Cultural tourism as a tool stimulating coastal tourism in rural areas

• Autor(a) principal: Ramos, Dina
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Lopes, Eunice Ramos, Marques, Célio Gonçalo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/29087
• topic: Coastal Tourism in Rural Areas; Cultural Tourism; Destination Management; Information and Communication Technologies; Territory; Travel Motivation.

The rising demand for new destinations, for different cultures and realities, the search for authentic heritage, and the need for real and genuine experiences is setting the course for the development of tourism in the future. A tourism destination where a strong image is associated with the cultural heritage can display forms of culture interpretation and communicate symbolisms that activate the minds of tourists awakening them to the historical and cultural specificities of territories. Coastal tourism in rural areas, as a diverse territory of peculiar features that combines sea culture and tradition with the simplicity and genuineness of the sparsely-populated territories can be strongly stimulated by a unique and transversal communication and interpretation culture, promoting a new image of the territory. The aim of this study is to understand how cultural tourism can contribute to the leveraging of development opportunities for this territory (rural coastal) based on new forms of governance and spatial planning, and whether these can contribute effectively to its development and to, consequently, reduce the effects of seasonality. The study that we intend to/will develop is based on the model of development of coastal tourism in rural areas proposed by Ramos (2014), which coupled with the knowledge and study of cultural heritage sites through questionnaires and interviews, can might respond to our question and serve as a valuable input to the knowledge and development of this type of tourism. Cultural heritage, as a center for the representation and promotion of cultures, allows for a richer human experience and an inspiring source of knowledge and perpetuation of traditions. It constitutes, in our view, a strong contribution to the development of the rural coastal territories.