Lisbon Fado as Heritage of Humanity: Interconnections with Tourism

Resumo

The city of Lisbon and its historic quarters have a cultural tradition and identity associated with fado, which was classified as “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in 2011. In this context, this study sought to find out how territorial and sectorial planning and management policies have contributed to tourists’ appreciation of fado. In terms of methodology, the literature on this topic was reviewed. A content analysis was then carried out on a set of planning and management documents, among them the “Reports and Accounts” of the Empresa de Gestão de Equipamentos e Animação Turística (Facilities Management and Tourism Entertainment Company), the municipal company that manages Lisbon’s Museu do Fado (Fado Museum). The study’s results confirm that the importance of this intangible heritage for tourism in Lisbon and its historic quarters has been widely recognised. The findings also show that a set of initiatives are continually being implemented under the “protection plan”, such as strengthening the archival network, creating and disseminating a digital (sound) archive of fado phonograms, developing educational programmes, generating publications and creating fado routes.