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Tourism Management Perspectives
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Understanding and managing the rural tourism experience — The case of a historicalvillage in Portugal☆
Elisabeth Kastenholz a,⁎, Maria João Carneiro a, Carlos Peixeira Marques b,1, Joana Lima a
a University of Aveiro, Department of Economics, Management and Industrial Engeneering, Unit Research GOVCOPP, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago,3810‐193 Aveiro, Portugalb University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Department of Economics, Management and Sociology, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Av Almeida Lucena, 1,5000‐660 Vila Real, Portugal
☆ Initial note: This paper has been elaborated in the condesigned “The overall rural tourism experience and sustainment” (PTDC/CS-GEO/104894/2008), financed by Portue Tecnologia (co-financed by COMPETE, QREN e FEDER)Kastenholz/University of Aveiro. See also http://cms.ua.pt⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +351 234 370 361; fax
As an industry tourism is often perceived important as a means of development in marginal rural zones, suchdevelopments are thought to appeal to a post-modernmarket seeking ʻunique’ experiences. This paper examinesthe rural tourism experience offered by a small village in Central Portugal that uses its heritage and traditions tooffer such experiences. The case, derived from interviews, analyses the experience of tourists and residents, theinteractions between different stakeholders, impacts and marketing implications. It concludes that social, emo-tional and symbolic dimensions of the experience, associatedwith rurality, are important determinants of touristsatisfaction.
Rural tourism has attracted growing interest from both academicsand tourism and planning professionals, due to its potential as a devel-opment tool for rural areas and also given the trends in the tourismmarket. This market shows an increasing interest in the countrysideas a leisure space that provides open space for outdoor recreation,contact with nature and culture, socialization opportunities in a distinctenvironment that is valued for its lack of stress factors typical of urbanareas (pollution, congestion, noise, and tight timetables), and a returnto the origins and the “authentic”, often associatedwith a certain nostal-gia for the “good old days” (Cavaco, 2003; Figueiredo, 2004; Kastenholz,2010; Ribeiro & Marques, 2002; Walmsley, 2003). The benefits soughtin the market are accordingly recognized as being heterogeneous(Frochot, 2005; Kastenholz, Davis, & Paul, 1999).
With a diversified base of endogenous resources, various types ofexperience can be designed in rural areas to attract and satisfy this
text of a 3 year research projectable local community develop-guese Fundação para a Ciênciaand coordinated by Elisabeth
heterogeneous market, and diverse types of tourists will experiencethese resources distinctly in an active co-creation process (Kastenholz,2010;Mossberg, 2007). This co-creation of tourist experiences is a chal-lenge for the community, for local service providers and for the touriststhemselves. However, co-creating experiences that delight tourists,arouse emotions, make sense and appeal to the senses, that stay in themind and have the potential even to transform participants, may bethe best avenue for sustainable market success, potentially benefittingall those involved in the process (Kastenholz & Figueiredo 2010;Mossberg, 2007; Pan & Ryan, 2009; Richards & Wilson, 2005).
In this context, an understanding of how tourism experiences maybe supplied and managed in rural destinations, based on both marketand destination knowledge, is of paramount importance to help ruralcommunities successfully design and manage rural tourism destina-tions and, ultimately, to achieve sustainable rural tourism develop-ment. This conviction provided the inspiration for the three-yearresearch project entitled “The overall rural tourism experience andsustainable local community development”, which is financed bythe Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (co-financedby COMPETE, QREN and FEDER), and which began in June 2010.With the objective of defining integrative, sustainable destinationdevelopment strategies, the project is engaged in a holistic and inter-disciplinary analysis of the overall rural tourism experience, in whichboth guests and hosts interact with each other and with a complexsetting. The present study reports on work in progress, with referenceto the initial exploratory fieldwork in one of three villages studied—Linhares da Beira.
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This paper first briefly explores the concept of the overall ruraltourism experience, then it presents a short characterization of thecase study village, and finally it reveals the first results of an explor-atory study whose possible implications for destination marketingare also discussed.
