gov.au. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
5 https://www.itic.ie/RECOVERY/competitiveness‑2023/; Covid related travel
restrictions were mostly lifted in Ireland in January 2022.
6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlocal.
7 https://www.ucd.ie/wac‑6/.
8 For example, Templebreedy SOS group in Co. Cork received grant funding three
years in succession from 2020 to 2022 for survey and conservation works.
9 https://ec.europa.eu/enrd/leader‑clld_en.html.
10 Heffernan and Gleeson at https://youtu.be/zEkDOWKSvJ8?si=y5BjE6PtOD6_i5un&
t=2273.
11 Like in the Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the
Dead in Ireland the https://www.irishfamilyhistorycentre.com/pdf/?product_id=
6262.
12 Carlin in https://youtu.be/i4I52UNkPpE?si=nMduV2GR296f‑GBD&t=3634.
13 https://historicgraves.com/project/graveyards‑ballyhoura‑peter‑­robinson‑assisted‑
emigration‑project.
14 See https://www.ireland.anglican.org/parish‑resources/504/guidelines‑­concerning‑
parish‑records‑memorials for some information on the Irish situation.
15 https://historicgraves.com/destination/ballyhoura.
16 See https://historicgraves.com/story/ballyhoura‑palatines‑german‑colony‑south‑­
limerick and https://historicgraves.com/destination/ballyhoura/palatine‑trail.
17 https://historicgraves.com/blog/places/ardmore‑graveyard‑trail.
18 https://www.failteireland.ie/FailteIreland/media/WebsiteStructure/Documents/
Publications/failte‑ireland‑hotel‑survey‑research‑oct‑2022.pdf.

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Index

Note: Bold page numbers refer to tables; italic page numbers refer to figures and
page numbers followed by “n” denote endnotes.

accommodation 79, 120, 134, 135, 193, alternative business models 55, 56
218, 221; facilities 135 Altiplano de Granada (Spain)
acequias (irrigation ditches) 170, 172, 57–60, 62, 64n6, 170–182; desert
175–177, 179–182 landscapes and oasis 173–175;
acequiero 182n1; path 171 payment‑for‑service contracts 57–60,
acquiescence bias 75 60, 61; perspective impact beyond
active community involvement 101, 62–63; traditional irrigation systems
102, 106, 107 57–60
actor engagement 203, 204 anchoring bias 75
adaptation 19, 50, 119, 120, 122, Ancient Paths to the Future (APF)
124, 165 185–198
administrations 62, 63, 172, 176 Anthropocene 7
age distribution 84 Arab‑Muslim presence 154
age‑old agrarian system 10 Aravantinos, P. 231
agrarian landscape 21, 153, 154 Arima, S. 83
agricultural landscapes 171–173 attraction categories 82
agricultural production 58, 172, 176 attrition bias 74–75
agriculture 9, 22, 25, 61, 104, 164, 180, authentic experiences 101, 102, 107
188, 189, 196, 198
agrotourism 159 Baar, H. J. M. van 121
Albania 1, 4, 7, 16, 225, 227 Balkans 239
Albanian pilots 49, 50 Banque des Territoires 195
Algarve region 30, 51n1 Banská Bystrica 4, 103, 133–137, 137,
Algarve’s Coastal agrarian plain, 138, 139, 148
Southern Portugal 151–166; Banská Štiavnica 133–137, 137, 138–
community‑based cultural tourism 143, 148
157–159; cultural participation Barbora route 4, 138–139, 147
159–163; historical irrigation system Beel, D. E. 118
152–156; hydro‑agricultural heritage behavioural manifestations 201–203
156–157; Mediterranean legacy “below zero” scenario 28–30, 49
153–154; noria(s), water mastery Bertacchini, E. 20
154–156; participatory‑collaborative biases 10, 11, 74, 75, 85
approaches and innovative solutions Binder, C. R. 116, 119
157; training and education bioregionalism 9
activities 159 Bollig, M. 116
Allen, D. 120, 121 Borowiecki, K. J. 1, 79, 80
260 Index

