Coordinator: João Filipe Marques

Co-coordinator: Ana Rita Cruz

Framework: Worldwide, tourism growth has been heterogeneous, due to both global and national societal changes that led to modifications in tourists’ profiles and travel patterns, affecting host communities’ quality of life, as well as challenging and pressuring those who work in the sector. Regarding tourists, new markets are emerging as the result of new family typologies, population ageing, emergent economies, mutant values and lifestyles, and the spread of technological changes, which allow new ways of searching touristic products and services. Therefore, understanding the profiles, demand patterns, satisfaction levels and behaviours of these new tourists may help destinations to adjust their offer, increase their attraction potential, and minimize unwanted tourism impacts (e.g., overtourism and anti-tourism social movements).

Likewise, in the 21st century, tourists search for appealing and remarkable experiences where culture, art, heritage, tangible and intangible, and a close contact with the culture of local communities has gained major importance. With tourism, multiculturalism, as well as cosmopolitanism, increases, giving a new sense to places’ identities and communities’ lifestyles. Many destinations are becoming increasingly attractive to some of the new forms of mobility that somehow challenge the traditional definitions of tourism, including ‘residential tourism’, ‘lifestyle mobilities’, ‘lifestyle migration’. Thus, another challenging research topic is the study of the host communities’ attitudes and behaviours towards the tourism phenomena, i.e., residents’ well-being, since tourism can affect their lives, in a positive or negative manner.

Moreover, research should give attention to those working in the hospitality sector, trying to understand their employment and work conditions (namely the effects of seasonality and overwork), satisfaction levels, career expectations, gender discrimination, and distress. In other words, it is increasingly important to assess the occupational well-being levels of tourism workers to promote them, since these workers are the main point of contact with tourists, which may influence their experience.

Focus: This research area focuses on the interrelationships between people's lives, leisure practices and tourism flows, aiming to produce and disseminate knowledge about both sides of the sociocultural impacts of tourism: its positive effects on travellers and host communities, and its potential negative impacts on culture and society.

Alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN for 2030: Good Health and Well-being (goal 3); Responsible Consumption and Production (goal 12); Partnerships for the Goals (goal 17). 

Keywords: Accessible and Inclusive Tourism; Co-creation and Emotions in Tourism; Cultural and Creative Tourism; Tourism happiness and Flow; Heritage, Museums and Cultural Mapping; Lifestyle Mobilities and Second Home Tourism; Overtourism and Antitourism Social Movements; Positive Tourism and Wellbeing; Tourism Sociocultural Impacts; Sports, Events and Tourism; Tourism and Gender Issues; Tourism and Resident's Well-being; Work-leisure new relationships; Tourism Gentrification; Community-based Tourism.

Photo by Jeremy Tanguay on Unsplash