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Abstract
The paper discusses conditions and format of a cluster model to support the management of a potential creative tourism destination in a setting where regional cross-sectoral collaboration is lacking. Creative tourism development requires a flexible framework and a healthy collaboration environment, more so when associated with resources shared by several stakeholders. This article focuses on the tourism potential of archaeological knowledge discovered during the environmental impact assessment of the Alqueva dam (Alentejo, Portugal). Interviews were conducted with 38 regional actors in the tourism and heritage sectors, as well as the dam developers and the companies responsible for archaeological interventions. Findings indicate that the lack of specific local policy addressing archaeological heritage hampers its potential use for tourism development, which is further aggravated by the absence of stakeholder communication and cooperation. A conceptual cluster model for the management of creative tourism destinations based on heritage resources and other local resources is proposed.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all the stakeholders who contributed to this study, the reviewers, as well as António Carlos Valera for project coordination and Peter Abplanalp for his valuable comments. All mistakes are the authors' responsibility. This work was supported by the Portuguese national funding agency for science, research and technology (FCT), under the project PTDC/HIS-ARQ/114077/2009 and PEst-OE/SADG/UI0428/2013.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.