Browsing by Author "Rodrigues, Cristina"
Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Health and wellness activities: contemporary market of thermalismPublication . Rodrigues, Cristina; Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Costa, Vânia; Alves, Maria José; Vaz, Márcia; Fernandes, Paula Odete; Nunes, AlcinaThe health and well-being market has suffered many evolutions in recent years, the differences occurring mainly in your holistic vision, demand profile and supply structuring. This article aims to present theoretical reflections on the scientific advances in this area over the last years. The study presents a literature review, published in the last years, on two intrinsically related themes: “Health and Well-being” and “Thermalism.” It then analyses the profile of consumers/practitioners. The methodology incorporates a mixed approach: a bibliometric and content analysis of the existing literature. It is also intended to identify the main trends and transformations that have occurred in the health and well-being market. Additionally, it intends to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge in this field of research. The main conclusions are related to the increase in publications in this area with different subjects, highlighting its growing interest and relevance in society. It is observed an increasingly holistic understanding of health and well-being and its impacts on people's quality of life and a change in the consumer profile, which is increasingly young and healthy with different motivations.
- Literary tourism in northern portugal: an exploratory perspectivePublication . Sousa, Bruno; Liberato, Pedro; Liberato, Dália; Pereira, Carina; Rodrigues, Cristina; Costa, Adriano; Malheiro, Alexandra; Esteves, Elsa Tavares; Carvalho, PedroThe present study intends to structure a tourist offer based on literary tourism, with the proposal of literary routes in the Northern region of Portugal, in particular the municipalities covered by the Regional Tourism Authority - Entidade Regional de Turismo do Porto e Norte (ERTPNP), through the dynamisation of its literary heritage and its socio-cultural stimulation. It is expected to contribute to the promotion of tourism policies oriented to the development of new products and experiences, based on the identity and specificities of the different territories involved, with relevant authors and works. In addition, it is expected to develop a prototype of an APP for the promotion and dynamisation of one of the literary routes, the most representative of the literary heritage of the region which will provide an immersive and rich experience. A process that will involve the different stakeholders.The project aims to create a territorial database where a literary tourism development model can be applied through tourist routes. The criteria for applying the methodology will be based on: Cultural value of literary activities and their attractiveness to visitors; Literary nature of activities offered; Benefits for the local community; Involvement of the local community in the design of literary experiences; Relationship between visitors, local producers, and the local community; Use of local resources for the development of literary experiences; Use of digital techniques to develop engaging and participatory experiences.
- Literary Tourism: Literature Developments and Research Lines from 2015 to 2020Publication . Rodrigues, Cristina; Liberato, Dália; Esteves, Elsa Tavares; Sousa, Bruno; Liberato, Pedro; Costa, Adriano; Pereira, Carina; Malheiro, Maria Alexandra; Carvalho, PedroAlthough literary tourism is still an understudied field, the beneficial rela-tionship between tourism and literature is becoming very clear. Literary tourism involves the literary heritage of places, namely visits to sites related to literary works and the lives of writers. There are already some empirical studies that demonstrate the importance of this type of tourism as a guarantee of cultural enrichment of desti-nations and sustainable tourism practices. This tourism has begun to be explored in the development of tourism products and experiences, such as itineraries, or infras-tructures linked to literary heritage that increase the attractiveness and competitive-ness of destinations. This study analyzes literary tourism as a field of research and explores its state of the art through a bibliometric review that includes content anal-ysis. For this purpose, articles published in the period 2015–2020, identified in the Web of Science database, were analyzed. The results identify the main topics of these publications and their temporal analysis, the research methods and techniques applied, the case studies related to authors and works, also the geographies studied and some important insights on literary tourism that address different dimensions. Overall, this study provides a rich understanding of the contemporary study of literary tourism, in a particularly rich period in terms of scientific advances in this area, still under-expressed.
- Rural regeneration through creative tourism: Local discourses on cultural heritagePublication . Rodrigues, Cristina; Mendes, Teresa; Liberato, Dália; Brandão, Filipa; Esteves, Elsa Tavares; Liberato, PedroAlternative forms of tourism are gradually emerging, as tourism transforms itself and adopts new forms of consumption and development. It is therefore necessary to understand the new approaches to tourism sustainability in order to achieve more transformative results for destinations and their local communities. This research aims to identify creative tourism as the most equitable approach to achieving the sustainability and the regeneration of rural territories. Thus, the general objective is to understand how Cultural Heritage, as a tourist resource, can be used to promote regenerative impacts in a rural region of Portugal, particularly in Trás-os-Montes. As part of a qualitative methodology, the focus group interview technique was applied to three of the destination's stakeholders: Municipalities; Tourism agents; and Residents, to discuss the tourism promotion of a very particular heritage and its implications. The main results identify the greatest consensus among the participants, essentially regarding the suitability of creative tourism for the Cultural Heritage under study, from different perspectives. As well as five potential regenerative benefits for the destination: (i) Local Sourcing Practices, (ii) Social and Cultural Involvement, (iii) Sustainable Economic Performance, (iv) Inclusiveness Management, and (v) Education and Capacity Building, associated with nine United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Scientific narratives on creative tourism: a theoretical frameworkPublication . Rodrigues, Cristina; Liberato, Dália; Esteves, Elsa Tavares; Liberato, PedroIn the last decade, the literature on creative tourism has grown tremendously, in effective number of studies and consequently citations, becoming an emerging, relevant, and increasingly complex topic in contemporary tourism literature. This scientific advancement generates a large volume of information, opening space for different perspectives, multiple related issues, but also many consensual ideas. It is therefore essential to synthesize all this knowledge and bring clarity to the state of the art on creative tourism. Following this line of thought, the main objective of this paper is to provide a current scientific framework in this research area, from a conceptual point of view, presenting the most relevant issues, with focus on sustainability. To this end, a large body of scientific literature was analyzed through a combination of two techniques, namely content analysis and systematic literature review. These techniques were applied as a research methodology to identify keyword trends understanding its meaning and analyze the main links between creative tourism and tourism sustainability, respectively. Main results provide a critical analysis of its characteristics as well as the correlations between creative tourism and the sustainable development of tourism activity, highlighting the sustainable matrix of this new model of tourism.
