Local Perspectives on Cultural Tourism and Cultural Sustainability

Abstract

The objective of the chapter is to explore cultural tourism perceptions, practices, concerns, and prospects among local residents and business representatives in the Cyclades, specifically three sites (Andros, Syros, and Santorini), and to draw their implications for local cultural sustainability. For this purpose, it relies methodologically on an on-site intensive questionnaire survey, effectuated in the context of the SPOT HORIZON2020 EU project (2020-22) on cultural tourism. The findings show that the role of culture as an actual tourism attraction and the potential for further growth in cultural tourism, and consequently in local development, are broadly recognized from all sides involved in the survey. Conversely, the role of tourism in these destinations' cultural development, management, and appropriation is viewed with some trepidation and ambivalence, while, in the relative absence of the state, local residents and tourism- or culture-related businesses appear to have taken most aspects of cultural tourism planning and management in their hands.