Meeting Challenges for Rural Tourism through Co-Creation of Sustainable Tourist Experiences

Rural tourism is not a new phenomenon in many parts of the world, but it has only recently received increased attention from researchers, politicians and managers as a result of new market trends, the recognition of the “rural crisis” and the urge to solve it. However, there is also evidence that rural tourism is not a miraculous antidote for this crisis, certainly not in all places and under all conditions. Despite some recent studies examining the critical factors of success for rural tourism, there is still a need for a deeper understanding of the rural tourism phenomenon, the nature of the tourism experience and how it could be optimized to the benefit of all, while making the best use of endogenous resources and competences, yielding sustainable destination development.

This book contributes to the debate, focusing on the tourist experience, here conceptualized as “co-created” between hosts and guests, based on destination-specific elements of “countryside capital” and aiming at sustainability. It contains both conceptual and empirical chapters, with diverse and new perspectives, methodological approaches and cases from several countries.

Elisabeth Kastenholz is Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, where she teaches Tourism and Marketing and coordinates the field of Tourism Studies. Her research focuses on consumer behaviour in tourism and sustainability-yielding destination marketing, particularly within rural tourism. She has actively participated in the academic community, through research projects, numerous international publications, and serving on the editorial boards of several academic journals and international conferences.

Maria João Carneiro is Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, where she teaches Tourism. Her research is mainly focused on consumer behaviour in tourism, and on the marketing and competitiveness of tourism destinations. She is the author of several book chapters and papers published in international journals, and has participated in many international conferences.

Celeste Eusébio is Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, where she teaches Tourism. Her research is mainly focused on tourism economics, tourism impacts, tourism forecasts and consumer behaviour in tourism. She is the author of several book chapters and papers published in international journals, and has participated in many international conferences.

Elisabete Figueiredo is Sociologist and Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, Politics and Territory at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, where she teaches and researches mainly on rural sociology and environmental sociology subjects. She is the editor of several books, and has published a number of book chapters and papers in international journals. Since 2008, she has been a member of the Director’s Board of the Portuguese Society for Rural Studies.

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