Abstract

RODRIGUES, Elisabete. The inseparable alliance between cultural and rural tourism in Madeira. TMStudies [online]. 2016, vol.12, n.2, pp.70-77. ISSN 2182-8458.  https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.2016.12208.

Tourism and culture are acknowledged as strategic areas in the context of many region’s economic growth and since Madeira’s cultural heritage proved itself a key factor of tourist attraction in Madeira's Rural Tourism framework, this article intended to demonstrate the need to value the cultural dimension as a fundamental tourist resource for the future offer of Madeira Island’s Country Homes. The methodology includes, besides the bibliographical research, the conduction of surveys to visitors of the Island’s Country Homes, as well as semi-structured interviews directed to these establishment’s owners/representatives. The results of the study reveal the inseparable alliance between the Island’s cultural and rural tourism, highlighting the imminent inclusion of the cultural dimension as a tourist resource in future promotional strategies for Rural Tourism in Madeira.

Keywords : Rural tourism; cultural tourism; country homes; Madeira.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )