Murals and Tourism : Heritage, Politics and Identity

Around the world, visitors are drawn to visit murals painted on walls that express something about the politics, heritage and identity of the locations being visited. In some cases, murals created for political purposes become a point of interest for visitors; in others, murals have been painted to stimulate local economic development through tourism. This book focuses on murals painted at sites of conflict that are part of peace processes, with increasingly significant importance for tourism. In this interdisciplinary and highly international volume, the diverse messaging of murals, their production, interpretation, marketing and - in some cases - destruction is explored.

Around the world, tourists are drawn to visit murals painted on walls. Whether heritage asset, legacy leftover, or contested art space, the mural is more than a simple tourist attraction or accidental aspect of tourism material culture. They express something about the politics, heritage and identity of the locations being visited, whether a medieval fresco in an Italian church, or modern political art found in Belfast or Tehran.

This interdisciplinary and highly international book explores tourism around murals that are either evolving or have transitioned as instruments of politics, heritage and identity. It explores the diverse messaging of these murals: their production, interpretation, marketing and – in some cases – destruction. It argues that the mural is more than a simple tourist attraction or accidental aspect of tourism material culture.

will be valuable reading for those interested in cultural geography, tourism, heritage studies and the visual arts.