2. The overall tourist experience in rural areas
The tourism experience in general is seen as extremely complex; itsmost commonly recognized dimensions are the emotional (Otto &Ritchie, 1996; Vitterso, Vorkinn, Vistad, & Vaagland, 2000), the social,particularly regarding specific interactions between tourists and hosts(Tucker, 2003; Morgan & Xu, 2009), and the cognitive, associated withperceptions of destination features, such as landscape, infrastructure,attractions (Gopalan&Narayan, 2010), alongwith “sensescape” dimen-sions (Dann & Jacobsen, 2003). The benefits of the tourism experienceare thus not restricted to functional or utility values, but include social,emotional, hedonic and symbolic dimensions, mediated by the senses(Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982; Knutson & Beck, 2004).
The rural tourist experience in particular must be understood asthe overall experience of a large number and diversity of resources, at-tractions, services, people and environments offered by a destination,not all principally designed for tourist use, but all of which impact onthe experience and are potentially sought out and valued by tourists.For the rural tourism experience the authors assume that specific fea-tures, such as hospitality and traditions as well as particular physicaldestination features (e.g. landscape), constitute the main ingredientsof an experience lived and co-created by tourists, tourism suppliersand the local population (Fig. 1).
Rural areas are frequently perceived in contrast to urban areas; thesmall settlements, small scale buildings, and the amount of openspace, only occupied by rural flora and fauna (Lane, 1994), offer thetourist a sense of freedom and opportunities for relaxing, undertakingoutdoor activities and being close to nature, corresponding to motiva-tions as revealed by studies of various types of rural tourist (Frochot,2005; Kastenholz, 2004; Kastenholz et al., 1999; Molera & Albaladejo,2007; Park &Yoon, 2009). The built and the human environment, specif-ically opportunities for a personalized contact between hosts and guests(Kastenholz & Sparrer, 2009; Tucker, 2003), are also highly valued com-ponents of the rural tourism experience. Finally, the traditional, ruralway of life, representing the “authentic”, is another fundamental compo-nent (Figueiredo, 2004; Sims, 2009), with different tourists valuing
Agents of supply Population
Tourists
Rural Tourism Experience
Rural destination Resources
Institutional Framework
Fig. 1. Model of the rural tourist experience.
distinct dimensions of this experience (Frochot, 2005; Kastenholz etal., 1999; Park & Yoon, 2009).
One major challenge for planning and managing rural tourismdevelopment is to satisfy diverse tourist segments seeking different ex-periences. Understanding individual motivations, expectations, percep-tions and meanings associated with this subjective experience (Uriely,2005) is therefore essential in order to provide high quality experiences.
The tourism experience is, in fact, both co-created and lived byseveral agents: tourists, the local population and tourism service pro-viders. Tourists assume an active role in defining their experience,starting the process through information-seeking and imagining wellbefore traveling, and activating a network of services available onsite at the destination (Gnoth, 2003). Additionally, the nature of tour-ists' participation during the experience (e.g. active or passive, charac-terized by absorption or immersion) is fundamental to the way theylive and remember it (Knutson & Beck, 2004).
The population and tourism suppliers also have an important in-fluence in shaping the tourist experience. Many of the core resourcesthat determine the competitiveness of destinations (Crouch & Ritchie,1999), e.g. culture and hospitality, are deeply rooted and embodied inthe host community. The opportunity to get to know the local way oflife and make contact with residents assumes a special role in therural tourism experience (Lane, 1994). The role of service providersin shaping the tourism experience is obvious, for example by design-ing the physical environment of service provision – the servicescape(Knutson & Beck, 2004; Verhoef et al., 2009) – and by determiningother more intangible service features, such as reliability and respon-siveness (Knutson & Beck, 2004).
However, the local community may also play an active role in cre-ating the tourism experience, helping tourists to “discover” and enjoya more intense experience of these places. Residents may share theirknowledge of a region's history, culture and natural heritage, or offeropportunities of closer contact with their way of life (e.g. by receivingtourists in their homes) or with local products (e.g. by promoting,selling or letting them taste these products) (Pina & Delfa, 2005; Sáez,Fuentes-Fuentes, & Lloréns-Montes, 2007). They may thus help buildbridges that reduce the distance between the tourists and the destina-tion context, namely by acting as “cultural brokers” (Cohen, 1988),allowing tourists to overcome barriers and gain access to a broaderexperience of the rural destination (Kastenholz & Sparrer, 2009).
