Historical-Cultural Sustainability Model for Archaeological Sites in Mexico Using Virtual Technologies

Abstract

The use of virtual and immersion technologies has expanded considerably due to their impact on user experience, economy, knowledge, and sustainable conservation of cultural heritage according to studies conducted in various parts of the world in different disciplines (architecture, economy, entertainment, health, tourism, etc.), including on tourism in Mexico. These technologies are used in some archaeological sites, but development and implementation are scarce due to the lack of economic strategies, infrastructure, and human capital, which are preventing the sustainable exploitation of those sites, although some of these sites have met the basic requirements for providing a better experience to visitors. However, these sites should be studied to propose integral solutions not only to improve the tourist experience, but also to assist in their protection, conservation, and sustainable development. Here, we used knowledge from the soft systems methodology and the hologram generation system to generate proposals to solve the problem described. The result is a sustainable historical-cultural model based on the systemic approach, whose objective is to positively impact the visitor experience while maintaining harmony with the environment.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) Driven Sustainable Cultural Heritage Tourism

“…A total of 59 studies closely related to SDG 11 were screened from the results of the micro-qualitative analysis, of which 27 studies related to the specifc goal of SDG 11.3 regarding tourism management and facilities management, 27 studies were associated with SDG 11.4, dealing with cultural heritage risk management, cultural heritage conservation tools, and adaptive tourism development of heritage, and fewer concern SDG 11.6, with only six studies on reducing the environmental impacts of built heritage. As shown in Table 1, the case study [3,9,16,23,26,28,31,35,47,50,52, is the most often utilised research method for exploring BIM-driven cultural heritage conservation for sustainable development in cultural heritage tourism for SDG 11, since heritage conservation and planning management typically necessitate specialised sustainable measures [79], followed by modelling [5,7,19,21,33,[80][81][82][83][84], mixed research [4,8,15,[85][86][87][88][89], literature review [14,25,[90][91][92], and expert interviews [6,34,36]. The preservation and revitalisation of architectural building history is a component of urban renewal and construction [93].…”

“…Cultural heritage conservation is a key driver of urban regeneration [8] and a top priority in the context of sustainable urban development [9]. As shown in Table 1, the research often employs case studies [3,9,26,31,47,50,[57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65]. The most sustainable approach to maintain heritage is through adaptive reuse [25,90,93], focused on developing cultural heritage tourism [25], adapting urban public areas [86,94], and adapting housing [57].…”

“…However, BIM platforms with protocol standards can bring architectural heritage into VR, AR, or MR environments [99], or develop online access platforms for cultural heritage, which helps to distribute and popularise heritage history [87] and is more favourable to the marketing of a city's tourism brand. The significance of innovative technologies is to provide greater inclusiveness in virtual tours of cultural heritage, being free from physical conditions and time constraints, especially for people with limited mobility, which reduces inequalities to some extent [3,50] and broadens the audience for tourism. Hence, achieving conservation improvements in heritage requires encouraging innovation.…”

“…The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) emphasises that culture is at the heart of sustainable development policies [2]. Architectural heritage is part of the cultural heritage and provides a sense of identity and belonging for future generations [3]. The conservation of architectural and building heritage in an urban context is about making cities more livable and sustainable [4].…”

“…Currently, in the era of globalisation and integration, cultural characteristics have become an important factor of differentiation for cities to compete. Heritage tourism has become an important channel for tourists to learn about the culture of the city [3], in which culture is an important credential for reuniting communities and enhancing the identity of future generations, for which is vital to integrate architectural conservation, development, and cultural transmission [29].…”