CISH 2026
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Tourism and Heritage: A Love-hate Relationship

  • Date

    II. Thursday, 27.08.2026, 08:30-10:30

    III. Thursday, 27.08.2026, 11:00-13:00/30

    IV. Thursday, 27.08.2026, 14:30-16:30

  • Location
    House 1 - T-1003
  • Theme
    B - Teaching History and Public History

Abstract

The growing popularity of the concept of heritage since the beginning of the 21st and 20th centuries has profoundly changed its relationship with tourism. Initially considered a source of curiosity and knowledge likely to appeal to tourists, heritage, both tangible and intangible, is now feared to be destroyed or altered by the influx of tourists eager to admire or use it. The notion of overtourism, put forward fairly recently by several geographers and sociologists, has reinforced the feeling that tourism and heritage are fundamentally opposed in their objectives and uses. Measures to restrict access to particularly exposed sites make relations between heritage defenders (archaeologists, historians, public administrations) and tourism promoters very problematic. In other words, isn't the protection of heritage, whatever it may be (monuments, cities, nature, objects, traditions, etc.), contradictory to its opening up to crowds of tourists? The aim of this session is to address this question from a historical perspective. To what extent does this question arise in the mid-term or long term? What types of heritage were initially concerned? What types of resistance emerged? Which actors mobilised themselves to defend heritage? Has there been an evolution in the meaning and practices of the relationship between these two concepts? The session will bring together researchers from different countries and address the issue from various angles: historical, economic, cultural, political and institutional.

Convenor

  • Laurent Tissot (Université de Neuchâtel)
  • Veronica Zarate (Instituto Mora, Mexico)

Panelists

  • Patrizia Battilani (Université de Bologne)
  • Mohamed Berriane (Université Mohammed V (Rabat))
  • Etienne Augier (Université Lyon 2)
  • Robert Frank (Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
  • Bertram Gordon (Mills College)
  • Gisela Hurlimann (Technical University (TU) Dresden)
  • Carlos Larrinaga (University of Granada)
  • Laurent Tissot (Université de Neuchâtel)
  • Johan Vincent (Université d’Angers)
  • Veronica Zarate (Instituto Mora, Mexico)

Papers

  • From dilemma to dialogue: heritage and tourism in the international charters of UNESCO, UNWTO and the Council of Europe

    Patrizia Battilani

  • The role of tourism in heritage processes. The case of Morocco

    Mohamed Berriane

  • The difficult equation between preservation and enhancement: tourism, heritage, automobility: the case of Canada, 19th-20th centuries

    Etienne Augier

  • The example of memorial tourism at Second World War sites: reflections on the concepts of memory, heritage and history

    Robert Frank

  • Tourism and War: Their Links through History

    Bertram Gordon

  • Grand Hotels as "Lieux de Mémoire": Marble and Chandeliers, but also Archives and Infrastructure

    Gisela Hurlimann

  • Links between tourism and heritage in the Spanish case in historical perspective. The example of San Sebastián

    Carlos Arringa

  • Chillon Castle: a monument that loves tourists and is loved by tourists. How long will this last?

    Laurent Tissot

  • The ambivalence of post-war tourism success. From the quest for socio-economic success to the desire to find a balance (Atlantic coast, 1945-1980)

    Johan Vincent

  • ‘Pueblos mágicos": places of memory or tourist attractions?

    Veronica Zarate