The multifaceted character of the rural tourism experience callsfor an “integrated rural tourism” development (Saxena, Clark, Oliver,& Ibery, 2007), based on the coordination of an area's resourcesand stakeholders, and on sustainable development principles. In anycase, for successful and sustainable rural tourism development andmanagement, the complex rural tourism experience needs first to beunderstood in all its facets, aswe try to do next in a case study example.
3. Case study
3.1. Methodology
The tourist experience is simultaneously an individual phenome-non,marked by psychological factors, and a social phenomenon, involv-ing interaction between individuals (Jennings & Nickerson, 2006). Asa subjective experience, it is only accessible via introspection — thephenomenological approach proposed by Cohen (1979), which sug-gests qualitativemethods asmost adequate for analyzing the tourist ex-perience (Hayllar & Griffin, 2005).
The study of the rural tourist experience proposed here involvesthe analysis of several dimensions, namely: destination resources;the tourist experience lived by tourists, by residents and by agentsof tourism supply; and the institutional context that conditions tour-ism development. Documentary analysis and on-site observationwere undertaken to identify and characterize tourism resources. Toanalyze the tourist experience lived and conditioned by different
stakeholders (tourists, local population, agents of tourism supply andinstitutions), specifically their behavioral options, thoughts, emotionsand attitudes, the semi-structured interview was considered mostappropriate (Quivy & Van Campenhoudt, 1998). The guidelines forthe interviews were based on a literature review and refined ingroup discussions amongst researchers integrated in the project.The interviews were undertaken by trained interviewers.
Different stakeholders were interviewed: two representatives ofthe tourism department at the municipality, the parish president ofLinhares da Beira, four local supply agents, 14 residents and 14 tour-ists visiting Linhares. Interviews were conducted in March and April2011. Those responsible for tourism at the municipality and the par-ish president of Linhares were interviewed to collect informationabout the tourism dynamics in the municipality, the tourism develop-ment strategy, the involvement of the population, and existing re-sources and networks. Tourism suppliers were interviewed to elicittheir views of the tourist experience and how it could be improved.Residents were interviewed to assess their perceptions and attitudesregarding tourism in their village. Tourists were interviewed to gain abetter understanding of the tourism experience in Linhares. In linewiththe earliest conceptualizations of consumer experience (Hirschman,1984; Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982), as well as with a commonlyaccepted definition of the tourist experience (Otto & Ritchie, 1996),our analysis of the rural tourism experience takes into account thesubjectivity of the feelings and thoughts verbalized by the touristwhen assessing the experience during an interview, covering affective,sensory, and cognitive appraisals of the destination, alongwith motiva-tions for the visit, impressions, and satisfaction associated with the visitexperience.
All interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and subjected tocontent analysis in an attempt to identify the main issues of therespondents' discourse. This content analysis involved the categoriza-tion and systematization of discourses, based on the key points raisedby respondents (Eisenhardt, 1989). Categorization and identificationof patterns were subject to further validation by a group of re-searchers knowledgeable about the phenomenon — a triangulationapproach (using different researchers to interpret a phenomenon)(Denzin, 1978). Additionally, a comparative analysis was carriedout, firstly examining the interrelationships between the discourseand the literature review, and then trying to identify consistenciesand contradictions between different observations (McCracken,1988), also comparing the diverse stakeholder groups.
3.2. The context of the tourist experience— the historic village of Linharesda Beira
Linhares da Beira, a little village with less than 350 inhabitants, ispart of the municipality of Celorico da Beira, in the Centro region ofPortugal (Fig. 2), and is close to three cities of the region's interior –Viseu, Guarda and Covilhã – and to an important mountain area —
the Serra da Estrela. The demographic profile of this village is stronglymarked bymigratory flows, especially to France in the 1960s. Linharespresents a good example of a typical small village of the country'sinterior: villages that are losing population, with a high level of aging.
Being located in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park, Linhares isknown as the Portuguese capital of paragliding, due to its special nat-ural conditions and resources devoted to the practice of this sport,and it is also integrated in a series of pedestrian and mountain bikingtrails (some around historical themes).
