Tourism Dynamics and Architectural, Cultural and Symbolic Heritage: The Case of Oporto City Centre

Resumo

Tourism is, nowadays, one of the most important economic activities. European cities compete for attracting visitors and tourists, using urban marketing strategies to ensure their visibility and projection at European and global level. The design and implementation of innovative architectural and urban projects and the realization of scientific, cultural or sporting events are instruments for attracting investment and people.
The identity and image of the city are differentiating factors that determine their competitiveness and that are translated in its architectural, historical, socio-cultural heritage, in its climatic features, its gastronomy and, increasingly, in the experiments, experiences and animation provided by the city.
In Oporto, tourism has had an increasing importance in recent years due to diverse factors. There is an increasing visibility of the city at national and international level. The main goals of public policies in this matter are mainly related with the creation of a city brand – Oporto brand, enhancing the identity and characteristics of the city in general and in particular of the city centre. A main objective is also to promote and hold events all year long mitigating the seasonality effects that characterize tourism industry.
In this work, it is our objective to analyse the recent dynamics of tourism in Oporto city centre. We used a methodological approach that combines quantitative and qualitative methods, namely the analysis of statistical indicators and interviews to Oporto city centre agents. The strengths, weaknesses, the opportunities and challenges of the local tourism sector are systematized.