Borsekova, K. 103, 138, 143, 144 city centres 134, 135, 140
Bortolotto, C. 94 civic associations 140, 149
Boschen, S. 116, 119 civil society 12
bottom‑up local strategies 5 cognitive geobase 216; secondary‑
Brand, F. S. 116 administrative data 216–218
brand development: high‑budget route collaborative business models 55, 56, 64
35; low‑budget route 35–37, 36, 37; collaborative creation 145, 147
low‑ versus high‑budget route 34–35 collaborative economy 20
brand identity 28 Collins, L. 35
brand image 28 communication 25, 76, 100, 106, 116,
Brodie, R. J. 202, 204 236, 242, 252, 253; name’s full
Brothers in Song (Stewart) 119–120 meaning formation 32–33
Bulgarisation 120 communities 4, 8, 13, 17, 18, 57,
Bulliot, Jacques‑Gabriel 94, 95 58, 62, 98, 118, 125, 127, 145,
Burgundy, Andalusia 7 147, 152, 157, 158, 163, 187,
“Business Model Generation” 244; engagement 1, 97, 98, 141;
(Ostervalder and Pigneur) 54 involvement 3, 4, 93, 95, 106
business model innovation 54–56; community‑based cultural tourism
contracts and 56–57 151–166; proposed cultural routes,
Business Model Navigator basis 163–165, 164
(Gassman) 54 community‑based tourism (CBT) 98
business models 2, 3, 6, 54–57, 63, 64; community genealogy 242–256;
definition 54; innovation 54–55; new, communities measuring tourism
alternative business models 55–56; 252–254; surnames, genetics and
payment‑for‑service contracts 57–60 migrations in 246–249
Byrd, E. T. 98 competitive advantage 105, 107, 138
conceptual framework 29, 30, 50
Campina de Faro 29, 37, 39, 42, confirmation bias 75
44, 45, 49, 83, 84; familiarity Cooper, M. 115, 116
and comprehensions 42–45; field Copenhagen Business School 29
observations 39–40; intentions cross‑pilot learnings 49–50
to visit 45–46; naming, framing, cultural/culture 55, 92, 93, 95–100,
and finding 28–51; participant 103, 105, 107, 122, 140, 142;
characteristics 40–42; purpose 37– associations 223–224; capital 20;
38; questionnaire survey 39; target commons 20; district 20; diversity
population 38 147, 170, 239; events 140, 159;
Castril irrigation system 16, 64n1 institutions 147, 149; landscape 4,
Central Slovakia 132–149; communities, 5, 58, 100, 117, 152, 163, 172, 176,
meetings 142–143; competitive 182; memory 225–239; participation
advantage, identification 138; 97, 99, 100, 107, 157, 159, 165;
data collection 141–142; logo participatory approaches in 96–97,
competition and design 144; mining 99; resources 152, 157, 175, 216;
cultural heritage, routes connecting transformation 8, 189
138–139; “Mining Treasures of cultural heritage 8, 63, 93, 94, 96,
Central Slovakia” 145–146, 146; 101, 114, 117, 118, 122, 123, 132,
participatory creation, interactive 133, 140, 147, 159; resiliency/
platform 145–146, 146; participatory resilience 114–119
platform, mining treasures 139–141; cultural tourism 1–3, 5, 29, 57, 63, 69,
platform content, participatory 84–86, 92, 93, 96, 97, 101–104,
approach 144–145; responsive 107, 216–239; constraints, problems,
platform, creation and design 143, opportunities and prospects 218–222;
144; tourism, current state 133–134; innovative business models for 54–64;
tourist potential, indicators 135–138 participatory approaches in 97–99, 99;
Chandler, D. 118 and sustainable cultural tourism 93–96
 Index 261

culture 3.0 97 European Commission 82, 93, 100,

culture 4.0 99 101, 132
cutting‑edge technologies 216–224 experimental reconstruction 225–239

