<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Rural tourism has attracted increasing attention in recent decades. It responds to new market demands, some of which driven by a nostalgic quest for a ‘rural idyll’, as well as the need of many European rural territories to find new sources of income and development. Local products represent a relevant asset for appealing to rural tourist experiences, enhancing local identity and regional economies. Based on a study of the rural tourist experience as lived by visitors of a Portuguese schist village, the present paper analyses the role of nostalgia and sensory experiences in leading to tourists’ purchase of local products, using a conditional process analysis. Results confirm this link and also show that tourists seem to be more affected by these dynamics than excursionists. Implications of results for management and development of rural territories involving tourism and sales of local products are further discussed.</p>
</abstract>

Rural tourism has attracted increasing attention in recent decades. It responds to new market demands, some of which driven by a nostalgic quest for a ‘rural idyll’, as well as the need of many European rural territories to find new sources of income and development. Local products represent a relevant asset for appealing to rural tourist experiences, enhancing local identity and regional economies. Based on a study of the rural tourist experience as lived by visitors of a Portuguese schist village, the present paper analyses the role of nostalgia and sensory experiences in leading to tourists’ purchase of local products, using a conditional process analysis. Results confirm this link and also show that tourists seem to be more affected by these dynamics than excursionists. Implications of results for management and development of rural territories involving tourism and sales of local products are further discussed.

Nostalgia, Sensations and Local Products in Rural Tourism Experiences in a Portuguese Schist Village

Associate Professor at Universidade de Aveiro

Departamento de Economia, Gestão, Engenharia Industrial e Turismo, Research Unit Governance, Competitveness and Public Policies

Associate Professor at the University of the Basque Country

Assistant Professor at the University of Évora Portugal

European Countryside

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Rural tourism has attracted increasing attention in recent decades. It responds to new market demands, some of which driven by a nostalgic quest for a ‘rural...

Nostalgia, Sensations and Local Products in Rural Tourism Experiences in a Portuguese Schist Village

Published Online: Sep 27, 2021

Page range: 599 - 621

Received: Apr 07, 2021

Accepted: May 28, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2021-0034

Keywords
rural tourism, nostalgia, local products, tourist experience, sensory experience, Portugal

© 2021 Elisabeth Kastenholz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Nostalgia, Sensations and Local Products in Rural Tourism Experiences in a Portuguese Schist Village

Published Online: Sep 27, 2021

Page range: 599 - 621

Received: Apr 07, 2021

Accepted: May 28, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2021-0034

Keywordsrural tourism, nostalgia, local products, tourist experience, sensory experience, Portugal

© 2021 Elisabeth Kastenholz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
rural tourism, nostalgia, local products, tourist experience, sensory experience, Portugal