Cultural heritage has become a
valuable resource: It unites physical assets, such as buildings, and the living
culture, that make it possible to isolate the themes and narratives essential
to what is termed place-making (Richards,
2011). This research proposal addresses the
following research question: How could a social network analysis (SNA) boost an
evolutionary ecosystem in cultural heritage tourism? A longitudinal case study
identifies the current formal and informal ties of a group of stakeholders. That
information in turn makes it possible to assess their cohesiveness and predict
the future success of an ecosystem.

Our research proposal is driven by an empirical case. The owner-manager
of a micro-firm in the cultural tourism field has taken an active role to
promote historically valuable buildings and (industrial heritage) environments
as cultural tourism destinations. The local policymakers have so far shown no
interest in revitalizing the cultural heritage of the destination, and the
regional destination management organization sees no value in re-branding it as
a tourist destination.

Conducting A Social Network
Analysis of an Ecosystem Evolution in Cultural Heritage Tourism will help
to identify attitudes of the stakeholders to co-operation, and thus the future
success of the ecosystem, and also to assess the impact of the ecosystem on the
local community. Based on the analysis of the results, the SNA will help direct
the development of the evolutionary process toward a more successful
performance of the ecosystem. A practical implication of the research will be
to more accurately define overall regional prosperity. Identifying which group
of stakeholders (or which specific stakeholder) offers the greatest potential
in terms of future collaboration will enhance the positive impact of the
ecosystem on the region.