Novas imagens para velhas cidades? Coimbra, Salamanca e o turismo nas cidades históricas

This paper discusses the production and re creation of cities’ tourist imageries, noting the effects of tourism in Coimbra and Salamanca. The analysis focuses firstly on the ways cities are presented to the external gaze; secondly, on the urban invisibilities created by tourism activities; and thirdly on the circumscribed and selective nature of tourist cities. Drawing on this line of questioning, the paper pertains to the manner cities use and rebuild their images and significations, rendering them active instruments of urban development strategies. Finally, it assesses the value of heritage for tourist promotion and discusses the creation of new tourist images shaped by the rhetoric of the creativity of the urban space.