Cultural e-tourism depicted by digital discourse: innovative mobilities at urban e-heritage networks

Abstract

This book chapter argues for the necessity of taking seriously the challenge that cyberspace is putting to Tourism Studies. It describes the sociological narratives that take such challenge into consideration, departing from the seminal concept ‘mobilities’, but confronting it with other recent theoretical, conceptual and empirical postures. Firstly, this chapter includes a theoretical background that identifies the state of the art of core discussions on concepts associated with social mobilities. This is one of the most influent social processes and sociological notions that contextualize cultural e-tourism activated within the Internet, and the innovative discourses produced and reproduced on this subject. Next, the main focus is defined through the debate on cultural heritage and cultural e-tourism. Controversies relevant to the chapter’s theme articulate tourism with new media and digital social networks. And some suggestions about solutions and recommendations involve the articulation between, on one hand, Tourism Studies’ projects about new contemporary touristic processes and, on the other hand, sociological methods activated by cyberspace and social networks. In short, cultural e-tourism may constitute a powerful future sustainale strategy to improve discursive innovation within e-heritage networks, and, in so doing, motivate future innovative research insideTourism Studies. This may be partially proven and demonstrated by analysing the case of Portuguese Minho region, and in particular the city of Braga. Moreover, it would be certainly useful to compare this study with other similar cases across Europe or globally.

Este capítulo de livro defende a necessidade de levar a sério o desafio que o ciberespaço está a colocar nos Estudos do Turismo. O texto descreve as narrativas sociológicas que tomam esse desafio em consideração, fundando-se no conceito seminal ‘mobilidades’, mas confrontando-o com outras posturas teóricas, conceituais e empíricas recentes. Em primeiro lugar, este capítulo inclui um plano de fundo teórico que identifica o estado da arte das discussões centrais sobre os conceitos associados às mobilidades sociais. Este é um dos mais influentes processos societais e noções sociológicas que contextualizam o e-turismo cultural ativado na Internet, e os discursos inovadores produzidos e reproduzidos sobre esse assunto. Em seguida, o foco principal é definido através do debate sobre património cultural e e-turismo cultural. As controvérsias relevantes para o tema do capítulo articulam o turismo com os novos media e redes sociais digitais. E algumas sugestões sobre soluções e recomendações envolvem a articulação entre, de um lado, projetos de Estudos de Turismo sobre novos processos turísticos contemporâneos e, de outro lado, métodos sociológicos ativados pelo ciberespaço e por redes sociais. Em suma, o turismo cultural eletrónico pode constituir uma poderosa estratégia sustentável para melhorar a inovação discursiva nas redes de e-património eletrónico e, ao fazê-lo, motivar futuras pesquisas inovadoras nos Estudos de Turismo. Isso pode ser parcialmente comprovado e demonstrado pela análise do caso da região portuguesa do Minho e, em particular, da cidade de Braga. Além disso, certamente seria útil comparar este estudo com outros casos semelhantes em toda a Europa ou globalmente.

This chapter aims to reflect on cultural e-tourism and the regimes of innovative discourses about this process. Cultural e-tourists look for fruition in what regards the cultural e-heritage, which means the cultural heritage propagated through the discourses of digital media and cyberspace, but in connection with physical mobilities and urban institutional discourses. Mobilities refer to processes, actors and things that are on the move within our contemporary society, namely across social and discursive networks. The author also presents some previous personal research about leisure, tourism, urban cultures and arts, that compared pre-modern, modern, and post-modern configurations of tourism’s processes. Projects on this subject should be more debated among social science scientists, tourism professionals, and citizens. In particular, projects about innovative mobilities and cultural e-heritage discourses at diverse localities, where local public policies intend to constitute them as smart cities and as UNESCO Creative cities.