Abstract
This article analyzes the heritage construction process or “heritagization” of Las Médulas gold mines, a prime example of how Spain’s mining heritage has been reused for tourism purposes. Based on a methodology combined documentary analysis and fieldwork, informal interviews with territorial actors and surveys targeting residents, this study addresses the complexities of integrating this cultural landscape into a tourism development strategy and analyzes the support and impacts perceived by the local population. The information gathered in this research is intended to facilitate the development of adequate planning and generate recommendations to mitigate the debate that has surrounded Las Médulas and confronted its stakeholders for years. The results show that the existence of multiple agents and institutions acting on the destination leads to problems of management and collaboration. In addition, the local population’s lack of involvement and awareness is also hindering integral tourism planning. There are a number of positive impacts mainly related to the increase in the tourist value of the image of the area and its historical and cultural heritage, as well as the consequences of financial management for tourism, which also help to predict the levels of support of residents to the tourist development of Las Médulas.
Highlights
Following decades of being abandoned, there is a growing interest worldwide in recovering, conserving, and promoting mining heritage in a manner that is compatible with other productive activities [1,2,3]
The need for projects aimed at reactivating the economy and generating alternative forms of employment to offset the decline of the mining industry has led to actions to recover the industrial mining heritage [4]
Residents were asked about their perception of the current degree of tourism development (Figure 7) and well as Las Médulas tourism potential (Figure 8)
Summary
Following decades of being abandoned, there is a growing interest worldwide in recovering, conserving, and promoting mining heritage in a manner that is compatible with other productive activities [1,2,3]. A range of territories where mining activity has formed part of their traditional culture, have begun to consider these resources from the perspective of cultural heritage. The current possibilities of generating new socioeconomic dynamics and implementing actions for the conservation and revitalization of the mining heritage and culture tend to be based on taking advantage of their potential for cultural tourism. In this sense, disused and abandoned mines, those located in peripheral and disadvantaged regions, are today considered “complex heritage units” and an endogenous resource with multiple options for social, economic and territorial activation and development on a local scale [6]
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