Elisabete Figueiredo

Host–guest relationships in rural tourism: evidence from two Portuguese villages

Rural tourism is receiving increasing interest, but not all areas have the same tourism potential, whereas evidence also reveals negative impacts on tourism. It is therefore important to analyse the tourism phenomenon at the local scale and understand a most important dimension of the rural tourism experience – social interaction. This is sought and appreciated, for distinct reasons, by both tourists and local communities, but little is still known about concrete interactions taking place, how these are interpreted, and may become more satisfactory for all involved. These questions are discussed based on results of an in-depth, qualitative approach on rural tourism in two Portuguese villages, comparing perspectives of hosts and guests, as well as of two distinct destination realities.

Imagine There's No Rural: The Transformation of Rural Spaces Into Places of Nature Conservation in Portugal

One of the most relevant issues in the growing (social and institutional) identification of the environment, nature and rural regions is the creation of protected areas.This is held to be an important aspect in the conception of the countryside as an environmental reserve. As a consequence of the processes of industrialization and urbanization which have dominated modern societies in recent decades, as well as from global socio-economic transformation, considerable parts of European rural areas (mainly the southern ones and particularly the Portuguese ones) could essentially be considered as marginal spaces or agricultural areas of low income and productivity.This situation led the majority of Mediterranean countries and some peripheral areas of more central countries in the European Union (from the 1970s onwards) to respond to the pressures and recommendations of international agencies, scientific bodies and of society as a whole in order to convert remote rural areas into spaces for environmental and natural conservation and protection. Despite having some advantages, instituting rural spaces into environmental and natural conservation areas can also present important constraints. In this article we will discuss some problems in the conversion of Portuguese rural areas, as well as consequences for the future of rural regions in Portugal.

Contributions of tourism to social inclusion of persons with disability

Tourism, although a relevant part of the modern lifestyle in economically more developed countries, is even in these countries not accessible to all, with particular barriers existing for persons with disabilities. These barriers are not only physical, but also internal, cultural and social. Tourism and leisure have revealed many benefits for individuals with a disability, enhancing personal development, quality of life, recovery and contribution to social inclusion. This article discusses the potential of tourism for people with disability and presents the results of an exploratory study undertaken in Portugal aiming at a better understanding of this market and its profile, desires and constraints experienced when participating in holidays and leisure activities. This information should contribute to the debate on the potential contributions of tourism to improving social inclusion of persons with disability, while simultaneously permitting tourism providers to better integrate this group in their clientele.

Immersed in Green? Reconfiguring the Italian Countryside Through Rural Tourism Promotional Materials

Rural tourism agents and operators occupy a central role in the use and diffusion of certain social representations of rurality through the mobilization and utilization of specific (yet increasingly global) signs and symbols that, in the urban imaginary, characterize typical and traditional rural settings. Rural tourism promotional materials may contribute to the reconfiguration of the countryside more in accordance with an idealized rural than with the reality of local features. This chapter examines how rural areas and rurality are presented and commodified, using an exploratory content analysis of online and offline materials combined with a survey directed at rural tourism entrepreneurs in five municipalities of two different Italian regions – Campania and Tuscany. Evidence strongly suggests a discrepancy between the real and the portrayed rurality, pointing at the emergence or reinforcement of rural reconfiguration processes, shaped by external and often global images and imaginaries.

McRural, No Rural or What Rural ? – Some Reflections on Rural Reconfiguration Processes Based on the Promotion of Schist Villages Network , Portugal

This chapter debates the future of remote rural areas in Portugal, taking into account the current processes of reconfiguration based on the revalorisation of those areas mainly as ‘consumable’ places. Tourism and related activities are the most relevant ways through which rural territories are being consumed. These processes are, to a certain extent, the main driving forces of the transformations taking place in rural areas, not only in material terms but also in symbolic terms. The touristic promotion of the countryside is often based in ‘global’ images rather than in local features, apparently inducing a process of ‘McRuralisation’. Based on the content analysis of promotional materials presented in the website of the Schist Villages Network, Portugal, we intend to reveal the main features used to promote and sell this territory, and its global and/or local character, as well as to discuss the potential consequences in terms of rural reconfiguration paths.

Accessibility as Competitive Advantage of a Tourism Destination: The Case of Lousã

Tourism destinations are facing intense and increasing competition worldwide, while consumers are ever more demanding, requiring not only service quality but also socially responsible and sustainable destinations. In this context, developing accessible tourism at a destination may help gain competitiveness in an underserved, typically most loyal market. Developing accessible tourism may also create a culture of social responsibility. This would enhance a shared, human and involving vision of the destination amongst stakeholders, including tourists who increasingly value socially responsible positions of economic actors in the tourism industry. The development of this approach is shown for Lousa, a small tourism destination focusing on accessible tourism as a core of its development strategy, a strategy developed through a stakeholder participatory approach. In this chapter, we present a study that helped develop the strategic positioning of Lousa, combining qualitative and quantitative methods and integrating visions of several relevant stakeholders.

