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Date and location1‐2 June 2017Coimbra, Portugalwww.ces.uc.pt/creatourObjectivesThis conference has two aims: First, to bring together leading creative tourism researchers with creative tourism networks and practitioners to outline &#8220;the state of the art &#8221; &#8211; the main lines of research and key &#160;issues in both the research and practice of creative tourism.What is the state of the art within creative tourism research and practice? What are the leading trends and contextualizing influences today? What are the key questions and issues to be addressed going forward? Second, to inform the development of a creative tourism network &#8211; CREATOUR &#8211; focusing on small cities and rural areas within the Norte, Centro, Alentejo and Algarve regions of Portugal. We are eager to learn from creative tourism efforts internationally that can advise the network&#8217;s development and the array of creative tourism practices to be conducted by the pilot initiatives within CREATOUR.What is creative tourism?Creative tourism offers visitors the opportunity to develop their creative potential through active participation in workshops, courses and other learning experiences that are characteristic of the destination where they are taken.Creative tourism allows visitors to deepen contact with the local culture by directly participating in cultural/creative activities and being involved in the creative life of the destination (rather than just displaying creative products, for example). The creative tourism approach allows the destination communities and regions to benefit from significant advantages, and enables artistic and other creative activities to play a driving role in broader socio&#173;‐economic development.BackgroundIn the early 2000s, creative tourism emerged as a reaction against &#8220;mass cultural tourism&#8221; approaches as consumers sought more authentic and engaging experiences and desired to cultivate their own creativity through tourism. Originally, creative tourism referred mainly to active learning experiences, often linked to tangible cultural elements such as crafts, and this stream continues to be vibrant in creative tourism. Added to this, a shift towards a more extensive relationship between tourism and the creative industries is also observed, moving from a focus on specific forms of culture to creative content more generally and the platforms that make the distribution of this content possible. This new wave of creative tourism embodies an approach centred on &#8220;contemporary creativity, innovation and intangible content&#8221; (OECD 2014: 7), although it may use traditional culture as a source of inspiration. Becoming more than just a new tourism niche, this represents a source of innovation and an expansion of tourism as a whole.Creative tourism experiences combine different creative content elements and engage with creative lifestyles. Visitors or consumers want to be actively involved in creative experiences and activities.Creative tourism consumers desire to &#8220;go where the creativity is&#8221; and to directly participate in creation and co&#173;‐creation activities. They are increasingly playing a co-creation role in the development of creative experiences, sharing knowledge, and contributing skills to the creative experiences.Creative tourism experiences are not only economically valuable, but may stimulate the development of new ideas, products, and services through the interactions, conversations, and co&#173;‐creation experiences that occur.Furthermore, creative experiences must be embedded in the destination so that &#8220;people have a reason to be creative in a particular place. Destinations have to identify characteristic creative content and activities that connect with the needs of visitors and residents&#8221; (OECD 2014: 54). Creative tourism involves collaboration with a wide range of actors to develop &#8220;dispersed value networks&#8221; (p. 7). The highest&#173;‐profile creative tourism platforms are in cities well known as creative centres (e.g., Paris, Barcelona, Santa Fe) or linked with popular films and music (e.g., Lord of the Rings and Wellington, New Zealand; Korean new wave cinema and music, with various sites). However, other initiatives, for example, in Canada and Japan, have been developed from regional or small&#173;‐town contexts.Who is organizing?The conference is organized within the project CREATOUR: Creative Tourism Destination Development in Small Cities and Rural Areas (Desenvolver Destinos de Turismo Criativo em Cidades de Pequena Dimens&#227;o e em &#193;reas Rurais). The overall objective of CREATOUR is to develop and pilot an integrated approach and research agenda for creative tourism in small cities and rural areas in Portugal, developing strong links within and amongst regions. CREATOUR is a national three&#173;‐year project (2016&#173;‐2019) funded under the Joint Activities Programme of PORTUGAL 2020, by COMPETE2020, POR Lisboa, POR Algarve and Funda&#231;&#227;o para a Ci&#234;ncia e Tecnologia.Building on a twofold approach, CREATOUR intertwines Theory and Experimentation, combining multidisciplinary theoretical and