Boosting the link between enterprises promotion and heritage valorisation: towards an integrated approach to urban regeneration and tourism development

Competitiveness in tourism can be supported by the activation of proper synergies among cultural heritage, local business and enterprise promotion. This paper aims to show how an integrated approach in urban regeneration strategies can act as a catalyst for tourism,
by fostering business creation and contributing to the heritage preservation. At this purpose, the paper discusses mechanisms of place branding related to the tourism development of a recently regenerated urban area, linking it to the success of more general productive
sectors acting in the same place. More in depth, it discusses a case study located in Boston and led by a Community Development Corporation, the Jamaica Plain Neighbourhood Development Corporation, whose overall mission is the promotion of equitable development in the area, also acting on the creation of economic opportunity initiatives. The restoration of a 19th century old brewery is playing a pivotal role by enriching the whole initiative of urban regeneration with a strong symbolic linkage to the former industrial past of the area. The tourist flows positively interact with the innovated productive identity of the area, thus creating a valuable synergy between new local businesses, local heritage and tourism attractiveness.