Cultural Heritage, Cultural Tourism, and Digital Networks

The uses and meanings attributed to heritage derive from the specific dynamics and circumstances of the time that surround it, i.e., how, and where it is interpreted [1, 2]. The growing interest in history, art, and culture, especially since the 1980s, because of demographic, cultural and social phenomena, has generated a growth in cultural tourism, as a set of practices carried out by various actors at the destination [3]. In this context, socially active digital networks are an important factor in growth and development [4], as they boost the mobility of tourist information and tourism consumers [5]. Technological developments, including mobile, social, communication and location-based tools and solutions, among others, are mediating tourists’ senses and experiences of place through emotional, aesthetic, informative, recreational, and social involvement, favouring interaction [6, 7]. A conceptual approach is proposed, by reviewing the literature, with contributions to science and management, considering the new behavioural variables of tourists, new product and service design models, and new research and evaluation scenarios, which together give shape to a new paradigm in tourism [4, 8].