Tourism in historic cores, conflict or opportunity? The stakeholders point of view in Madrid’s case

Abstract

In this contribution Madrid is presented as a tourist destination based on its cultural appeal, most of it consisting in the museums and other similar activities (exhibition halls, art fairs, art galleries, e.g.). A point to be underlined about this issue is the highly concentrated spatial patt ern. Even so, Madrid’s historic centre keeps playing the role of major destination of tourist flows. It is there that a program of interviews has been carried out with the help of a very well selected set of stakeholders following a methodology designed to be implemented in the historic centres of Brussels and Rome as well. The outcomes obtained point out a few controversial opinions about the relation of tourism with the city’s historic centre; the tourist economic sector emphasized the role of tourism as an opportunity. On the other hand, the socially inspired organizations see it basically as a source of conflict that can be counteracted by means of integrated policies for the whole historic centre.