Industrial tourism is tourism that enables us to find out about technological evolution, the past and present production processes, the places where such processes take place, the people who play a leading role, the culture surrounding it and its historical and geographical contexts.

When we refer to industrial tourism that uses an old production space that no longer fulfils the function for which it was created, we are talking about industrial heritage or historical tourism; and when we refer to industrial tourism based on spaces that are currently active, we call it living industry tourism. Nevertheless, both are industrial tourism which, in turn, is cultural tourism.

Industrial heritage/historical tourism helps us to see the architectural heritage, machinery and furniture, providing us with an idea of how a certain industrial sector has evolved. In some cases, such as the crafts, we see how a tradition—a way of doing things—is perpetuated, which may include new elements or techniques but which maintains the essence of its origins.

Nevertheless, industrial heritage/historical tourism also takes us back to a society that no longer exists. A moment in time such as the industrial revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries, when the working class consciousness was developed, transforming the way in which it interacted, was when the trade unions, political parties and ideas—some of them utopian such as Esperanto—emerged and some of which represented a real transformation of society. The industrial revolution was also a social revolution, of which we are still heirs.

Industrial tourism enables us to understand the economic and political context and find out how production activity transforms cities and landscapes, both physically and demographically. In short, it allows us to put ourselves in the shoes of our parents', grandparents' or great-grandparents' contemporaries.

On the other hand, living industry tourism helps us satisfy our curiosity of finding out how the things around us are made as well as the savoir faire of a trade, showing us the unique and differentiating features of some products over others. It enables us to value the quality of a job well done, educating us as consumers. We can also find out what the people of the place we are visiting live on and their most representative products.

The person reading this has probably already been on an industrial tourism trip, perhaps not knowing that in tourist jargon that is what it is called. Nevertheless, you probably found the experience to be interesting and engaging. In fact, for anyone with an interest in knowledge, industrial tourism has a magnetic attraction. This is because, apart from the technological and scientific (rational) interest, the human (emotional) factor challenges us all. The connection and empathy generated by the industrial tourism protagonists is not found in any other type of tourism. Deep down, we know that any of those people could be, or could have been, us