02158nas a2200229   4500000000100000000000100001000000100002008004100003653001200044653002200056653001900078653002900097653001200126100001700138700001600155245008600171856015000257300001200407490000600419520148300425022002001908       2012                            d10aCluster10acultural heritage10aMotor industry10aRegional competitiveness10aTourism1 aF.G. Alberti1 aJ.D. Giusti00aCultural heritage, tourism and regional competitiveness: The Motor Valley cluster  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84873089788&doi=10.1016%2fj.ccs.2012.11.003&partnerID=40&md5=1dec6bff0244face22f7a7ac9aa70b6f  a261-2730 v33 aTourism, one of the most relevant industries worldwide, plays a key role in the development and competitiveness of many regions. Despite the increasing debate in literature on cultural heritage- and tourism-based clusters for regional competitiveness, the relation between cultural heritage and competitiveness remains vastly unexplored, especially with respect to the mediating role played by tourism. The aim of the present paper is to explore the formation and development of clusters where tourism and cultural heritage engage in a virtuous circuit for regional competitiveness. To this purpose, the paper builds on the longitudinal case study of the Motor Valley cluster (around Modena, in Italy), illustrating and analysing its formation and development from 1999 to 2011. In the selected case, the regional identity and heritage on the motor sport industry since 1800 allowed the creation of a new form of cluster, where major firms in the motor industry, artisans, tourism organisations, sport facilities, institutions and tangible and intangible cultural heritage (corporate and industry museums, private collections, archives, expertise and practices) are beneficially tied together in a self reinforcing mechanism of competitiveness, nurtured by tourism flows. The findings of our work will help city leaders and regional policy-makers understand the formation and development of clusters where tourism is synergic with cultural heritage for regional competitiveness.  a18779166 (ISSN)