The Mutual Relation Between Identity and Cultural Tourism (Reimaging Historic Districts)

Since the civilizations began, humans have travelled. Food, water, safety or acquisition of resources, through trade, was the early travel goals; but the idea of travel for pleasure or exploration rapidly emerged. Today, tourism has become a collection of activities, services, and industries that deliver a travel experience for individuals or groups that are travelling away from home. Cultural Tourism has been defined as 'the movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal places of residence, with the intention to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs'. These cultural needs can include the solidification of one's own cultural identity, with respect to cultural diversity. Currently, Cultural Tourism is growing in importance on the national and international levels. It has become an important instrument of knowledge; a tool for accelerating integration and a vehicle of culture. It is considered a factor of economic development on one hand; while on the other hand it’s a reflection of a society’s needs and circumstances represented through its architectural heritage. In Egypt, Heritage Identity has been affected by different eras through many factors – including political, religious and economic ones - which led to the diversity in the architecture of each period of time over the ages. Therefore, we can say that Egypt enjoys a distinguished cultural heritage, accumulated over thousands of years