Dahlgren, G. H. 75 farming communities 19, 21, 22,

Danish regional specialty 33 158, 175
data analysis 77–78; data scraping, Faro‑Albufeira coastal area 37, 38
Tripadvisor 79–82, 80, 81; official Faro‑Algarve coast 38
statistics 78–79; visitor surveys Faro Convention 8
82–84, 83
data collection 46, 47, 68–86, 141, 142, Fesenmaier, Daniel R. 98
205, 206, 208, 213; pre‑planning framing, ecosystem 33–34
process 72–73 framing, perspectives 30–34
data considerations 73–75; presentation France 1, 4, 16–18, 22, 23, 187–189,
76–77; visitor surveys 77 191, 192, 195–197
data management 69–72 French pilot project 24
data planning 69 Fugger routes 138–139, 141, 146–147
data presentation 85
data visualisations 76 Garau, C. 101
Denmark 1 Geissdoerfer, M. 55
development actions 222–223 genealogical tourism 5, 246, 247, 255
Dickinson, J. 101 Germany 40
digitalization: sustainable cultural Gharb al‑Andalus region 152
tourism and 99–102 GPS loggers 207–210, 212
digital outreach 148 Grand Sites de France 189, 192,
digital platforms 16, 20, 23, 77, 101, 195, 196
103, 106, 141 graphic motivation 32
digital technologies 99–101, 106 Greece 1, 4, 49, 225–228, 231, 236, 243
Dilinkó, Gábor 123 Greenfields, M. 120
domestic visitors 38, 135 GSM mobility patterns 211–212
Doñana National Park 58 Gypsy culture 119
Doran, G. T. 71
Dráfi, József 123 Hansen, H. 75
Haywood, Michael K. 98
economic activities 4, 20, 59, 84, 135, Henley, R. 117
175, 196, 198 heritage 2, 3, 6–8, 16, 18, 20, 93, 117,
economic development 2, 3, 5, 172, 118, 138, 158, 165, 174
176, 186, 195 heritage commons 16, 20, 23
economic values 20, 117, 243 heritage communities 7, 8, 14, 15,
Economou, M. 101 17, 18, 20–22, 25, 146, 147, 192;
ecosystem services 2, 14, 18, 58, 59, 61, learning from experience 194–195;
175, 176 organising 192–193; path network,
emigrations, assisted 249–250; Peter residents and stakeholders 193–194;
Robinson–assisted emigration resiliency of 114–129; supporting the
250–252 emergence of 192
Endreß, M. 116 heritage inventory 191
engagement process 201, 202, 204, 207 heritage resources 2, 7, 14, 18, 24–26,
entrepreneurial social innovation 22 163, 179
entrepreneurship 185–198 heritage tourism 93, 242–256
environmental conservation 1 hiking associations 59, 61, 63
environmental services 177, 179, 191 historical heritage 49, 57, 60, 100,
environmental values 4, 158, 159, 163, 138, 173
173, 175 historical irrigation systems 60, 63, 94,
Epic Emigration Museum 243 152, 157, 172–176, 181; cultural
262 Index

routes 177–180; identification and innovative strategies 2, 4, 103, 104

characterisation 152–156 integrated territorial project 164,
historical water management systems 4, 188, 198
170–182 interactive platform 141–145
Historic Graves Project 21, 103, intrinsic communicative potential, name
242–245, 250, 252, 255; in Ireland 31–32
243–245 Ireland 1, 4, 10, 16, 21, 23, 103, 242–
historic graveyards 4, 5, 103, 244, 246, 248, 250, 252, 253
243–245, 252 irrigation 10, 60, 152–156, 175, 176,
host communities 68, 92, 98 179; communities 18, 59–62, 171,
Hughes, T. 231 175–182; irrigated agriculture 153,
Humbert, C. 114 154, 156; systems 4, 10, 58, 60, 62,
Hungarian Society for Krishna 165, 170, 176, 177, 179, 180
Consciousness (HSKCON) 124–126 Italian Territorialist School 8
Hungary 114, 115; Krishna Italy 1, 18, 243
Consciousness 124–128
hydraulic heritage 16, 152, 154, 157, Jax, K. 116
173, 177 Johnson, L. 98
hydro‑agricultural heritage 156; and Joseph, J. 114, 117
sustainable cultural tourism 156–157 Joyce Principle 32–36, 38, 43–45, 48
Juliet Principle 32–36, 38, 45, 48
inclusiveness 114–129
INCULTUM pilot projects 1–3, 6, 7, kalive 226, 238, 239n4; construction of
11, 12, 21–23, 25, 26, 29, 49–50, 234–236, 235
57, 62, 103, 107, 166n1, 216, 255; Katsoni, Stratigeaand 100
artists, involving 16; communal Këlcyra 232
management, organising 16–18; Kist, B. 34
community, developing 16–18; Kocze, A. 121
experts, mobilising 15; forming the Kootstra, G. 34
community 14; innovative solutions, Kremnica 148
exploring 7–26; local players, Krishna consciousness 124–128
capacity building 15; organising Krishna Valley 124–128; resilience
governance 16–17; participative through participation 126–128
workcamps, organising 17;
participatory inventories, conducting landscape approach 187, 188, 195;
15–16; participatory techniques common good 189; expressing
18; project management team attachment 187–188; navigating
14–15; setting up contracts, pay for 68–86; rural paths 189–191
ecosystem services 18; stakeholders Latour, B. 16
and involvement 11–12; sustainable LEADER funds 245
tourism wheel 12–13, 13; territorial local ecological knowledge (LEK) 170
commons, unveiling 14; territorial lost heritage, reconstructing 232–233
scenarios, range of 9–11; tourism Loulé 30
offer, building 18–22
innovation framework 7; and Mahaprabhu, Sri Caitanya 124
experimental development of Margiono, A. 100
contracts 60–62 Marzo‑Navarro, M. 101
innovative business models 55, 57, 59, mass tourism 6, 133, 180
63; for cultural tourism 54–64 McCarthy, J. 98
innovative cultural tourism: in European MEMOLA Project 171
peripheries 1–6 Mergel, I. 100
innovative solutions 1, 6, 7, 152, Mining Treasures 103, 132
156, 157 Mollen, A. 204
 Index 263

