Why do some people enjoy travelling to cities while others get bored with the city they live in? Why is it that sometimes you arrive in a new place and it still feels like a place you have visited before? In what way can we balance both the individual and the environment to explore a city? Urban tourism is growing rapidly, but it is also losing its authenticity and becoming unsustainable under consumerism. The research attempts to answer a question through a general urban tourism framework and an analysis of the specific situation in Glasgow: What can be done to make Glasgow city tourism service unique and sustainable in order to better meets the experience of visitors and residents?

Based on multi-stakeholder participation, the project proposal is structured on a mutually beneficial relationship among the city, visitors and residents. It rethinks the positioning of locals in urban tourism, not just as people who live in the city and are encountered by tourists, but also as those who have lived through a range of experiences and those who have the most power to tell the stories. The final output, a mobile app, is a shared narrative installation designed to encourage visitors to walk around Glasgow and explore the memories of civic life. The expenditure they make on the service will be allocated to residents and retailers.

Glasgow is a city that has experienced industry, trade, war, glory and then recession, and is now in the process of exploring further revitalisation. With the support of the local tourism sector, this service model is expected to interact well with people and businesses and open up a new future.