UTSA, city team evaluates tourism potential of San Antonio heritage resources

heritage site
heritage site

San Antonio heritage sites:
Top photo: McNay Art Museum
Bottom photo: Mission Espada
(Photos courtesy of Sedef Doganer)

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(Oct. 14, 2014) -- The UTSA Center for Cultural Sustainability (CCS), housed in the College of Architecture, Construction and Planning (CACP), has partnered with the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau (SACVB) to evaluate San Antonio's cultural and historical heritage resources. Findings will assist the SACVB and other city offices in planning future marketing and promotion strategies for sustainable heritage tourism in San Antonio.

The "State of San Antonio Heritage Resources" is the first academic evaluation of a major U.S. metropolitan city's cultural heritage resources to be conducted on this scale, according to the researchers.

"San Antonio has a very rich culture; it is home to dozens of historic sites and a thriving tourism and hospitality economy," said Sedef Doganer, lead researcher and UTSA assistant professor of architecture. "In order to preserve and promote these heritage resources to the benefit of the city's tourism economy, we must conduct a massive inventory, evaluate the relative health of these resources and determine their potential impact on tourism."

San Antonio's hospitality industry generates $11 billion per year in revenue and employs more than 112,000 individuals, according to recent research by Trinity University.

The Historic San Antonio Missions, which UTSA's CCS has studied before, are poised to draw millions of dollars in economic development and tourism if granted United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site (WHS) designation. Researchers anticipate that the creation of a sustainable cultural heritage tourism program would potentially create new jobs and growth opportunities for local businesses.

William A. Dupont, FAIA, San Antonio Conservation Society Endowed Professor of Architecture and CCS director; David Bojanic, Anheuser-Busch Foundation Professor of Tourism in the UTSA College of Business and UTSA architecture students will collaborate to complete the project.

"The city of San Antonio is a rich tapestry of culture and history," said Dupont. "As we look toward possibly becoming host to a world heritage site and an accompanying rise of cultural tourism, it is the perfect time to take stock of the city's cultural heritage resources."

UTSA plans to survey, catalogue and evaluate San Antonio's historical and cultural resources including landmarks, districts and neighborhoods, cultural activities and events, and native artistic endeavors. The researchers and students are expected to work closely with city, county and state government offices and agencies including SACVB and the city's Office of Historic Preservation to complete the process.

UTSA will oversee the creation of cultural heritage tourism indicators, which includes ratings of each resource's historical value, whether the resource has been sustained or protected, and whether, with the right investment, it can be made to promote and market the city's heritage. These indicators will be made available for use by the city in the form of literature, academic reports and presentations.

"The value of such a report in a city as culturally significant as San Antonio is undeniable," said Bojanic. "It's invaluable to know the status of what you have so that you can correctly market what's there, fix what's broken and improve strategies for what deserves more exposure."

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For more information, visit the UTSA Center for Cultural Sustainability or the UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning websites.

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