Touristificacion in the Central Market of Valencia: Fact or Fiction?

Abstract

This chapter analyses the relationship between cultural heritage and the tourism activity in the ongoing context of globalisation. It establishes the debate among society and tourism considering the process of touristification and its impact in cultural heritage, addressed initially to locals. Concretely, this investigation is focused on Valencia's Central Market, Spain, as a case study. By fieldwork research methods (direct observation and a questionnaire), a diagnosis of the central market's situation and its consumers' perception is presented, which reflects the transformation that it is suffering because of the tourism activity. A process of touristification has been identified in some areas of the Central Market with relation of the stall tipologies and location, related to the main entrances. The saturation of touristic flows during weekends has also been demonstrated in this investigation.