ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the dual interconnection between tourism and gentrification: tourism is understood both as a result of gentrification and as a pre-condition for gentrification. It shows the dynamic relation of these phenomena in time: far from being a stable relation, early gentrification can encourage tourism in its beginnings, while it can fiercely resist it at a subsequent stage. Heritage, with its material and immaterial dimensions as a component of the experiential and commodification of culture turn, is thus a strong feature of tourism gentrification. Tourist behaviours have considerably changed during recent years. The off-the-beaten-path tourism preferences as well as the desire to live 'like a local', bring tourism to former working and more remote neighbourhoods which in turn become desirable and touristically marketed. These dynamics change the image, the patterns and the social composition in contemporary metropolises.
