La activación de la ciudadanía como estrategia para la sostenibilidad turística en lugares patrimoniales cercanos a la gran ciudad. El caso de la región madrileña

Although cultural heritage is a recognised source of well-being, its overexploitation by tourism generates strong negative impacts, aggravated in large cities by the concentration of effects in space. This work addresses the case of Madrid, a city with first class heritage assets in its metropolitan periphery, whose better use for tourism would help to mitigate the negative impact on the capital, while contributing to the economic and social development of the periphery. The research applied a dynamic methodological approach with four complementary levels of analysis: documentary and network, qualitative, quantitative and participatory processes. The results show the need to adopt cultural management and tourism planning strategies aimed at rebalancing visitor flows. The activation of the local residents themselves has proved to be a particularly valuable resource for strengthening local, experiential and more sustainable tourism. The impact of Covid-19, on the one hand, and the declaration of the Paseo del Prado and the Retiro as World Heritage Sites, on the other, have made this situation even more topical.