El turismo en el patrimonio arqueológico: entre la ‘vitrinización’ y la oportunidad perdida

Archaeology has two main objectives: acquire greater knowledge of historical processes and provide value to cultural heritage. The latter contains the intent to create resources which can benefit local communities. The existence of said assets foreseeably attracts more tourists, which results in greater capital inflow from tourism. Nonetheless, there is rarely any assessment of whether a) these tourists really do come and b) if their arrival really facilitates the sustainability of the communities. In this article we will explore the inconsistencies of this transfer mechanism, and the dissociation between tourism benefit and sustainability.