Tourism in the city: towards an integrative agenda on urban tourism

Citation

Maxim, C. (2024), "Tourism in the city: towards an integrative agenda on urban tourism", International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 1172-1174. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-09-2024-302

This edited book by Prof Nicola Bellini and Assoc Prof Cecilia Pasquinelli, two scholars who have published extensively in urban tourism studies, responds to previous calls for more research on urban tourism (e.g. Ashworth and Page, 2011; Maxim, 2016), in particular on the interrelationships between tourism development and urban transformation.

The book, which attracted contributions and case studies from different parts of Europe, aims to add to the existing debates on tourism and the city. As the Co-Editors rightly state, tourism tends to be marginalised in urban studies, despite the crucial role this phenomenon plays in the development of cities. Therefore, this edited book adds to the existing body of knowledge on tourism development in urban environments, shedding some light on several challenges faced by city destinations in their efforts to develop and integrate tourism activities.

The book brings together 24 chapters on city destinations that are organised in three separate parts. Part I introduces several key themes and issues in urban tourism and reviews some of the current debates in this field of study. Part II focuses on culture, heritage and creative industries and their role in developing city tourism destinations. Part III looks at the relationship between visitors and locals, discussing potential tensions and risks associated with tourism development in cities.

The work begins with an introductory chapter authored by the two Co-Editors that presents the aims of the book and highlights the multiple connections between tourism and the city. In the second part of the first chapter the focus shifts towards tourism policy in the European Union, with the authors noting the great importance of city tourism to the region.

Part I of the book, titled “Urban Tourism: Defining the Research Scene and Dimensions”, consists of nine chapters and is opened by Cecilia Pasquinelli’s work on tourism connectivity and spatial complexity in an urban context. Among other aspects discussed in this chapter, the author calls for scholars to develop integrated analytical frameworks to help policymakers in their efforts to plan and manage city tourism. Along the same lines, the following chapter, authored by Lauren Uğur, highlights the urban planning and tourism development “disconnect” and proposes a conceptual framework for integrated access for inclusive tourism development. The focus then shifts onto cultural urban tourism and emerging technologies, where Chiara Garau discusses how the latest smart tourism and smart city technologies can help policymakers in their efforts to better plan and manage cultural tourism in European cities. Next, Werner Gronau looks at the interrelation of tourism and transport studies, identifying some future research avenues on transport related topics in the context of urban tourism studies. The following chapter moves the discussion into the marketing field of study, where Mihalis Kavaratzis focuses on city brand formation and the role that residents should play in this process, the author advocating for a participatory place branding formation. Subsequently, Efe Sevin presents a new communicative space concept that helps both residents and visitors to contribute to the establishment of a city brand or reputation. Assya Khiat and Nathalie Montargot next discuss human resources in tourism and look at the key role played by the human capital in the performance and competitiveness of the tourist sector in emerging destinations. Robert Lanquar brings the attention to tourism development in coastal cities, emphasising the usefulness of having indicators to help measure the impacts of tourism development in these destinations. Concentrating on the Mediterranean countries, the author proposes the Blue Plan Method for designing indicators. In the last chapter of Part I, Göran Andersson continues the discussion about measuring urban tourism and introduces the visitor stream concept in city destinations.

Part II of the book, “The Construction of Multiple City “Products” Through Culture, Creativity and Heritage: Principles, Policies and Practices”, comprises seven chapters that bring to light different stories from European cities. The section begins with the work of Nebojša Čamprag, who looks at museumification of urban centres, with the author emphasising why the reconstruction of the historic city in Frankfurt can be considered a typical example of “manipulation of the past through museumification of urban heritage” (p. 176). The next chapter continues the discussion along the lines of heritage and urban regeneration, with the authors (Maria Della Lucia, Mariapina Trunfio and Frank M. Go) presenting a conceptual framework for culture-led urban regeneration (cultural legacy hybridisation) that is based on public-private participation. The framework is then tested on three small and medium-sized cities in Italy. Kamila Borseková, Anna Vaňová and Katarína Vitálišová then concentrate on identifying factors that contributed to the development of Košice as a competitive creative city. Next, the attention is shifted to fashion and its implications for city destinations, where the authors (Luciana Lazzeretti, Francesco Capone and Patrizia Casadei) discuss the re-emergence of Florence as a major fashion city destination. Then Matteo Caroli and Alfredo Valentino take us onto recurrent music festivals and their impact on tourist flows. Continuing on the topic of urban events, Luca Ferrucci, Silvia Sarti, Simone Splendiani and María Cordente Rodríguez highlight the use of photo exhibitions as innovative tools to enhance the image and promote a tourism destination. Finally, Chiara Rabbiosi and Massimo Giovanardi focus on coastal cities and the use of the “cultural city” concept as a way towards innovation and change, with emphasis on the role of tourism on urban regeneration.

Part III of the book, titled “City Tourism Performance and Urban Wellbeing: Tensions, Risks and Potential Trade-Offs”, brings together seven chapters that discuss several challenges faced by urban tourism destinations. Paola Minoia opens this section by looking at a popular tourism destination, Venice and exploring the role that tourism plays in reshaping this well-known historical city. Veronika Dumbrovská chose to focus her work on Prague, another popular European city that suffered changes in the socio-spatial patterns of tourism development in the historic city centre, with considerable impacts for the local community. Barcelona, another classic example often used when discussing the impacts of tourism development in cities, is chosen by the authors Nadia Fava and Saida Palou Rubio to emphasise the conflicts, coexistence and symbiosis brought by tourism activities in popular cities. The attention turns next to green tourism, with Barbara Maćkiewicz and Barbara Konecka-Szydłowska examining the potential of Polish cities that are part of the Cittaslow Network to develop green tourism initiatives. Nicholas Wise and Marko Perić bring a new topic into discussion, sports-led tourism regeneration, choosing as a case study Medulin in Croatia. The following chapter, authored by Silvia Mugnano and Fabio Carnelli, looks at how disaster tourism can be used by policymakers in cities to help affected destinations recover from natural disasters. The concluding chapter, written by Nicola Bellini, Frank M. Go and Cecilia Pasquinelli, reviews the issues discussed in the book and presents some suggestions for policymakers in city destinations.

With its easy-to-read style and practical examples, this book is likely to appeal to a variety of audiences, including undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as researchers and policymakers. The book presents several interesting case studies, most of them from European cities. Adding other perspectives from different parts of the world, as well as tackling several other important topics in urban tourism studies (e.g. overtourism, sustainability), would have enriched the work. All in all, an enjoyable read with a practical focus.