Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0002-8616-4334
Abstract
The purpose of this empirical study is to draft a proposition on a tourist itinerary feasible of being organised, promoted and interpreted in its technical features by stakeholders, namely tour operators, promoters and official guides across Portugal. This themed proposition on codfish links towns such as Viana do Castelo, Ílhavo and Lisbon, thus encompassing manifold cultural expression elements, from cod schooners to museums, and from gastronomy to events. As an empirical study, the authors resort to data collected from several scientific sources to base its (yet brief) literary review on cultural tourism and heritage interpretation. Their experience in tour guiding and in investigation sustains the presentation of towns and heritage. On the other hand, the design of a national itinerary could be perceived as going a step further and become a transatlantic proposition and also encompasses distinctive niche activities altogether combined in this themed challenge. Businesswise, there will be no immediate results on this itinerary draft. However, the authors believe in the co-operation between Academia and the tourism sector, so further in time another study on this topic might demonstrate it better. Moreover, recent statistics provided by museums specialised in (cod)fishing and two 2025 promotional campaigns launched by Portugal’s tourism authority prove this theme already lures travellers at regional levels. Hence the annual festivals offered at pivotal destinations. Research limitations exist concerning the empirical focus, which leave opportunities to build better and more sustained work in future questionnaires and interviews for forthcoming studies. Nevertheless, despite of its shortcomings this study’s originality relies in a full territorial scope – with a possible transatlantic development – rooted in the 2025 state promotional campaigns’ cultural and humanist values. It might even pave the way for similar routes and more studies relying on similar methodologies for special-interest tourists.
Recommended Citation
Carvalho, Cristina and Gonçalves, António
(2025)
"Codfish in Portugal: Drafting a Proposition of a National Tourist Itinerary,"
International Journal of Tour Guiding Research:
Vol. 6:
Iss.
1, Article 1.
doi:https://doi.org/10.21427/qv6m-j732
Available at:
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijtgr/vol6/iss1/1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21427/qv6m-j732