Dynamic Map-based Data-Centric Approach for Tourism and Cultural Heritage Preservation Digital Twins

Tourism is an essential and growing economic activity worldwide, bringing benefits such as job creation, revenue generation, and tax revenue, and driving economic prosperity. Tourism activity may also have negative impacts on cities, such as overtourism and pressure on housing and real estate, which are increasingly recognized as problems communities must address. Cultural heritage is an essential asset of cities and countries that must be preserved. Cultural heritage, as an asset, is commonly explored through tourism activities and may have negative impacts, including physical degradation, commodification, and loss of authenticity, among others. Tourism and cultural heritage management are common elements of smart city digital transformation strategies, in which the well-being of citizens and the maintenance of public assets are among the goals. A digital twin is a data-driven virtual representation of a physical object, system, or environment. It typically integrates real-time data and computational models to simulate, monitor, analyze, and predict the behavior and performance of the represented entity. However, although digital twin technology has been widely adopted in manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and urban planning for smart cities, there remains a gap in specialized digital twins for tourism and cultural heritage management. This paper proposes a QGIS-based, data-centric approach to digital twin frameworks that supports the management, development, and deployment of tourism and cultural heritage services and applications in smart cities. The data-centric approach is embedded in a specialized digital twin focusing on the Salvador Historic Center - Pelourinho, a highly important cultural asset and tourism spot for the city of Salvador. Currently, Pelourinho faces a persistent challenge in sustaining tourism flux while safeguarding its cultural and heritage assets. Preliminary results indicate that the data-centric approach adopted by Pelourinho's DT facilitates data visualization, integrates data silos, and adequately supports management, enabling managers to address heritage preservation and conservation issues, control over-tourism, and implement urban resilience and climate adaptation measures.