Monchique hosts Participatory Meeting to talk about Scientific Tourism

Project involved the Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos and the University of Algarve

Project results SciTour – Scientific Tourism, a project aimed at evaluate the potential for scientific tourism in the Algarve, will be presented ina Participatory Meeting on Scientific Tourism that will take place on the 21st of April, at 14 pm, at Espaço Jovem, in Monchique.

This will be the second session to present the results of this project led by the Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos, which has the University of the Algarve as a partner, is «a new approach to promote sustainable tourism in the Algarve through the enhancement of the local natural and cultural heritage ».

«Various case studies were explored, centered on four main fields: Geology, Paleontology, Archeology and Marine Biodiversity. The participatory meeting aims to bring together specialists, researchers, local entrepreneurs and other interested parties to discuss the project's conclusions and explore ways to promote scientific tourism in the region», according to the Lagos CCV.

The participatory meeting on Scientific Tourism «will be an opportunity to discuss the potential of the Algarve as a destination for scientific tourism, as well as to identify business opportunities and collaboration between participants».

«Introduce and discuss the concept of scientific tourism», «assess the potential value of this type of tourism for the region, «identify various instruments/products of scientific tourism, «examine the advantages, disadvantages and impacts of these instruments/products», «provide concrete examples of tourist offers to discuss their implementation and operationalization, potential obstacles, and ways to overcome these obstacles, and identify the parties involved in the implementation» and «identify other types of scientific tourism to be developed in the future», are some of the objectives of the meeting on the 17th.

Those interested in participating in the session must register here. The session is free, but registration is mandatory.

The SciTour – Turismo Científico project is funded by the Algarve Regional Operational Program (CRESC Algarve 2020), through Portugal 2020 and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), within the scope of the Scientific and Technological Research Support System, co-financed by the European Social Fund.

 

About the SciTour Project

«SciTour is a research project that explores and develops the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Western Algarve as a product of Scientific Tourism, in the areas of Geology, Paleontology, Archeology and Marine Biodiversity, as these are the areas that have the greatest potential in our field. of intervention. They are sustainable resources that are currently undervalued, underdeveloped and underused.

Tourism is the most significant industry in the region, the Algarve already benefits from the existence of accessibility and infrastructure for visitors that facilitates the implementation and development of Scientific Tourism as a new product that helps to diversify the current offer and to counteract the seasonality of the tourism, being sustainable throughout the year and suitable for the internal and external market. The diversified geographic distribution of this resource that crosses the coastline has the potential to further develop the local economy in areas that tend to attract fewer visitors, complementing the current “Sea and Sun” model as the main driver.

SciTour works as a bridge between Education, Science, Communication and Tourism, that is, a unifying element between these areas of knowledge.

The research team foresees a practical approach that integrates a broader strategy for Science Tourism, Science Communication and the dissemination of scientific content. This new approach gathered the interest and support of local municipalities, operators, the Algarve Tourism Region and other interested parties. The collective objective is to carry out research, develop tools and produce content to not only involve and attract new visitors to new places, but above all to involve these new visitors and local populations and contribute to an increase in their literacy in the various areas of performance and individual interest.

The SciTour research project is a first step towards coordinating a concerted regional strategy to create a world-class offer that can help to differentiate the Algarve region, contrary to its peripheral location. Also increase competitiveness in the face of emerging, and sometimes cheaper, new tourism markets.

“This strategy of research, development and enhancement of our natural resources can become a business card to attract researchers and specialists to come visit, stay and study, increasing the research potential, publishing new works, sharing new perceptions and knowledge, and strengthen the relevance of our natural heritage”, says Luís Azevedo Rodrigues, Director of the CCVL and Researcher responsible for the Project.

The SciTour project must be seen as a new development of sustainable and lasting tourism».

 

 



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