Linhares is an old medieval village that has been inhabited sinceRoman times. Several graves, a Roman road and part of the building,now called the Forum of Linhares, confirm the Roman presence inthis village (Falhas, 2010). One of the main tourism attractions ofLinhares is its castle (Fig. 3), built at a geographically strategic posi-tion for the country's defense— at a line of penetration for those mov-ing from Spanish Castile to Coimbra and Lisbon. The castle, built on a
huge granite massif in the mid-eleventh century, was rebuilt in 1291after the final conquest of this territory from the Muslims, and istoday a national monument (CMCB, no date).
Other cultural resources are the legends of the village (especiallyone referring to Dona Lopa, a pious widow who lived in the villageand whose soul the devil sought to steal) and several monuments,including the Romanesque church (with important paintings by thePortuguese master Grão Vasco), manor houses, and the Manuelinepillory, as well as the restored architecture of the entire village(Fig. 4), which creates an consistent, aesthetically appealing “histori-cal” ambience. Since 1994, this village has been associated with thebrand “Historic Villages of Portugal”, a publically funded programmeto reclassify 12 villages of Portugal's Centro region.
The heritage of Linhares was embodied in the preservation (upuntil the death of the last incumbent in 2011) of a historical figure,the Alcaide, whose functions in the past related to the military de-fense of the village and the performance of judicial and administra-tive functions, and who reported directly to the king. In modern-dayLinhares his role was adapted: a resident elected by the community,he assumed functions similar to a tourist guide, explaining the village
Fig. 3. Linhares' castle.
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history and legends to visitors. Local products (artisan crafts, suchas embroideries, and agricultural products, such as honey, chestnut,and lamb) and gastronomy are also important cultural resources ofLinhares.
The village offers five official lodging units, including a campsiteand a small boutique hotel, two restaurants, a bar, a craft shop anda tourist information office. The number of visitors to the villagereveals its level of attractiveness. Although official numbers are cur-rently above 10,000 visitors a year, which is remarkable for a villageof the size of Linhares, numbers were well above 20,000 visitors ayear between 2002 and 2004, revealing some decrease in attractive-ness in the past years (see Graphic 1).
The domestic market clearly stands out (representing more than89% of the total market), although the share of international touristsincreased from 8% in 2005 to 11% in 2009 (AHP, 2010; CMCB, 2005).
Fig. 4. Architecture
3.3. The tourist experience in Linhares da Beira
3.3.1. The view of the village's tourism plannersRepresentatives of two entities involved in tourism planning for
the village were interviewed separately: the parish president andthe two representatives of the municipality's tourism department.They are responsible for the planning, organization and promotionof tourism in the municipality and the village.
These agents agree that activities that most contribute to localdevelopment are those making use of endogenous resources andproducts, such as queijo da serra (a regional mountain cheese), lamb,and olive oil, and those that emphasize the rich natural, historicaland cultural heritage. The representatives of the municipality identifyas its main attractive elements the queijo da serra and its museum,located in the municipality, the olive oil, the proximity to the Serrada Estrela, the integration in the Natural Park of Serra da Estrela, andthe local gastronomy. As with most important distinguishing factorsof the village, they agree on the importance of the brand “HistoricVillage of Portugal”, the castle and paragliding (Linhares annuallyholds one of the biggest paragliding events — the Linhares da BeiraInternational Paragliding Festival).
These institutional agents understand that the village's touristdemand is mostly domestic, dominated by same-day visitors, whosemain motivations for visiting are the nature, local history and gas-tronomy, as well as local products. When asked about the experiencesought by tourists when visiting Linhares, they refer to opportunitiesof contact with nature, of getting to know about history, an experi-ence with “typical flavours”, the presence of local people and a notionof “authenticity”.
The local tourism strategy, implemented since 2007, is based onthe creation of distinctive brands, on local products, and on network-ing between the stakeholders of the tourism sector. However, institu-tional agents also identify some obstacles, such as the inertness oflocal agents, and the difficulty of obtaining their trust and of promot-ing cooperation between them. The lack of an integrated strategicvision for the region, the sub-optimal use of existing infrastructuresand the ageing of the population are also recognized as developmentconstraints. Nevertheless, they refer to several initiatives being devel-oped in the region and are particularly hopeful regarding the recentlycreated Associação de Desenvolvimento Turístico das Aldeias Históricasde Portugal (Association for Tourism Development of the HistoricVillages of Portugal), because of its potential role in stimulating tour-ism development in the village. In general they perceive tourism as avital instrument for local development.
