Integrating heritage management and tourism at Italian cultural destinations

There is an ongoing debate on the wealth-generating possibilities of heritage for territories. According to the RBV, heritage is viewed as a key resource for a destination to build a successful and sustainable positioning. The difficulty in transforming heritage from an asset to a resource often derives from lack of convergence between institutions in charge of heritage preservation and the actors responsible for tourism development. Previous studies suggest that this relation is not necessarily conflictual, and correlate cooperation with the heritage characteristics and history of a tourism attraction. Based on the analysis of ten Italian towns, we challenge this hypothesis and suggest that, independently from the wealth of heritage resources and the tourist maturity of destinations, effective coordination is based on specific actions according to a three-phase process. Such coordination makes it possible to overcome managerial paradoxes intrinsic to the joint pursuit of heritage preservation and tourism development.