The Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte (Braga) World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism

Abstract

AbstractWorld Heritage properties stand out as cultural manifestations and constitute, today, a nodal component of cultural tourism. With the premise that cultural heritage supports the recomposition of cultural identities, in a sense of “culture of permanence”, it is also considered necessary to achieve the conservation and preservation of cultural assets and to add economic and social value to them. Considering the case study methodologically, our study focuses on Bom Jesus do Monte (Braga) and its cultural landscape that was recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. While being a destination for both cultural and religious tourism, we propose to reflect on its forms of planning and management and to investigate how it has provided the preservation of the heritage and guaranteed that the development of this same tourism does not compromise sustainable/responsible long-term development of the site. At the same time, the protection, conservation, interpretation, reception and presentation of the heritage and cultural diversity of the site make a significant contribution to the development of the region. A tourist destination which is a World Heritage Site, apart from the “asset” itself, involves a whole territorial environment where the tourist experience is developed. Hence, our study investigates the influence of the site on a local and regional scale, and the variables related to land-use planning (at the municipal level), including infrastructures and equipment, but also in the host community, along with the prevailing economic activities. These are essential conditions that are considered in our analysis, which proposes to cover the “functional transformations” of those components and their contribution to the development of the cultural and religious tourism destination.KeywordsWorld heritageBom Jesus do MonteCultural tourismSustainable tourism