3.3.2. View of tourism suppliersTo gain an understanding of the tourism suppliers' views on the
experience sought and lived by tourists, and on possible ways to im-prove it, the proprietors of an accommodation unit, a handicraft store,a restaurant and a bar were interviewed separately. Supply agents
agree that tourism is the main activity stimulating local development.However, they identify important constraints to local development,namely the decrease of population, the bureaucracy involved ininvesting in tourism, and the lack of investment, particularly regard-ing stores offering local products.
These agents confirm that the village's tourist demand is mostlydomestic, composed largely of same-day visitors, although interna-tional tourists also stand out. They identify nature, local heritage andthe paragliding festivals as the tourists’ main motivations. Touristsalso seek opportunities to relax and to get away from urban life, asmentioned by one of the agents: “they come here to rest, to appreciatethe beautiful landscape and to find contrast with their daily and con-fusing lives….” As a consequence, when asked about the experiencedesired in Linhares, agents agree that tourists seek quietness, contactwith nature and local heritage. They also understand that most tour-ists appreciate the close family-like relations within the local commu-nity, as opposed to the anonymity of urban life.
To improve the tourist experience, agents suggest that severalfeatures of the village could be better used for tourism: “We havepotential for a lot of things, things that are not being used profitably”.Specific proposals include more stores selling local products and therevitalization and making commercial use of some traditions (espe-cially cooking of local products, but also storytelling) and resources.For example, some mills near the village might be opened to showthe process of flour production, associated to which also artisanalbread cooking could be demonstrated, as an interesting way of stag-ing an “authentic” experience of rural life. But agents also stress thedifficulties in implementing this kind of initiative, due to restrictivelaws, especially those concerning food production, which do not con-sider the particular case of small-scale traditional processes of produc-tion. Other suggestions involve the promotion of sports (reopeningthe paragliding school and promoting other sports) or events in thevillage (for example, using the space inside the castle).
3.3.3. The local population's viewA total of 14 inhabitants of Linhares were interviewed, eight
women and six men, the majority (nine) of whom are 50 years ofage or older. Nine are married, three are single and two are widows.Half present low education levels (below seven years of formal edu-cation). Most respondents are either professionally active (six), usu-ally in agriculture, or retired (five), except for two housewives andone student. Only half the sample indicated their level of monthlyhousehold income, corresponding mostly to low levels of income(one with a monthly household income below €500, four rangingfrom €501 to €1000, and two between €1001 and €2000).
Residents understand that their village is visited mainly due to itshistory and built heritage, particularly the castle, but also due to thebeauty of the restored village as a whole. Many recognize the rele-vance of the inclusion of Linhares in the “Historic Villages of Portugal”network, which functions as an already well-known brand. One resi-dent remembers another brand associated with Linhares, the “capitalof paragliding”, a reference to the niche market which dominatesvillage life during international festivals. Correspondingly, residentshighlight the built historical heritage, the population's hospitality,and the village's particular context in the landscape, as the mostdistinguishing elements of the village.
Most residents refer to visitors contacting them, either looking fora conversation with the local population or to obtain information,while only two perceive very little contact with visitors. Some specifythat tourists want to learn more about the village life, two residentssuggesting that foreign visitors tend to bemore respectful and lookingfor contacts. Residents tend to view tourists positively, as sympatheticand respectful, or neutrally, as different, urban or curious. As negativeclassifications only one resident named them “arrogant” and oneother referred to them as “causing damage”.
