In recent decades, tourism has become one of the main drivers of territorial transformation. Where there were vacant buildings, unused land or declining agricultural structures, hotels, resorts, tourist accommodation and new facilities are emerging. This phenomenon represents an obvious opportunity for economic and urban regeneration for many regions.
However, the pressure from tourism investment also raises questions about the preservation of the architectural and cultural identity of places. The tension between the need to attract visitors and maintaining the original characteristics of spaces constitutes a central challenge for planners, architects and local communities.
The article explores how architecture can simultaneously serve as an instrument of differentiation and as a factor of loss of character. The way buildings are designed, adapted or constructed determines whether tourism development contributes to the enhancement of local heritage or, on the contrary, to its homogenisation and loss of authenticity.
