Cultural heritage, tourism and regional competitiveness: The Motor Valley cluster

Tourism, one of the most relevant industries worldwide, plays a key role in the development and competitiveness of many regions. Despite the increasing debate in literature on cultural heritage- and tourism-based clusters for regional competitiveness, the relation between cultural heritage and competitiveness remains vastly unexplored, especially with respect to the mediating role played by tourism. The aim of the present paper is to explore the formation and development of clusters where tourism and cultural heritage engage in a virtuous circuit for regional competitiveness. To this purpose, the paper builds on the longitudinal case study of the Motor Valley cluster (around Modena, in Italy), illustrating and analysing its formation and development from 1999 to 2011. In the selected case, the regional identity and heritage on the motor sport industry since 1800 allowed the creation of a new form of cluster, where major firms in the motor industry, artisans, tourism organisations, sport facilities, institutions and tangible and intangible cultural heritage (corporate and industry museums, private collections, archives, expertise and practices) are beneficially tied together in a self reinforcing mechanism of competitiveness, nurtured by tourism flows. The findings of our work will help city leaders and regional policy-makers understand the formation and development of clusters where tourism is synergic with cultural heritage for regional competitiveness.

► We offer an explorative look at formation and development of cultural clusters. ► We reported a longitudinal in-depth analysis of Motor Valley cluster (Italy). ► Tourism and heritage engage in a virtuous circuit for regional competitiveness. ► A model for the understanding of the formation and development of cultural clusters. ► Policy issues on how to leverage idiosyncratic heritage for competitiveness.