Opinions about the impacts and relevance of tourism for villagelife are divided. Some understand the impacts to be rather limited,while many residents recognize some impact of tourism on villagelife, mostly associated with a more dynamic, diversified and interest-ing social context as a consequence of tourists visiting the village. Onerespondent referred to an increased reputation of the village, enhanc-ing the community's self-esteem. They recognize that tourism hasbrought more life to the village, that “without tourism the villagewould be different, everything would be ‘stuck in time’, with the live-lier atmosphere and even only a few job opportunities helping tokeep residents who might otherwise have decided to leave (as is typ-ical in this kind of remote hinterland village in Portugal). More eco-nomic dynamism is acknowledged, although many residentsunderstand that economic impacts are sub-optimal, since most visi-tors are same-day visitors rather than tourists, visiting the villagefor a few hours. They state that, against expectations, “tourism hasnot really increased sales of local products, nor has it stimulated agri-culture”, and it does not therefore represent an important driver forlocal economic development.
In their view this situation might be improved through increasedand improved commercial and service offerings (specifically sellinglocal and agricultural products and opening more restaurants), theorganization of recreational, cultural and sports activities, and im-proved opening hours of services and attractions.
3.3.4. The tourists' viewA total of 14 tourists who had already travelled to rural areas were
interviewed. The majority of respondents are 40 years or older, fourbeing aged between 25 and 39 years. The sample includes eightwomen and six men, traveling mostly as part of a couple and withfamily (mostly their children), and all living in cities. Most respon-dents reveal high socio-economic status (doctors, nurses, teachers,and economists). The majority were traveling for three to seven days(interviews partly took place in the Easter holidays), many (eight)only passing by as same-day visitors. Asked about specific reasonsthat motivated their visit to the village, culture, history and the builtheritage are the dominant themes. Tourists refer mostly to specificfeatures of the village's tourism product, with one tourist specificallyreferring to the village belonging to the “Historic Villages of Portugal”.The castle and the architecture of the village stand out as the mostappealing features. Besides these Linhares-specific “pull motives”,tourists also cite curiosity, novelty seeking and the desire for differentexperiences.
Affective appraisals were categorized according to the affectivemapping system proposed by Russell et al. (Russell, 1988; Russell &Pratt, 1980). All the tourists reveal positive affective appraisals ofthe place, with some differences in the level of arousal attributed tothe local environment. Half of them focus only on the quadrant thatexpresses the “relaxing” quality of the experience (a combinationof high pleasantness and low arousal), using descriptors like peace,ease, calm, quiet, rest, relax, serenity, etc. The other half use positivedescriptors scattered along the arousal dimension. There is a highlevel of agreement between interviewees regarding the affective quali-ties attributed to a rural destination. Only one tourist mentions excite-ment, related to the experience of interesting things that are differentfrom everyday life. All the othermentions tend to contrast the rural des-tination with the stressful qualities of the home environment— besidesthe indicators of the relaxing quadrant, some tourists explicitlymentionthe contrast when employing affective descriptors such as relief, bal-ance and harmony. A remarkable finding is that, if not explicitly stated,this contrast effect between environments (Russell & Lanius, 1984) isalways implicit in the formulation used by tourists to verbalize the af-fective image of a rural destination, as also found by Marques (2009)in another rural destination in Portugal.
Tourists were also asked for their sensory appraisals of the destina-tion, and the answers reveal a pattern concurring with the affective
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appraisals. The calmness contrasting with urban stress is expressed by:sounds of wind and silence, along with animal sounds (“undoubtedlythe animal sounds, birds, crickets and the wind in the trees”); scentsfrom the plants, flowers and land; the colours green, related to nature,and grey, from the stone; and tastes of local food, particularly cheese.As for the cognitive image, tourists tend to express their judgementswith descriptors related to architecture and heritage, e.g. castle, past,stone, architecture, restored buildings. The visual dimension of thesensescape seems to stand out in this experience, confirming the roleof the tourist gaze (Urry, 2002). Visual images most referred to are thenatural landscape, mountains, green fields, stones,monuments, particu-larly the castle and stone houses and roads.
Conservation and restoration are the dominant concepts evokedby tourists to answer two different but related questions, regarding(a) the most distinctive features of the village, and (b) their mostpositive impressions from the visit. Tourists are impressed by “theuse they make of the stone of this place” and surprised “to see some-thing so well restored”. Besides these architectural and historicalitems, the natural and mountainous landscape are also mentionedby the majority of tourists as images that leave a positive impressionof the place, revealing a particular aesthetic pleasure marking theexperience. Only four tourists mention negative impressions, mainlyfunctional, service and product-related aspects (sub-optimal use ofthe village resources, the absence of leisure and cultural activities,lack of information, poor opening hours).