- The intangible cultural heritage as a creative tourism product. The masks of Trás-os-MontesPublication . Rodrigues, Cristina; Liberato, Dália; Esteves, Elsa TavaresMany regions of the world and in particular Portugal, are associated with products, symbols, crafts, and traditions. These associations help to build the identity image of places and the perception we have of them as tourism destinations. This article aims to present theoretical reflections on the potential of intangible cultural heritage for the construction of creative tourism products, in an inland region of Portugal, with a particularly rich and dynamic tradition in socio-cultural terms. The study applies to Terras de Trás-os-Montes, where it is believed that several tourism products, of creative basis, may emerge from the Tradition of Masked: an ancestral intangible cultural heritage, common to several municipalities of the region. Using the qualitative methodology, the interview method was applied, to understand the perspective of individuals with relevant knowledge about the issue. The results presented, link Tradition to the enhancement of cultural identity, the development of tourism activity, the focus on creative tourism, and the dynamics of cross-border cooperation. These themes highlighted the importance and the positive contribution of this cultural heritage, internally, to the resident community and externally, to the tourism market.
- User's profile of a Portuguese thermal establishment: empirical studyPublication . Vaz, Márcia; Alves, Maria José; Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Costa, Vânia; Rodrigues, Cristina; Fernandes, Paula Odete; Nunes, AlcinaThe thermal tradition plays an important role for society by naturally promoting and improving individuals' well-being. Thermal treatments help cure diseases and prevent pathologies, including mental and social ones, providing users with a better quality of life. At the same time, such a wellness activity introduces leisure components resulting from a more holistic perspective on health and well-being. Given the importance of this topic, which just recently started to be the object of empirical studies in Portugal, the present study aims to identify the profile of those who attend a thermal spa. For this purpose, a self-administrated questionnaire was applied to the Termas de Chaves' users during the 2021 thermal season, i.e., between August and November. A convenience method of non-probability sampling allowed to obtain a sample of 220 thermal users. This establishment, located in the sub-region of Alto Tâmega, North of Portugal, has 300 years of history and vast experience in providing thermal services for different audiences. To better understand and identify the features of the thermal spa user, sociodemographic data were analysed and identified the characteristics, motivations, behaviours, preferences, and perceptions of the thermal spa users under study. The data collected was submitted to treatment through an exploratory quantitative analysis. The distribution data analysis was elaborated using frequencies, centrality and variability descriptive measures complemented by TwoStep cluster analysis. The results showed that most of the participants in Chaves thermal spa are women, with an average age of 69 years (SD=12.556), married, retired, and living in the northern region of Portugal. They seek these services in the season between summer and autumn, for medical advice, mainly for therapeutic reasons, and stay in the thermal spa, on average, for 14 days (SD=2.667). Moreover, the cluster analysis identifies three different groups of users to which thermal stakeholders should consider different policy approaches. By defining the users' profile, this empirical research presents a practical contribution since it provides a strategic orientation for the thermal establishments' stakeholders aiming, essentially, at the (re)qualification of supply and the increase of demand, thus contributing to the sectoral and regional competitiveness.
- User's profile of thermal establishments: a literature reviewPublication . Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Rodrigues, Cristina; Costa, Vânia; Alves, Maria José; Fernandes, Paula Odete; Vaz, Márcia; Nunes, AlcinaContemporary society has an increasingly broad and holistic perspective on health and wellness. It is scientifically proven that thermalism perfectly combines these two aspects. It provides a better quality of life and a complete state of well-being, physically and psychologically. Several studies have been carried out over the years, reflecting a paradigm shift in the conception of thermalism establishments. For this reason, the sector's stakeholders need to be prepared and have the necessary knowledge to respond to the different needs, characteristics, and motivations of both usual and new thermal users to define better action strategies. In this context, the research's main objective is to present a literature review and content analysis on the thermalism topic, through the most recognised databases, exploring the offer, identifying its users’ profiles and pointing out some trends for the market. As a result of the analyses, the growing interest and relevance of thermalism in scientific production stand out, particularly in tourism, as a social science. There are several studies that present a direct link between thermalism and tourism activity. It is notorious that thermal activity has both a recreational and medicinal dimension, all over the world. Literature analysis has also revealed the power of thermal waters for the treatment of a wide range of diseases and health issues, related to different medical specialities. Although the more traditional thermalism is still very present, the most recent studies portray some gradual changes on the demand and supply side, with a constant adjustment of both. Particularly in the user profile, there is evidence of a rejuvenated, healthier and heterogeneous demand, with different motivations to frequent the thermal spas. On the supply side, it can be seen that these establishments are seeking to reinvent themselves in order to complement their basic offer related to medical dimension, also focusing on the leisure, to enrich the experience of their regular users and attract others. Regarding the expected trends, they are mainly related to 1) Increased demand for prevention, leisure and well-being dimension; 2) Changes in the user profile; and 3) High potential for tourism activity.