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RESEARCH LINES

Analyzing the tourism offer, products, experiences and social agents of the Douro

 

This research line intends to study the hospitality in the Douro region.

Main research tasks:

  1. To provide an overview of the territory, its boundaries and resources and a brief history of the tourism activity in the Douro region; travel and access; accommodation; restaurants; touristic activities and leisure;
  2. To identify differentiating tourism products: cultural, heritage, religious, nature, rural, river cruise, active, radical, gastronomic, well being, etc;
  3. To analyse the entire range of economic, social and political actors involved in tourism: entrepreneurs, tourism institutions, public opinion-makers and government decision-makers, tourism analysts and administrators, tourism educators and trainers, workers directly and indirectly employed in the tourism sector, from hotel receptionists and tourist guides to taxi drivers and souvenirs sellers, local residents and cyclically returning emigrant, farmers and public servants;
  4. To understand the overall tourist experience the Douro offers to the visitors ─ accommodation; cafés, bars, restaurants and clubs; museums; traditional festivals; cultural/sporting events; interpretation centers; landscape; sites of archeological interest; handicrafts; vineyards and wine; regional gastronomy;
  5. Tourism, renewable energies and eco-sustainability.

 

Expected results:

- 18 scientific articles;

- 9 book chapters;

- 4 books;

- 1 documentary;

- 4 guides;

- 1 screenplay;

- 1 catalog;

- 1 network;

- 1 website;

- Others: 2 doctoral theses (one in tourism).

The formed image and tourist reports of the Douro: tourism communication and mediation

 

The Douro region can be characterized as a tourism niche market. This requires a scientific analysis of the destination’s image and communication strategy, in order to propose an image in which the visitor is integrated with a sustainable development plan for the destination. This involves:

  1. Analyze the image of the Douro region proposed to potential visitors by official (public) and entrepreneurial (private) agents; analysis of the “tourist literature”;
  2. Evaluate tourism info points;
  3. Analyse UNESCO’s discourse on Douro as a World Heritage site;
  4. Research other forms of tourism communication, such as cinema, documentaries, literature, television, radio, webpages (such as Trivago, Booking.com, etc.) and blogs;
  5. Examine the geostrategic tourism’s positioning of Douro;
  6. Perceive the visitors’ sentimental image of the Douro: before, during and after the stay.

 

Expected results:

- 3 scientific articles;

- 1 Master's thesis;

- 1 post-doctorate;

- 1 book;

- 2 book chapters.

Tourist demand and the impacts of the tourism activity in the Douro

 

This research line aims to examine Douro’s tourist demand and the effects of tourism on the host communities. Its main objectives are:

  1. To research the social and economic profile of tourist visitors, and their motivations for choosing Douro as a destination; their social and leisure practices (in general and while visiting); their assessment to the destination and their overall tourism experience; their mobility/itinerary while visiting the territory; qualitative research (based on participant-observation) of Douro’s tourism demand;
  2. To perceive Douro’s most relevant attributes to its choice as a tourist destination; identification of groups or segments with homogeneous preferences regarding the characteristics that define alternative products and services;
  3. Assess residents’ perception of tourism, including their degree of involvement/non-involvement in tourist activities; identify market niches for community-based collective entrepreneurial initiatives, potentially benefitting women and youth;
  4. Understand the social, economic and environmental effects of tourism on the Douro region, on its residents and on its natural and cultural heritage.

 

Expected results:

- 8 scientific articles;

- 6 book chapters;

- 1 documentary;

- 1 web;

- 1 Master's thesis;

- 1 post-doctorate.

Digital marketing and new technologies for the Douro’s tourism development

 

This line targets the utilization and development of digital marketing tools and information and communication technologies (ICTs) for tourism in the Douro. Research goals:

  1. Evaluate the current level of utilization of digital marketing and new ICTs by tourism operators in the Douro;
  2. Assess the use of innovative tools and technologies in the Douro tourism industry compared to other similar destinations;
  3. Explore visitors’ receptivity and assessment of ICT innovations in the Douro;
  4. Propose strategies to encourage the use of digital marketing tools and new ICTs by tourism operators and firms;
  5. Design prototypes of interactive digital platforms and other digital marketing tools for tourism in the Douro.

 

Expected results:

- 4 scientific articles;

- 2 book chapters;

- 6 communications in congresses;

- 1 PhD thesis;

- 4 master's theses;

- 2 audiovisual products;

- 2 softwares;

- 1 patent.

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