Abstract:

Different types of physical assets of historical origin such as structures, monuments, and squares are conserved by improving them through various restoration techniques, enabling them to have a touristic function. We witness an increasing number of district-scale or structure-scale restorations and conservations where structures throughout the world, particularly in the inner-city areas of the old city, eventually gain economic value in terms of recreational and touristic activities. The concept of “conservation” has started to play a vital role in most of the colonial capital cities in Southeast Asia, especially those connected to the coast. The role of conservation action in revitalizing the old cities in the Philippines, a former Spanish colony in Southeast Asia, earns them touristic-recreational functions. Most of the historical coastal cities, even in the pre-colonial period, such as Manila, which is a focal centre of the country in terms of cultural, political and economic activities, form the basis of the cultural heritage tourism of the country. The objective of this study concerns the restoration of the structures located in the historical inner-city area of Manila to take them under conservation and use them for touristic purposes.

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