81 www.ijissh.org | Int J Innov Stud Sociol Humanities | Volume 7, Issue 12 2022 INTRODUCTION The notion of heritage was being invented during the course of the 18th century, but it was only with the social difusion of tourism that the word and the phenomenon stabilized and grew, especially from the 1970s and 1980s. (Lazzarotti, 2017, p.12). During the first half of the 19th century, Europe saw the emergence of the notion of “historic monument” at the same time as that of tourism. However, if the coexistence of two phenomena does not necessarily mean that they are linked by relationships, tourism and heritage seem to be co-constituted, especially that today everything become heritage, which is why it is developed for tourism purposes. On the other hand, heritage development is perceived as a commitment to a past to be safeguarded and enhanced. This relationship to the past meets the tourist gaze, because the enhancement of old buildings is carried out for visitors, not for the local society. For the latter, it is a way of highlighting a collective identity. (Poirrier, 2009, p50). Today, most countries have become aware of the importance of protecting and enhancing their heritage, by adopting multiple strategies and setting up several tools and mechanisms for enhancement, of which tourism is one of these forms the most important. Tourism has taken an important place in the world, it has become a flourishing activity, it appears to be the largest industry in the world according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and its growth is far from diminished being a “ Of the most powerful levers of globalization” (FERAH Sihem, 2015, p. 01). Algeria is one of the countries rich in heritage; it has diversity and a wealth that tell a story full of events, from the civilizations of antiquity to the colonial period, including the Phoenicians, the Romans, Muslims and Ottomans. Old Mila happens to be one of those sites that unfortunately day by day sufer from many problems of degradation and deterioration of the urban or architectural level. This historical center is classified as national heritage by the decree of November 03, 1999, an open-air museum which tells through its traces the history of the succession of many civilizations by ofering precious values. International Journal of Innovative Studies in Sociology and Humanities ISSN 2456-4931 | Open Access | Volume 7, Issue 12, 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20431/2456-4931.071209 The Integration of Historical Heritage in the Process of Tourism Development: Case of Old Mila Khadidja DJABER 1 , Djamel DEKOUMI 2 1 Class A assistant teacher, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Science and Technology, Mohammed Seddik BENYAHIA University, Jijel, Algeria, BP. 98 Ouled Aissa, Jijel, 18000, Algeria. 2 Professor, Institute of Management of Urban Techniques, university of Constantine 3 Salah BOUBNIDER. The question of the protection of historic sites and their enhancement through cultural tourism is one of the issues posed today with acuity. Algeria is one of the countries with strong historical and cultural potential in the Mediterranean, it has a considerable diversity of heritage, the latter are still virgin and not exploited because of a “rudimentary” national tourist policy. The historic site of Old Mila, is one of the most interesting sites, which has real historical and cultural assets which are unfortunately unexplored or even marginalized, this situation has caused many problems of degradation of its buildings which are falling day by day in ruins. From our case study, this article focuses on the role of cultural tourism for the enhancement of historical heritage. The research revealed that the development of an architectured approach is the appropriate strategy to conserve and enhance the site of Old Mila and integrate it into the process of cultural tourism by following a method based on a theoretical study and another empirical one. Key words: Historical site, cultural tourism, architecture approach, Algeria, Old Mila. Abstract Received: November 17, 2022 Accepted: December 07, 2022 Published: December 13, 2022