Adaptive Reuse of Industrial Heritage and Circular Tourism: An Impact Assessment Framework

The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors, although it has been adversely affected in recent years by the COVID-19 pandemic. This growth led to increasing economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts, both positive and negative. The tourism sector produces negative impacts, especially in environmental terms, as it is organised according to a linear logic. As already introduced by the United Nations in the Agenda 2030 and in the New Urban Agenda, the circular economy can represent a development model for a more sustainable future. This model can be adopted in various fields and sectors, including tourism, to transform processes from linear to circular. A strategy for implementing this circular logic is represented by adaptive reuse. This approach is very effective for the regeneration of abandoned and/or underused cultural heritage. The identification of a new function makes it possible to ‘keep alive’ the building, adapting it to the needs and requirements of the community, while preserving its historical, symbolic, cultural values. Moreover, adaptive reuse of cultural heritage makes it more ‘attractive’ for visitors and tourists. However, it is necessary that such tourism is organised and managed in a circular logic, namely it is a “circular tourism”, to avoid it becoming a threat to the integrity of the heritage itself or a producer of negative impacts (in environmental, economic and social terms) on the context. The present contribution proposes an evaluation framework, based on criteria and multidimensional indicators, to assess the “circularity” of tourism resulting from adaptive reuse of cultural heritage, with a particular focus on the industrial heritage characterised by particular historical and cultural values, for supporting the identification of sustainable development strategies.