Industrial heritage: A nexus for sustainable tourism development

Abstract

Many former industrial and mining areas have lost their industrial function and are now turning to tourism for regional revitalization. The transformation process from an industrial (and derelict) landscape into an area of interest for tourists is a major challenge both for planners and for tourism marketers. From a social and political point of view, the revival of a cultural identity is at stake in these areas. The first reaction in the period following the closing of an area's mines is to erase all traces of the past, to eliminate the old landmarks and the scars on the landscape and, as far as possible, to return to the natural landscape of the pre‐industrial stage. Having gone through the traumatic process of declining employment and downgrading of environmental quality, the search for new activities to support sustainable regional development is a political priority. The issue for tourism, which offers a development model that is appropriate and feasible in the context of a post‐industrial community and environment, is centred on a realistic assessment of the tourism potentials of industrial heritage sites and artefacts and the development of an integrated regional development plan. A political debate concerning the conversion options for Belgium's Limburg region mining sites has been underway for many years. Only recently, however, has the potential for tourism been assessed. A regional development plan for the mining region in Limburg has been developed, taking into consideration the various issues in the transformation process from a derelict mining area to a region ripe for tourism.