Imaginative heritage: towards a holistic perspective on media, tourism, and governance

This chapter focuses on media tourism: people travelling to places associated with film, TV series, games, or other forms of popular culture. In order to investigate the roles and impacts of the multiple stakeholders that are involved in this booming phenomenon, the term “imaginative heritage” is introduced. In particular, I refer to the multitude of popular fictional narratives that have been projected upon or appropriated by specific sites throughout time and that together make up an important part of local place identity. As I will argue, imaginative heritage results from an active involvement of not only locals, fans, and tourists but also the media industries, the tourism industries, and the local governments. By addressing the power configurations behind these heritage and tourism practices, this chapter aims to contribute to a more holistic understanding of media tourism and, more in general, the reciprocal nature of the relation between fiction, heritage, and place.