COVID-19 has had diverse global implications that have forced the entire society to stop and rethink its way of life, interactions and customs. It has demonstrated the vulnerability of tourist destinations, making it imperative to find new paths. Furthermore, COVID-19 has required adaptive government management to cope with uncertainty. The absence of a roadmap has left a natural park or a remote town at the same starting point as a tourist city, especially since the sanitary recommendations suggest avoiding crowded areas—one of the main characteristics of urban tourism. To understand the impacts that COVID has had on tourist cities, especially World Heritage sites, we will analyze six cases, each one of them with its own challenges. This will allow us to see how cities are facing the pandemic.
MODERATOR
Cynthia Pérez
Architect with studies carried out in the United States, Peru, Belgium and Spain. She holds a master’s degree in Marketing from ESIC Business and Marketing School and a master’s degree in Urbanism from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, where she is finishing her PhD in Urbanism. Specialized in urban tourism, has cooperated as speaker and participant in events held in Barcelona, Málaga, Amsterdam, Singapore, Venice, and Peru. Has (co-)authored journal articles, book chapters and congress papers centred on tourism. Member of the IHTT Institute of Habitat, Territory and Tourism, Malaga. She is focused on the study of Barcelona’s urban tourism.
SPEAKERS & CASE STUDIES
ASIA Meng Qu, Hiroshima University, Rural art tourism revitalization and creative social resilience under Covid impact (Japan)
OCEANIA Karine Dupre, Griffith University, Surviving or thriving? A matter of perspective (Australia)
AFRICA Isber Sabrine, NGO Heritage for Peace, Heritage and covid 19 in conflicts: the Cyrene case (Libya)
EUROPE Alessia Allegri, Researcher Ciaud | URBinLAB, Destination X. Where to next? Opportunities and new challenges in post-covid 19 tourism (Portugal)
NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA Carlos Hiriart, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo / ICOMOS México, Challenges and strategies in the management of a World Heritage city (Mexico)
SOUTH AMERICA María Augusta Orellana Alvear, Engineer in Tourism, MS. Land Management, Strategies of a WH intermediate city, the case of Cuenca (Ecuador)
