Heritage Recycled: migration and tourism as factors in the heritage of vernacular settlements

Abstract

Since the 1980s Greece has been the destination of many Albanian migrants in search of work and better living conditions. The research on which this study is based examines the case of Santorini, a small Greek island which relies heavily on tourism and is currently in the front line of migration. This paper focuses on the relationship between migrants and space, by considering the interaction between migration, tourism and heritage. Heritage brings tourism flows, tourism generates migration through the demand for labour which cannot be met by locals, and migration helps to keep heritage alive because migrants occupy the old deserted settlements and also provide the means for the revitalisation of traditional ways of production. Through research in three different locations on the island, it is suggested that, contrary to the common public perception that migrants operate in a destructive way towards the spatial, social and economic environments, they actually contribute to their revitalisation.

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