Abstract

This study explores the interrelationship between cultural heritage, collective memory, and tourism development in the Kakheti region of Georgia. The research adopts an interdisciplinary approach combining cultural memory theory and heritage tourism studies with secondary empirical tourism data. Tourism is conceptualized not merely as an economic sector but as a culturally constructed system in which historical narratives, identity formation processes, and spatial practices interact. The theoretical framework integrates Pierre Nora’s concept of lieux de mémoire, Jan Assmann’s cultural memory theory, and contemporary heritage tourism scholarship. The findings indicate that Kakheti operates as a multilayered heritage landscape where tangible monuments, intangible wine traditions, and collective memory narratives collectively shape tourism development patterns. Empirical evidence from national tourism statistics and UNESCO heritage recognition demonstrates that wine tourism and cultural routes constitute the most dynamic and rapidly expanding segments of the regional tourism economy. The study contributes to heritage tourism literature by proposing a conceptual model in which cultural memory functions as a mediating mechanism between heritage assets and tourism-driven economic development.