Integrating heritage management and tourism at Italian cultural Destinations

The difficulty in transforming heritage from an asset to a resource often derives from lack of convergence between institutions responsible for heritage preservation and those responsible for tourism. The literature suggests that this relationship is not necessarily conflictual and correlates cooperation with heritage characteristics and a history of tourism. Based on their analysis of 10 Italian destinations, the authors challenge this hypothesis and suggest that, independently of the wealth of heritage resources and the tourism maturity of destinations, effective coordination is based on a three-phase process. Such coordination addresses managerial paradoxes that are intrinsic to the joint pursuit of heritage preservation and tourism development.