Review of the theoretical underpinnings in the creative tourism research field

Abstract

Despite the rising number of creative tourism publications, creative tourism is still emerging as a recent research area. Its study ranges from urban cities to rural areas implicating different uses for creativity, culture, events, creative networks and the co-creation of experiences. This paper had the goal to focus on the main theoretical subjects of creative tourism as a research area. As a result, the authors pinpoint vital issues present in creative tourism literature even though its definition is still evolving. After a thorough literature review, the authors conceptualised three main theoretical contributions present in creative tourism literature: 1) creativity and its relation to tourism, (2) specialised consumption as a characteristic of the postmodern tourist and 3) the experience economy paradigm and co-creation. This study identifies the main theoretical underpinnings of creative tourism, which made this special interest tourism gain so much importance in recent years.

The quest for sustainability in lower orbit: Conceptual models for space tourism

“…In our effort to build a new framework for sustainable space tourism, specialised consumption tourism provides the overall theoretical underpinning (Carvalho et al, 2019; Richards, 2011), highlighting components such as self‐development and identity construction. Space tourism is such a stimulating and exciting experience that exposes participants to skill sets otherwise impossible to acquire (Platt et al, 2020), escaping the banality of mass tourism (Olya & Han, 2020).…”

Co-creating Experiences in Cultural Events: The Case of Three Portuguese Festivals

“…This is important due to the shift in recent literature towards the priority of notions of participation, engagement and experience in tourism and events (Crowther and Orefice, 2015). Also termed specialised consumption (Richards, 2009), "the prosumption outlook" (Ritzer and Jurgenson, 2010;Ritzer, 2019) provides meaning, challenges, and the "craving" for co-created experiences where the tourist plays an essential role (Carvalho, Costa and Ferreira, 2019). Searching for authenticity (Wang, 1999;Richards, 2020), and engaging experiences, tourists participate in the construction of narratives (Binkhorst and den Dekker, 2009) influenced by the extent to which interaction takes place between tourists and the setting (or intangible place or the experience environment) as well as the interaction between local communities and (Chen, Prebensen and Uysal, 2018;Prebensen, Chen and Uysal, 2018b).…”

An International Overview of Certified Practices in Creative Tourism in Rural and Urban Territories

“…Although cultural and creative events may be effective in a limited regeneration effort, single events are not sufficient to change the image of a small-sized city (Richards, 2014) as identified in the study developed by Carvalho et al (2011) for Loulé city (a small-sized city in the Algarve and one of the municipalities certified by the Creative Tourism Network).…”