Analysing the Mediating Effect of Heritage Between Locals and Visitors: An Exploratory Study Using Mission Patrimoine as a Case Study

The connection among firms and tourists within cultural tourism clusters (CTC) is particularly strong in historical and World Heritage Cities destinations due to the ability of these destinations to contribute to the development of social capital (SC). This ability is explained from the fact there is a strong connection between cultural heritage, identity and sense of belonging. In recent years the meaning of heritage has shifted from national to local importance, based on cultural value rather than on architectural or historical value. Therefore, the participation of local communities is essential in the heritage of sustainable tourism. This allows them not only to express their opinions, but also to actually take part in the processes of planning and management of heritage conservation. Local communities are those that are closely linked to cultural heritage. On the one hand, by applying an ambidextrous management approach to Mission Patrimoine (French lottery launched in 2018 aiming at generating revenue to restore build heritage) the French government has the opportunity to initiate a social capital (SC) initiative associating local stakeholders, namely the local government and the local population, and on the other hand, visitors or tourists. In this paper, a community-based heritage conceptual model is suggested to strengthen the identity sense and to combat the negative effects of tourism. Organisational ambidexterity has been identified as the most suitable approach, due to its ability to contribute to the development of a dialogical spaces. The findings of this research are going beyond the topic of heritage. They are relevant to any research related to sustainability.