Urban tourism and social sustainability: A reflection for the future

Abstract

| The present work intends to contribute to a refiection between the growth of tourism in urban spaces, specifically in historic centers and the phenomenon of gentrification that has taken the city streets. Thus, this work discusses the best approach to understand the antagonism towards the development of tourism, through the residents' perspectives. In particular, it is intended to present a literature review that goes in the direction of proposing a model where the community feels an integral part of the tourism project instead of prevailing a feeling of exclusion from this activity. It is also important to mention that this model of sustainable development is based on the principle that tourism can act as a transformative tool and as an agent to rescue the local tradition, instead of acting as a mechanism of social exclusion and gentrification. Future work should contribute towards proposing (and testing) new models that better preserve socio-cultural sustainability in tourism. In an interdisciplinary perspective, the present study contributes to the tourism literature, sustainable development, and management of tourist destinations.