With the advent of low-cost travel, the tourism industry is experiencing an unprecedented boom. As a result, mass tourism is increasingly characterised as invasive, even destructive, often resulting in demographic shifts, local malcontent, rising prices, the dissipation of small businesses, damage to heritage, and loss of cultural identity.
This three-day Forum, organised in collaboration with the Union of Architects of Azerbaijan (UAA), aims to address these problems and discuss ways in which architects and other actors can help develop a greater harmony between town and tourists.
Over the course of the five panels, our selected experts will discuss different aspects of the impact and regulation of tourism in historic cities. Discussions will be moderated by Monica Maggioni, journalist and director of Rai News; and Sabina Hajiyeva, Head of Department for Restoration of Architectural Structures and Monuments, Azerbaijan Architecture and Construction University.
During the discussions, panellists will be invited to review a set of guidelines, developed by the UIA, for sustainable tourism in urban historic sites.