Competitiveness of Heritage Sites: a comparison between Scuola Grande della Misericordia in Venice and Oude Kerk in Amsterdam

Abstract

The presence of outstanding cultural assets is not always a synonym of tourism and local development. This means that the competitiveness of a destination or a site is also related to other factors, which have been studied and gathered within respective theoretical frameworks by different researchers. The purpose of this thesis is to apply these models to two comparable specific cases and draw from them interesting conclusion for the management of heritage sites. The first chapter presents a literary review on this topic, starting from the destination level with Van der Berg, van der Borg, van der Meer Urban Tourism Product Model, then focusing on the system of physical assets, complementary products and organization outlined by Jansen-Verbeke and, finally, deepening the relationship between heritage conservation and tourist use thanks to Du Cros and McKercher assessment analysis. The second chapter shows the case of the Scuola Grande della Misericordia in Venice, a majestic building which has just been restored and requalified to host events, meetings, exhibitions and performances. The potential of this new end use for the site is analysed in the light of the indicators resulting from the aforementioned models. The third chapter aims at analysing how those models are applied to the second case study, the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. The oldest building of the city and, at the same time, its newest museum, it is considered as a “best practice” in heritage sites valorisation, since its cultural and historical values are enriched and renewed by means of art exhibitions, performances and music on a daily basis. Taking into account the results of the models application and comparing the two cases, the fourth chapter provides conclusions through an analysis of the path to be followed in order to obtain a Sustainable Competitive Advantage for heritage management. The chosen approach is the one of network, since it is believed that a good site management cannot overlook the development of a sustainable tourism system able to create economic value and at the same time, preserve heritage for future generations.