The instrumental time of memory: local politics and urban aesthetics in a tourism context

Tourism, as a capitalist creation, not only consumes places but also reshapes collective memory by prioritizing instrumental and commercial values over aesthetic-expressive ones. This study, using a socio-anthropological approach with long-term participant observation, reveals how the tourism chronotope in Ávila's historic center uproots local anchors of memory, leading to the adoption of uniformities and the abusive occupation of public space based on visitors' imaginaries. The research highlights the tension between tourism-driven development and the preservation of place-specific identities, urging further testing of its model for broader applicability.

Nogués-Pedregal, A.-M. (2021). The instrumental time of memory: local politics and urban aesthetics in a tourism context. Journal of Tourism Analysis: Revista de Análisis Turístico (JTA), 26(1). https://doi.org/10.53596/jta.v26i1.343