Fertile Links? : Connections Between Tourism Activities, Socioeconomic Contexts and Local Development in European Rural Areas.

Despite their diversity, European rural areas are facing major changes in economic and social terms, mainly due to transformations in the role, meaning and place of agriculture. These changes have been widely debated over the last decades, from diverse theoretical and methodological points of view (e.g. Cloke, 2006; Cloke & Goodwin, 1993; halfacree, 2006; Figueiredo, 2003; Marsden, Lowe & whatmore, 1990; Marsden, 1998; Mormont, 1994; Shucksmith, 2006). Although the impacts of the transformation processes have been diverse in different rural contexts, the general tendency seems to be a profound change in agricultural activities (e.g. Marsden, 1995, 1998; Figueiredo, 2008; Jollivet, 1997; Ramos-Real, 1995). Particularly in peripheral European regions the impacts resulted in a more intense loss of competitiveness and the decline of the productive character strongly contributed to the emergence of new roles and functions for rural areas. The rural that emerges from these processes is frequently presented, both in the academic and in the political spheres, as multifunctional (e.g. CCE, 1988; Oliveira Baptista, 2006). without denying the relevance of the concept of multifunctionality and its effective and well succeed operationalization in some cases, it is therefore worthwhile to question the reasons that led to a generalization of this perspective in the last two decades (Figueiredo, 2011). The (agricultural) monofunctionality and the identity based on it, which marked rural areas throughout centuries, seem nowadays to be replaced by a certain functional schizophrenia to which rural areas appear unable to correspond, given the absence of the necessary tools and capacities (e.g. Figueiredo, 2011; Nave, 2003). The agricultural, economic and social crises that characterize

A look at forest fires in Portugal: technical, institutional, and social perceptions

Forest fires affect Portugal and other southern European countries to a greater or lesser extent every year, causing severe environmental, social, and economic damage. This research is based upon the analysis of the results of a case study on the technical and social perceptions of multiple dimensions of forest fires in Portugal, which brings together the views and perspectives of different entities with expertise in forest management and in forest protection against fires, forest owners, and members of the public. Assessing perceptions of forest fires has proved to be relevant when it comes to a greater involvement of the local population in forest management. The results show that the opinions of local respondents were consensual in identifying crime as the main cause of the forest fires. Additionally, it is the repeated failure to clean the forest biomass which cause the rapid spread of forest fires. Damage caused to the environment was more of an issue with the local forestry technicians, and economic issues were at the forefront for the local community. Various solutions were put forward to mitigate these problems, but everyone agreed that cleaning the forests biomass and punishing arsonists should be at the top of the list of priorities.

What Is Shaping Rural Areas in Europe? Introduction

In recent decades, most rural areas in Europe have undergone socioeconomic decline and restructuring, shifting from densely populated spaces dominated by primary sector-based economic activities, particularly agriculture, to sparsely populated and multifunctional spaces of production and consumption. In these new spaces, agriculture and forest production are combined with other functions and economic activities linked in particular to environmental or nature conservation concerns or to the tourism industry.

A Blot on the Landscape: Consensus and Controversies on Wind Farms in Rural Portugal

Abstract In recent years, Portugal has witnessed the siting of 250 wind farms, particularly in mountainous and rural areas. Even though, unlike other European countries, general public consensus seemed at first to prevail, protests by local population and ENGOs have been increasing of late (many broadcast by the media) – the outcomes of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) provide a good example. This chapter has two main objectives. On one hand, it examines how rural landscapes are discursively framed in the press when the Portuguese media picks up wind energy issues. On the other hand, by analysing EIA reports, it aims at identifying the social actors involved in the decision process of the siting of wind farms in rural or peri-urban areas, the arguments for and against the location of these facilities and how the (rural) landscape is framed and represented. The empirical material is drawn on three different sources: media analysis of the public discourse on landscape issues related to wind farms; an analysis of EIA reports regarding wind farms in Portugal and an analysis of official positions on this issue assessed through the Environmental Impact Declarations (EID) of EIA processes. It is concluded that despite the lack of media attention to landscape impacts’ of wind farms, the existing discursive frames are often attached to dichotomized cultural meanings: it either deems wind farms as technological tools for landscape progressive transformation or as a risk to its pristine image. As to the EIA reports, landscape matters are more visible and important and at times sufficient to reject approval or change of the siting of a wind farm.