The tourism sprawl in historic urban areas: Querétaro as case study

Abstract eng:
Historic urban areas have become major tourist attractions. It is known that tourism can affect them both positive and negatively, but defining its real impact on local communities has just been explored by tourism studies recently. A major problem is the replacement of original uses, which tourism-related development is known to accelerate. This research aims to determine the share of tourism-related functions in the Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro (HMZQ), their categories and evolution over time. Buildings were classified as possessing touristic, non-touristic, mixed and no functions. More than two thousand buildings were analyzed between 1990 and 2011. In Querétaro, the rate of tourism has increased over the last 15 years. Research confirmed this growth also for the HMZQ. Most buildings, originally residential, accommodate now commercial and service functions. Particularly, the rate of mixed functions in the HMZQ increased considerably. This research confirmed the replacement of original uses in historic urban areas. Though, it does demystify tourism-related functions as being the more predominant.

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