France can be considered as a free, in an open place library with a great majority of mural paintings. A small initiative for amelioration of the external façade of some buildings, resulted in a high quality, with great aesthetic art that more and more cities seek to obtain. It is a kind of art, which has the power to unite the public and private sector of a city and assure a smooth cooperation between artists and local community. In spite of the dangers, it continues to expand and engage a fanatic audience.
Yet, literature reviews remain incomplete, leaving many queries with no answers. This research is just a trigger for future study and elaborations on questions like: ‘Should they be part of a city’s cultural heritage?’, ‘Do they have a deeper meaning or they are just drawings on an ugly wall?’, ‘Can they be part of a destination campaign?’, ‘Are they appreciated by the travelers?’.
It was followed a qualitative method of research and it can be characterized as explanatory, developing from a broader case study- mural paintings in France- to more specific sub-case studies that is the five French cities that host “trompe l’oeil” walls and several mural artworks. There is a special focus on the measures and actions taken by each city in order to promote its wall paintings with the best possible way and how these actions are perceived and rated by the general public.
The research reveals that tourism offices include mural paintings as destinations’ attractions, some cities more than others, yes people’s reviews on TripAdvisor show the expected surprise when meeting the exhibit but they anticipate more. Social media are chosen as a research area, because they are constantly gaining ground as a mean of organizing holidays. More and more people are getting inspired and prefer peer to peer recommendations on TripAdvisor and authentic pictures on Instagram.
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