When the street talks: understanding the impact of climate change on heritage tourism and sense of place in Wales

This empirical research paper examines the voices of local and host communities from Wales to understand the challenges and opportunities they perceive in promoting, preserving, and protecting Welsh national and local heritage tourism locations in the face of climate change risks. Places with Welsh heritage significance often hold stories and experiences shared by multiple individuals, communities, or nationalities, which contribute to their attachment to a site or location. Twenty-eight qualitative semi-structured interviews (individual and group) were conducted with forty locals and authorised experts in Wales to explore what could be learnt about the impact of climate change on Welsh heritage tourism, along with cultural heritage and place attachment. The voices from Wales raised concerns that intangible heritage could be significantly affected by climate change risk and climate action, and that it should be seriously considered in the context of place identity, cultural, natural and heritage tourism management.