Creative tourism: catalysing artisan entrepreneur networks in rural Portugal

Abstract

Purpose:Given limited research about how artisans become integrated into tourism, this paper investigates the emergence of artisan entrepreneur-mediators who link artisans to tourism in rural areas and small cities in Portugal. Using social embeddedness as a conceptual framework, this paper views artisan entrepreneur-mediators as existing within an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The paper investigates their role within this ecosystem and how artisan entrepreneur-mediators connect artisans to creative tourism in a rural context. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on new (2017 and 2018) empirical evidence developed through two rounds of semi-structured interviews of five artisan entrepreneur-mediators.Findings: This paper finds that artisan entrepreneur-mediators in rural areas or small cities take on multiple roles as networking agents who organize and offer creative tourism experiences, providing the missing link between artisans and tourists. An analysis of the nuances of the operations of these artisan entrepreneur-mediators suggests that high levels of • fionabakas@ces.uc.pt, duxbury@ces.uc.pt, tiagocastro@ces.uc.pt social embeddedness within local rural communities is important in order for these neo-rural entrepreneurs to attain their goals.Originality/value: Originality lies in the identification of a gap in artisan entrepreneurship literature in a rural context. It is the first time that a critical analysis of artisan entrepreneurmediators who facilitate the link between artisans and tourism, is carried out in terms of social embeddedness, their roles and connections to creative tourism, and types of community engagement.

The social utility of small-scale art festivals with creative tourism in Portugal

“…Small-scale local festivals also act as development frameworks for creative tourism activities. The integration of creative tourism activities, which are defined as experiences that include elements of active participation, creative self-expression, connection to place, and community engagement (Bakas, Duxbury, and Castro, 2018), can increase the social utility of festivals. The ways in which festival organizers perceive creative tourism activities to be creating social utility are now thematically analyzed.…”

“…While some research has been conducted on how festivals link to tourism in an urban context (Newbold, Maughan, Jordan, and Bianchini, 2015), more limited research on this link exists for rural contexts (Gibson and Connell, 2011;Stevenson, 2016). Within the context of creative tourism, which can connect artisans in rural areas with tourism (Bakas, Duxbury, and Castro, 2018), small-scale local festivals can create both a context and a link between the local community and visitors. In particular, the organization of workshops (e.g., in theatre, dance, comedy, or visual arts) and other occasions to learn how local products are made can give shape to and fortify these links.…”

Cultural and creative work in rural and remote areas: an emerging international conversation

“…In 2017, the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management published a special issue on 'Cultural Entrepreneurship and Regional Innovation' (Ratten and Ferreira 2017). Greater attention to craft-art and artisan work is also evident in literature from Denmark (Prince 2017), Portugal (Bakas, Duxbury, and Castro 2018), the Northern Isles of Scotland (McHattie, Champion, and Johnson 2019), among other regions, often interwoven with rural tourism contexts and concerns.…”

Why is research–practice collaboration so challenging to achieve? A creative tourism experiment

“…Creative tourism is a relatively young and dynamic field of tourism research and practice, generally defined as a type of tourism that offers travelers the opportunity to develop their creative skills and potential through active participation in creative experiences which are characteristic of the place where they are offered (Duxbury & Richards, 2019a;Richards & Raymond, 2000). It is a niche tourism area that emerged both as a development of cultural tourism and in opposition to the emergence of mass cultural tourism; its activities commonly incorporate four dimensions: active participation, creative self-expression, learning, and community engagement (Bakas, Duxbury, & Castro, 2018). Creative tourism responds to the contemporary motivations of travelers seeking meaningful and transformative experiences, and to be actively involved in the 'everyday culture' of the place that they visit through interactive experiences that are connected to that place (Richards, 2018).…”

“…Consequently, perhaps, in the creative tourism field we still know relatively little about 'the profile, motivations, and experiences of those who provide or co-create the supply of creative experiences' or 'the business models adopted by creative tourism entrepreneurs' (Duxbury & Richards, 2019b, p. 184). Related to this, one of the most challenging aspects of attending to practice-based issues has related to a lack of previously documented 'successful case studies' and guides (Bakas, Duxbury, & Castro, 2018;Duxbury, forthcoming).…”