Cultural and touristic management: cultural and creativity diversity in touristic territories

Abstract

Portugal is referenced as a strategic destination for cultural tourism development and territorial enhancement. The cultural and creative diversity marks the emergence of a society based on immateriality as a social and economic resource. A growing recognition of the role of heritage and creativity in the development of territories and the attractiveness of tourist destinations give place to “authentic” cultural and heritage dynamics intensifying and emphasizing the unique character of the tourist offer of each destination. Starting from the idea that the territory is “a place of dense human interrelationships and culture is a phenomenon that tends to have specific local intensity” (Scott, 1997: 324), cultural and creative diversity contribute to the differentiation of touristic places In this perspective and understanding a territory as an interaction of the visitor between “experience, relationship and co-creation”, tourist and cultural management takes on a major importance, especially when the creative diversity becomes a larger complex in which culture gains an integrative function of the territory. Space, economy and culture are aspects that form the identity of the place and set it apart in the global economy, in which cultural and creative diversity set the transversality of all sectors of human activity. This paper aims to express the importance of the promotion of cultural and tourist activities, enhancing the preservation, differentiation, offer of creative and unique experiences associated with the heritage education and sustainability of tourist territories.