Cultural and Heritage Tourism, Urban Resilience, and Sustainable Development. Comparative Analysis of the Strategies of Athens and Rome

Contemporary cities are confronted with shocks and stresses that cause vulnerability both for the cities themselves and for their inhabitants. Historic cities, such as Athens and Rome, experience an annual influx of millions of tourists and visitors, which adds considerable pressure to their historic centres. However, cultural/heritage tourism is a particularly significant resource for these cities. To overcome these challenges, cities will need to develop strategies to help them become resilient and grow sustainably. This paper examines whether cultural/heritage tourism can be a catalyst for building urban resilience and contribute to the sustainable development of cities. To accomplish this, it employs a combined comparative methodology. The critical documents used are (a) the City Resilience Framework developed in the context of the 100 Resilient Cities initiative and (b) the resilience strategies developed by the cities of Athens and Rome as members of the 100 Resilient Cities Network. The comparative research of the objectives and the actions and sub-actions adopted by the cities with their resilience strategies demonstrates that cultural/heritage tourism leads to urban resilience and contributes to their sustainable development. Based on the findings of the comparative research, it can be asserted that cultural/heritage tourism can serve as a catalyst for urban resilience and sustainable development.