02091nas a2200313   4500000000100000008004100001653001400042653001700056653002000073653002400093653002000117653003300137653001300170653001700183653001600200653002100216653003400237653002100271653001400292653001200306653001200318653001800330653001000348100002600358700002200384245008700406856015000493520113400643                                       d10aAttitudes10aAuthenticity10aApego a lugares10aCiudades Patrimonio10aHeritage cities10aIntangible cultural heritage10aJuventud10aneighborhood10aperceptions10aPlace attachment10aPatrimonio Cultura Inmaterial10aPlace attachment10aRESIDENTS10aTourism10aTurismo10aUrban tourism10aYouth1 aD.P. Sánchez-Aguirre1 aI. Alvarado-Sizzo00aImaginaries about intangible cultural heritage and tourism in Mexican Bajio cities  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85164983423&doi=10.1108%2fIJTC-01-2023-0006&partnerID=40&md5=cbfb1326e02c333c592f967ef4f9e3b63 aPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the imaginaries of Generation Z inhabitants of heritage cities in the Mexican Bajio regarding their city of residence and the institutional imaginary of urban tourism. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 186 students from five Mexican heritage cities completed an online questionnaire and participated in focus groups. The authors used a mixed approach with qualitative analysis for open-ended responses and a Kruskal Wallis test to measure attitudes towards tourism and its relationship to place attachment and intangible cultural heritage identification. Findings: The results showed a strong relationship between place attachment and perception of tourism, but attitudes towards tourism varied among the cities, and San Juan del Río was an outlier. Among the categories of intangible cultural heritage, oral traditions showed the least agreement between youth and institutional imaginaries. Originality/value: Few studies have considered Mexican youth and their imagery of the small/medium-sized city in which they live when it is promoted as an urban tourist destination.