Textile tourists in the european periphery: New markets for disadvantaged areas?
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Greg Richards [1]
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[1] Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain
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- Localización: Tourism review international, ISSN 1544-2721, Vol. 8, Nº. 4, 2005, págs. 323-338
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
- Dialnet Métricas: 1 Cita
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Resumen
Cultural products are often used as a means of attracting tourists to areas that currently have low levels of tourism, particularly because of their peripheral location. This article reports on attempts to develop textile-related cultural tourism in disadvantaged areas of Europe. Surveys of 1100 tourists in three regions: the Alto Minho (Portugal), Lapland (Finland), and Crete (Greece) shed light on the motivations of tourists to purchase textiles and other crafts products. Textiles do not provide the prime motivation for tourists to visit a destination, but they can form an important secondary motive. The differences in the textile crafts markets for the three regions are examined, and particular attention is paid to the need to develop products that emphasize the unique nature of local culture, but that also reflect the needs of the tourists in different regions. Examples of specific development and marketing initiatives adopted by the different regions are examined, and the long-term impact of the textile tourism initiatives is considered.