The social dimension of the experience seems less important; fewcontacts are established with the population, mainly because of thetourism context, though these contacts are generally perceived aspleasant (referring to “nice and simple people”). This low level ofcontact may be due to the transitory nature of the visits of mostinterviewees.
However, nearly all tourists enjoyed their visit overall; reasonsevoked for being satisfied with the visit match the affective (calmatmosphere) aswell as the cognitive (heritage conservation) appraisals,but most would not like to live in the village, generally preferring urbanlife and its commodities. The six respondents who could imagine mov-ing to Linhares were generally motivated by the opportunity to escapefrom the stress of everyday life in the city.
In sum, results from this exploratory analysis suggest that thecontrast to the urban routine is a dominant theme used by touriststo justify and represent their experience at rural destinations. Thepleasant outcomes are not only mainly associated with a relaxingatmosphere, in a natural, rural context, but also reflect some degreeof surprise, interest and aesthetic pleasure associated with Linharesin particular, due to its history, heritage conservation and restoration.
4. Conclusions and marketing implications
While the tourism experience might be a key factor for competitiveand sustainable destination development (Mossberg, 2007; Stamboulis& Skayannis 2003), it must be understood as a complex whole, co-created and shared by tourists, service providers and the local commu-nity, and shaped by the destination-specific resources context thatprovides the significant ingredients of this experience.
The way rural tourism experiences are provided, staged and condi-tioned (Ellis & Rossman, 2008; Mossberg, 2007), with signs of thefrequently sought but difficult to deliver authentic rural, is a challengefor the community in its search of identity as well as new developmentopportunities (Sharpley, 2005), for the local rural tourism providers insearch of sustainable profit generation (Lane, 2009), and for the touristsin search of authentic and significant experiences (Chambers, 2009),however diverse these motivations might be.
The complexity of the co-creationprocess requires articulation inpart-nership and network constellations, allowing integrated managementand product development (Denicolai et al., 2010; Gnoth, 2003; Gibsonet al., 2005; Lane, 2009). In Linhares, the regional (if not national) scope
of the “Historic Villages of Portugal” network provides such an opportuni-ty, albeit not yet fully realized; while achieving collaboration amongstindividual village or municipality actors constitutes another challenge.
Understanding the overall experience as an emotionally, sensoriallyand symbolically rich phenomenon, and anchoring it in a common,appealing, significant and distinctive theme, may be a powerful way tocombine the pieces of the puzzle (Ellis & Rossman, 2008; Mossberg,2007;O'Dell &Billing, 2005). In this context, themost relevant, distinctiveendogenous resources, which represent the territory's strongest compar-ative advantages (Crouch & Ritchie, 1999), such as the village's history,legends, and traditional food production, should help to provide a uniqueand possibly authentic rural tourism experience, while simultaneouslyenhancing sustainable destination development (Kastenholz &Figueiredo, 2010; Lane, 2009; Saxena et al., 2007; Sims, 2009).
The attempts to design appealing and memorable rural tourismexperiences in Linhares may focus on the positively valued affectivedimensions and sensory elements that relate to rurality and nature,as well as on the symbolically most relevant history dimension thatis present and (physically) well-preserved in Linhares, enrichedthrough the pleasurable aesthetic experience. As a way of extending,enriching and deepening the experience, moving it away from thepredominant, traditional tourist gaze and making it more enjoyable,surprising (i.e. positively arousing) complementary activities maybe designed, such as recreational events, sports or cultural activities.These should preferably be based on endogenous resources, as sug-gested by the tourism suppliers (e.g. activities related to the wind-mills, flour and bread production, if possible actively involving thetourist; or theatre plays in the castle, representing the intriguingstory of Dona Lopa). Themes (Mossberg, 2007) that are unique toLinhares, raise curiosity, appeal to the senses, and add meaning tothe experience (Pan & Ryan, 2009) are as important as an activeco-creation process that involves the tourist, and, apart from the tra-ditional tourist sector, the municipality's cultural sector (Mossberg,2007; Richards & Wilson, 2005) as well as the population (Saxenaet al., 2007; Sharpley, 2005). The Alcaide would be an interestingfigure to reestablish in this context.
