A Sustainable Management Model for Cultural Creative Tourism Ecosystems

Abstract

This article proposes a novel management model for cultural, creative, and historic tourism cities. The creation of the model is based on previous literature and in the study of Barrio de las Letras, in Madrid, to identify the key components to successfully develop creative tourism ecosystems. The model integrates the literature on city center management and, unlike previous studies, incorporates missing elements, such as the role of small businesses associations and collaboration networks among diverse stakeholders to develop a cultural–historic tourism ecosystem. This model represents a proposal that supports the coexistence of the private and public sector and sustainable governance models that integrate the inhabitants of city centers with the economic activity generated by urban tourism. The model was developed by an analysis of secondary sources, interviews with key informants, and questionnaires of entrepreneurs located in a recently invigorated cultural and historic neighborhood. The contribution of knowledge offered by this paper is the proposition of a management model that can aid town centers to create competitive cultural/creative/historic tourism ecosystems while still preserving the sustainability of their social/commercial fabric. Therefore, the collaboration of cultural organizations, hospitality industry and retail can promote cultural, creative, and sustainable management model of historic urban centers.