Almeida heritage as factor for local and sustainable development

This article analyses the potential of development in a rural Portuguese territory from the perspective of heritage and local heritage tourism. Heritage is clearly one of the most important legacies from the past to the present, a truism indeed, but of central relevance to tourism. Heritage is a rising tourist product, because visitors of heritage sites and places are looking for an experience, a new reality based on the (in)tangible remains of the past. As a result, local authorities and the policies of regional development are reconsidering and reinterpreting heritage as a marketable attraction with benefits in the conservation and economic domains. This article examines the case of Almeida, a territory which has a remarkable heritage, but is living a cycle of demographic and economic decadency. With a strategic marketing plan, following the territorial vision of local/regional entities, objectives and guidelines are proposed to promote sustainable development based on heritage tourism.