IN-PERSON Barcelona Livable Cities. Section B

Abstract

The research considers how Edinburgh’s tourism and festivals sectors can advance through sustainable community engagement; and by responding to contemporary contexts, such as perceptions of overtourism, calls for localisation, and the cost-of-living crisis. The team applied visual arts-based methods (Leavy, 2020), within a co-designed Participatory Action Research (PAR) (Goebel, et al., 2020), and placemaking methodology. The research investigated how secondary stakeholders including community groups, residents, local businesses, and destination management organisations, engage with tourism and festival activity in Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage historic centre. With its first festivals emerging in 1947, the city has a history of staging cultural internationalism through festivals (Jamieson & Todd, 2022). Today, the festivals bring documented positive economic and socio-cultural benefits to Edinburgh and Scotland. ‘Edinburgh’s 2030 Tourism Strategy’ (ETAG, 2020) pledges to improve residents’ quality of life in the city, while Festivals Edinburgh (2020) commit to public spaces; infrastructure; inclusive cultural provision; and increased opportunities for communities. Nevertheless, critical discourses from some of Edinburgh’s community stakeholders and media have emerged over negative socio-cultural and environmental impacts. These narratives have criticised perceived commercial agendas of staging year-round festivals in the city’s historic public spaces; commodification of Edinburgh’s historic centre for festivals and tourism; overtourism; misuse of cultural resources; and loss of affordable homes to the short-term rental market. The paper will present initial findings from the research and discuss the issues emerging around stakeholders’ perceptions of overtourism, community engagement, and placemaking. It will conclude by reflecting on potential solutions and examples of good practice.