European Cultural Routes: Building a Multi-Actor Approach

Abstract

Cultural routes have recently acquired new prominence as tourist destinations. Yet, the theoretical and administrative tools to cope with this new kind of cultural heritage are still rudimentary. Theoretically, studies on cultural routes have been generally disciplinary and focused mainly on tourism management issues. Administratively, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the Council of Europe have provided a legal framework to protect cultural routes, but implementation of this framework is limited. This paper highlights the necessity of adopting a truly interdisciplinary and multi-actor approach for the study of cultural routes based on the concepts of (cultural) landscape and actor-network.