Tourism and Cultural Heritage

Course Description

Introduction to the world of cultural heritage and its relationship with tourism. In this course we explain the close relationship between cultural heritage and tourism, as well as the historical origins of this pairing. We propose an original approach to the different types of cultural heritage that shies away from classical historiography. The course is structured in four units; the first is an introduction. The second unit provides the student with tools to analyze architectural, urban, landscape and ethnographic heritage from a tourism perspective. The third unit is dedicated to museums and heritage objects, and provides analytical and interpretive keys. Lastly, the fourth unit concludes the course with some notes on new types of cultural tourism and with practical suggestions for creating and managing cultural trips.

GENERAL SKILLS
Have an ethical commitment.
Sustainability. Designing and developing policies and decisions for the promotion and sustainability of tourism activities.

SPECIFIC SKILLS
Understand the principles of tourism and their resulting socio-cultural impact.
Identify, enhance and manage cultural and natural heritage for tourism use.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Learn about the artistic and cultural tendencies of the past to evaluate their importance in the present:
- Understand and learn to value heritage as a cultural and historical legacy that allows us to get to know the past and helps us contextualize the present.
- Understand and learn to identify the various types of cultural heritage.
- Learn to be conscious of the specific needs to conserve heritage to favor its preservation.
- Analyze cultural and natural heritage as a tourism resource:
- Understand the evolution of tourism tied to cultural and natural heritage.
- Identify and present a heritage site as a tourist resource:
- Learn basic analytical tools to be able to identify and understand the various types of heritage sites: monuments, urban spaces, archaeological sites, landscapes, cultural events, etc.
- Know how to apply these analytical tools within any heritage framework.
- Know important historical and artistic heritage:
- Learn to appreciate cultural and artistic productions, both from other times and different cultures, as sources of knowledge of the past and other cultural traditions.
- Know the spaces where these objects are preserved, mainly: museums.
- Understand the methodology of the commentary on a work of art by applying it to the analysis and classification:
- Learn and know how to apply the keys to read a work of art.
- Manage specific terminology on heritage with respect to its interpretation:
- Become familiar with the specific terminology on heritage and cultural tourism.

LEARNING METHODOLOGY
The learning strategies employed are mainly aimed at the student developing the abilities associated with the skills identified. Below we specify the teaching-learning methodologies which will be applied to achieve the skills to be gained, as well as specifying how they will be developed:
- Theory: master classes, lectures, group projects.
- Theoretical-practical: application activities, problem-based learning, problem solving, practical exercises, research.
- Presentations: presentations of results. This will allow the student to receive feedback on how to improve his or her oral communication techniques and become accustomed to using information technology.

EVALUATION SYSTEM
The tools used to evaluate the course are those which allow us to assess the course's contents in both a theoretical and practical way; such as objective tests, development tests, individual projects, group projects, in-class activities, oral presentations using IT, virtual forums, portfolios, practical cases, problem solving, etc