A careful design not only of servicescapes, but also of the entireexperiencescape, should be a concern, as much as the creation of ap-pealing, emotion-stimulating sensescapes, with a profusion of smells,tastes, touches, sights, and sounds evoked for virtually any theme(O'Dell & Billing, 2005; Rodaway, 1994). Cognitive experiences, whichappear to be an important issue in Linhares' tourism product, mightstimulate curiosity and learning, but could also be designed in a moreinnovative, involving way, as suggested before. A value also needs tobe placed on the social dimension of the experience, as this was iden-tified as a key issue for those rural tourists who seek a personalized in-troduction into the rural way of life through their hosts (Kastenholz &Sparrer, 2009). Despite the view of the population that their hospitalityhas a unique quality, this has apparently not been achieved in Linharesyet, perhaps due to the transitory nature of many tourists’ visits, or thefew opportunities given for contacts.
Finally, material signs of the non-ordinary experience, in the formof souvenirs, enhance vivid memories of the experience through time,enriching the stories later told to friends and family (Hu & Yu, 2007).These therefore constitute relevant experience marketing tools. In thecase of Linhares, most local stakeholders understand the relevanceand uniqueness of some local products, whose sales could be boostedthrough an increase in the number and attractiveness of the outletsavailable to tourists. If these products (e.g. cheese, bread, and agricul-tural products) are also presented as experiences, showing their pro-duction process in an appealing way and perhaps even permittingtourists to participate, they will also add to the overall destination ex-perience, and they would gain another meaning, namely that of objectplus existential authenticity (Wang, 1999).
For a rural tourist experience to be memorable, it needs to beemotional as well as of symbolic significance, either embedded in
traditional rural images or themes or in one of the new urban visionsassociated with the countryside, e.g. as a space for adventure (Cloke,2007). The latter is also a relevant topic in Linhares, with paragliding,hiking, mountain biking and other sports opportunities enriching theexperiences of more physically active rural tourists. This might bealso important as means of diversifying the experience and makingit appealing to different individuals within the travel group.
Provided they do not create incompatible experiencescapes, all theseefforts towardsmaking the experience in Linharesmore pleasant, involv-ing, meaningful and diversified may ultimately also lead to increasedduration of stay of rural tourists who may come to acknowledge the at-tractiveness of the village not just for a quick gaze, another sight collectedin a touring experience, but as a place to stay for a holiday, to enjoy apleasant, relaxing (but not boring) overall rural tourist experience.
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Elisabeth Kastenholz is assistant professor at the Universityof Aveiro, researcher at the GOVCOPP Research Unit, andcurrently coordinates the master program of TourismManagement and Planning at the University of Aveiro.She holds a degree in TourismManagement and Planning,a MBA and a PhD in Tourism, her research focuses on ruraltourism, consumer behavior in tourism, the overall tour-ism experience, destination marketing and sustainabledestination development.
Maria João Carneiro is assistant professor at the Universityof Aveiro, researcher at the GOVCOPP Research Unit, andcurrently coordinates the licenciatura (three years degree)of Tourism at the University of Aveiro. She holds a degreein Tourism Management and Planning, a MBA and a PhDin Tourism, and her research focuses on consumer behav-ior, competitiveness of tourism destinations, managementof tourism resources.
214 E. Kastenholz et al. / Tourism Manag
Carlos Peixeira Marques is currently head of the Departmentof Sociology, Economics andManagement at the University ofTras osMontes andAltoDouro. He holds a degree in Sociology,a MBA and a PhD inManagement, and his research focuses onconsumer behavior, destination and services marketing.
Joana Lima ([email protected]) is lecturer at the University ofAveiro, Research Assistant at the GOVCOPP Research Unitand currently a PhD Student in Tourism at the Universityof Aveiro. She holds a degree in Economics and a master'sdegree in Tourism Management and Development, hermain research areas of interests are in socio-economic im-pacts of tourism, social and economic development, socialtourism and the overall tourism experience.
