[The seminar is free but places are limited, so registration is required]
 

Overview

In a general sense, everyone is thinking “what’s next?” In this moment of transition, what about the future of small-scale and community-based creative tourism? How can we work collectively to move forward together?

Although the existing challenges of small-scale creative tourism continue, these days, we are noticing many references to “community-based tourism”, “regenerative tourism”, “people-centred tourism”, and “transformative tourism” – as well as “proximity tourism”. We are hopeful that creative tourism can be viable and attractive in a post-Covid-19 tourism/travel world, for both domestic and international travelers – as well as for the hosting communities.

This is the first “global conversation” webinar within the umbrella of CREATOUR International, an informal network to further knowledge exchange and capacity-building among creative tourism researchers and small-scale practitioners internationally. It aims to build closer research–practice relations through providing a platform for sharing experiences, practice-based knowledge, and insights from research; articulating and discussing issues and solutions; and learning from one another to inform the growing field of creative tourism internationally. CREATOUR International builds upon the numerous international connections made through CREATOUR’s conferences and other activities, emails, online conversations, participation in events, and the relationships formed in the course of producing publications. CREATOUR International aims to further both research and practice in the field of creative tourism, with special attention to initiatives in smaller places, and to foster and inform progressive connections between culture, tourism, and holistic local development.

What is creative tourism?

CREATOUR’s approach to creative tourism involves four dimensions: active participation, creative self-expression, learning, and community engagement. Creative tourism offers visitors the opportunity to develop their self-expression and creative potential through active participation in workshops in an array of areas, such as visual arts, performing arts, traditional crafts, gastronomy, and spirituality—each characteristic of the destination where they take place. To foster meaningful connections to place, essential features of these experiences are strong links between the creative activity and the place, and engagement with the local culture and community.

What is CREATOUR?

CREATOUR - Creative Tourism Development in Small Cities and Rural Areas is a national creative tourism incubator and multidisciplinary research project. CREATOUR develops new knowledge on creative tourism in Portugal and provides a networking and capacity-building platform for creative tourism activities in small towns and rural areas of Portugal. The three-year project (2016-2019) focuses on small cities and rural areas in the Norte, Centro, Alentejo, and Algarve regions of Portugal. It is funded under the Joint Activities Programme of PORTUGAL 2020, by COMPETE2020, POR Lisboa, POR Algarve, and Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.
 

The session will also encourage open discussion among participants. For any questions, please email to creatour@ces.uc.pt