Molnár, István Gábor 123 Prabhupāda, Bhaktivedanta Swami 124

monitoring stage 71 problem tree analysis 72
morphological (structural) project planning 68, 69, 71, 85; phases
motivation 32 70, 71
multidimensional engagement 205–212; psychological state 201–203
data collection 205; GPS loggers
207–210; GSM mobility patterns QField webGIS 16
211–212; survey 206–207 QR technology 253–255
Murphy, P. 98 question‑order bias 75
Mytum, H. 245 questions/wording bias 75

naming, ecosystem 33–34 Rampp, B. 116, 117, 120

naming, perspectives 30–34 Rathgeber, A. 116, 119
Nasture, F. 124 recall bias 75
natural resources 14, 172, 174, 177 regional development 96, 97, 132, 142,
Netherlands 40 144, 145, 147
netnography 24 religious organisation 124, 125
non‑response bias 74 resiliency/resilience 7, 9, 23, 25, 114–
norias 151–157, 160, 165 120, 122, 124–126; cultural heritage
114–119; of heritage communities
Obrist, B. 117 114–129; political to scientific
Okely, J. 122 relevance 114–119
Olhão 30, 47 resilient governance 116, 118,
Osterwalder, A. 54 124, 128
Osth, J. 212 resilient heritage communities 118, 128,
Ostrom, E. 6, 8, 189, 195 147
responsive platform 143–145
Panagiotopoulou, M. 100, 103 Richards, G. 98
participatory approaches 1, 3–5, 7, 92, rich content 148
96, 98, 106, 139, 140, 144, 147–149 Riezebos, H. J. 34
participatory models 92–108 Robson, I. 92, 98
participatory planning 216–224 Robson, J. 92, 98
Patterson, P. 204 Roma communities 119, 120
payment‑for‑service contracts 57–60, 64 Romani groups 119–121
peripheral locations 54–64 Romani Routes (Silverman) 120
Përmet 232 Roma resilience 119; resistance,
Petran 232 adaptation, and participatory cultural
Pfeiffer, C. 117 heritage 119–124
phonetic motivation 32 Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare) 32
Pigneur, Yves 54 Rossel, J. 100
pilot projects 4, 7, 13–15, 17, 19, 23, Rostas, I. 121
25, 71, 72, 76, 77 Rovid, M. 121
place branding 28–51; considerations Ruethers, M. 121
48; image to identity 46–48 Rugaard, N. 30
POIs (point of interest) 254 rural areas: cohesion and
Political Arts concept 16 resilience 25–26
Porter’s theory 105 rural communities 10, 124, 125, 200
Portugal 1, 4, 9, 19, 22, 30, 40, 79–82, rural tourism 159, 200–213; actor
84, 154, 155 engagement, spatio‑temporal
positive engagement 203, 252 context 203–204; engagement and
potential visitors 28, 29, 31, 36, 46, experienced value 201–203; future
49, 50 studies, suggestions 213; limitations
Pouqueville, F. 230 213; measuring actor engagement
264 Index

204; multidimensional engagement management systems and 170–182;

