The World Heritage Classification in Urban Tourism Destinations: Perspectives for the City of Porto, Portugal

Cities are notable tourist destinations, responsible for important tourist flows. These are territories that present different dynamics, evolutions and functional transformations, visible, especially in their historic centres. The material and immaterial evidence of these dynamics configure important representations of cultural heritage that are the basis for the development of urban tourist attractions. The recognition of heritage value results from cultural perceptions and visions of different types of actors, which can be varied according to locations, aims and relationships with culture in general. However, there are relatively more consensual validations of the notion of cultural heritage, being, eventually, the most consensual on a planetary scale, the World Heritage classification by UNESCO. In terms of tourist attraction, the World Heritage seal is an expressive communication tool. As such, several researchers dedicate efforts to understanding the importance that the World Heritage classification has for the development of tourist destinations. The literature review allows finding case studies that show a high importance of classification for the growth of destinations, but others do not show that classification is a determining factor. Therefore, this study intends to contribute to this discussion with a dual purpose; to carry out a collection of case studies that demonstrate the different types of effects and to develop a case study applied to the city of Porto (Portugal). Understanding the importance of World Heritage classification for the success of this tourist destination led to the methodological option of a mixed study that includes tourism supply and demand. In terms of supply, through a sample of 29 tourist accommodations, interviews were carried out with managers and analysis on websites to understand the importance that is given and expressed in terms of communication about the World Heritage. On the demand side, surveys were carried out with 415 guests of tourist accommodations to assess how the World Heritage influenced their decision to visit the city.