methodological frameworks, cultural mapping, and benchmarking exercises with the development of an array of Pilots, or creative tourism case studies.The project builds on three interlinking dimensions of recent cultural and creative industries development in Portugal: (1) the development of artistic and creative industry hubs (&#8220;arts centres&#8221; or &#8220;creative factories&#8221;) in repurposed former industrial buildings or in restored heritage sites in many small cities and rural areas; (2) growing attention to the (re)vitalization and valorization of tangible and intangible cultural traditions throughout the country; and (3) the growth and development &#8211; and heightened visibility &#8211; of culture &#173;‐ and design &#173;‐related creative products in Portugal.CREATOUR promotes the potential for the development of human&#173;‐scaled, interactive, creative tourism featuring creativity&#173; ‐ and culture &#173;‐based experiential tourism experiences. Focusing on smaller cities and rural areas in which active cultural organizations and creative enterprises currently operate, the project aims to foster new or enhanced tourism offers building from local strengths, knowledge, skills, and traditions. The project aims to develop a sustainable creative tourism that is socially, culturally, environmentally, and economically rooted in specific places and is sensitive to these dimensions. It aims to give added value to cultural and creative traditions, skills, and knowledge as well as to emerging creative practices and pathways.ThemesWe invite academics, artists, creative tourism practitioners, students, and others working in tourism and cultural development to propose paper/project presentations, thematic panel sessions, or workshops, addressing any of the following themes:Leading trends and contextualizing influences in creative tourism todayCreative tourism in non&#173;‐metropolitan areasCreative tourism experience producers in small cities and rural areasLocal policies and citizens&#8217; perspectives/involvement in creative tourism developmentEvaluation of impacts of creative tourism experiencesCreative tourism, co&#173;‐creation of knowledge, and specificity of placeApproaches to co&#173;‐constructing creative experiences with visitorsRelationships between creative tourism and holistic local developmentCreative tourism and rural developmentCreative tourism and social inclusionCreative tourism and cross&#173;‐cultural exchangeCreative tourism and cultural sustainabilityCreative tourism experiences and authenticityCreative tourism as a vehicle to explore cultural landscapes and heritageUnderstanding place through creative activities and expressionsLinking creative and environmental tourismLinking creative and rural tourismThe use of technologies in creative tourismArtists and &#8217;creatives&#8217; on vacationThe future of creative tourismSubmitting a proposalOnline form for proposal submissions: http://www.ces.uc.pt/eventos/?id=15586&#38;pag=15588Required informationName of primary author, and other authors (if applicable)Email of primary authorPosition/title of primary authorOrganization/institutionDepartmentCityCountryTitle of presentationAbstract (250 words)Key theme(s) of presentation/proposalBrief bio of presenter(s), including position/role of each (e.g., researcher, professor, architect, doctoral student, artist, town planner, etc.) (max. 250 words)LanguageThe primary language of the event will be English, but proposals for presentations in Portuguese are also welcome. We will aim to arrange for &#8216;informal&#8217; translation support in sessions, as possible.PublicationThis conference will be linked to the development of an international book with Edward Elgar Publishers.Timeline10 January 2017 &#173;‐ &#8220;Early review&#8221; deadline for proposals14 February 2017 &#173;‐ Deadline to submit proposals6 March 2017 &#173;‐ Responses from the Scientific Committee7 March to 21 April 2017 &#173;‐ Earlybird registration periodContactPlease email any questions to: creatour@ces.uc.ptScientific committeeNancy Duxbury, Centro de Estudos Sociais / Centre for Social Studies (CES), Universidade de CoimbraAlexandra Gon&#231;alves, Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics (CIEO), Universidade do AlgarveAna Ferreira, Centro Interdisciplinar de Hist&#243;ria, Culturas e Sociedades (CIDEHUS), Universidade de &#201;voraPaula Remoaldo, Laborat&#243;rio de Paisagens, Patrim&#243;nio e Territ&#243;rio (Lab2PT), Universidade do MinhoPedro Costa, Centro de Estudos sobre a Mudan&#231;a Socioec&#243;nomica e o Territ&#243;rio (DINAMIA&#8217;CET), ISCTE &#8211; Instituto Universit&#225;rio de LisboaOrganizing committeeCarlos FortunaCl&#225;udia Pato de CarvalhoIn&#234;s CostaLorena Sancho QuerolMiroslav&#173;‐Valeriu Tașcu&#173;‐StavreNancy DuxburyPaulo PeixotoTiago Vinagre de CastroCREATOUR Advisory CouncilGreg Richards, Tilburg University, NetherlandsPatrick Brouder, Brock University, CanadaCaroline Couret, International Creative Tourism Network, SpainJoana Fins Faria, ADDICT, Ag&#234;ncia para o Desenvolvimento das Ind&#250;strias Criativas, PortugalMiguel Pedro, CIMAC, Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alentejo Central, Portugal