205–212 see also sustainable cultural tourism
rural tourist behaviour 200–213 Swami, S. 125
rural tourist engagement 200–213 Sweden 1, 5, 141, 205, 212, 213
Swedish pilot project 24
Seifert, A. 100
selection bias 74 target group 39, 76
self‑governance culture 26 Teatro das Figuras 49
semantic motivation 32 territorial cohesion 1, 3, 7–26
service contracts 3, 57, 59, 60, 63, 64 territorial common goods 7–9
Shakespeare, William 32 territorial commons 8, 12, 14, 19,
Shuttleworth, I. 212 23, 57
Silverman, C. 120 territorial communities: integrated
Simon, S. 8 approach 185–198
Slovakia 1, 17, 103, 132–134, 136, 138, territorial entrepreneurship 2–3, 5, 21,
139, 141–143, 149 25, 195
Slovak regions 134, 138 territorial heritage communities 7–9
slow tourism 132, 159, 196 “territorialisation” process 191
SMART criteria 71 territorial tourism intelligence 26
Smith, D. 120 Thompson, M. 99
Smith, M. 98 Thurzo‑Fugger Copper Company 133
Smith, V. 31, 32, 35 Toger, M. 212
So, K. K. F. 204 Torsö 213
social cohesion 7–26 tourism 5–7, 9–13, 21–23, 25, 68, 69, 92,
social desirability bias 75 94, 98, 101, 140, 181; activities 30, 93,
social impact bonds (SIBs) 56 95, 132, 197, 201; benefits 6, 98, 132,
social innovation 5, 22, 175 181; development 92, 97, 98, 213;
Sonkoly, G. 100 industry 24, 39, 47, 48, 96; offerings
Spain 1, 4, 17, 19, 57, 58, 62, 154, 23, 133, 140; products 99, 107, 139,
170, 174 158, 165; project 19, 24, 195; trends
stakeholders 11–12; mapping 12 78, 84, 85; see also individual entries
Stewart, M. 119 tourism offer, building 18–22;
strategic intelligence tools 26 co‑designing tourism products 20–21;
Straus, M. 101 discovery routes, creation 19–20;
student participation 144, 147 storytelling, region 18–19; territorial
sustainability 2, 24, 26, 96, 99, 101, entrepreneurship 21–22; tourism
146, 149, 156, 238 offering, marketing 23–24
sustainable cultural tourism 1–3, 5, tourism offering, marketing 23–24;
92–108, 132, 147, 149; and cultural creating territorial intelligence 24;
tourism 93–96; digitalization and 99– digital media, developing 23; new
102; essentials 102; features 95; and narratives 23–24; training tourism
hydro‑agricultural heritage 156–157; professionals 23
INCULTUM project and pilot actions tourism project, regional project 195;
103–107; participatory approaches encouraging and supporting 195–
in 97–99, 99; participatory platform 196; region’s tourism observatory
for 132–149; social innovation for 197; sectoral working groups,
175–177 common landscape 196–197; Tour
sustainable development 20, 24, 94, 99, du Morvan des Sommets 196
138, 157, 159, 175, 197 tourists 5, 30, 38, 40, 47, 50, 84, 93,
Sustainable Development Goals 92, 94, 101, 102, 107, 133, 135, 140,
156, 157 146, 207, 210, 255; destinations 11,
sustainable tourism 3, 6, 21, 23, 68, 13, 21, 23, 25, 101, 105, 107, 127,
69, 98, 133, 139, 142, 147–149, 160, 164; experiences 68, 85, 106,
164; development 2, 21, 33, 92, 134; information centre 90, 134,
98, 142, 157, 164; historical water 140; resource 159, 179, 182
 Index 265

traditional irrigation communities 172, 201, 212; experience 88, 90, 94, 99,
175, 176 101, 102, 107, 200
traditional irrigation systems 57–60, visitor surveys 3, 72, 75, 77, 82–84, 83,
172, 173, 175 85; sample 88–91
transhumance routes 236–238, 237 visual identity 144
Trapani Mountains 50 Vivek, S. D. 204
Trehan, N. 121 Vjosa Valley 226–233, 236
TYPO3 system 143 Vlach identity 227–229
Vlachs 50, 225–233, 236, 238; in Vjosa
Újpest 123 Valley 227–230
UK 40, 122, 244
Ullmann, S. 32 Walker, J. 115, 116
unique selling proposition (USPs) Wang, Youcheng 98
105, 108 water: availability of 58, 153; heritage 4,
Upper Vjosa Valley 5, 49, 50, 151–166; management 4, 163, 172;
225–227, 232 resources 58, 172, 175, 179, 223
user engagement 148 Wilson, H. 204
word of mouth (WOM) 200
Vahtikari, T. 100 workshops 106
Vergori, A. S. 83 World Tourism Organization 98
Vial, G. 100 worth‑living integrated development
Vijayanand, S. 92 216–224
village communities 15, 185, 188,
190, 191 Xiang, Z. 101
visitors 18, 24, 73, 76, 77, 79, 82–84,
106, 138, 139, 160, 165, 200, 201, Zheku, K. 234
207, 210, 212, 254; engagement 200, zurna 120