ABSTRACT
Urban tourism is one of the areas in which European cities have invested heavily in the last years. Compared to cities in other parts of the world, infrastructure development in Europe maintains considerable diversity, which is the result of some peculiar circumstances. Many European cities are used to cultural and urban tourism as a resource, one that they have taken for granted owing to the attractiveness of their cultural heritage and of the city landscape. Whereas the most active cities in Europe have already started major efforts to deal with such imperatives, in some cities urban tourism has not been placed firmly on the policy agenda. The physical and functional sensitivity of European cities argues for strategies that turn points of weakness into points of strength. Hence the interest in projects that guarantees the diversity and integration of urban functions, as in the cases of inner-city redevelopment of Birmingham and Rotterdam or in suburban development of Amsterdam and Lisbon.
