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- Projecting an image: TV series Amor Amor and Lua de Mel and the impacts of film-induced tourism in PenafielPublication . Ferreira, Ana; Lopes, Maria Carlos; Alén, ElisaThe image of a touristic destination is a complex construction based on different sources of information. Among them we can highlight the films and television series as they are an excellent tool for promoting tourism for the territories where they are filmed. The appearance of a particular area in a film or television series can have a huge effect on the number of visitors of an already existing place and create a new kind of tourism to the area and generate a boost for the local economy. The main objective of this article is to analyze the impact of the soap opera “Amor, Amor” and “Lua de Mel” that was broadcast at prime time in a Portuguese television channel, in the image of the city of Penafiel as a touristic destination. We intend to assess the short-term impacts of the great media exposure felt by the general population and, in particular, by the various stakeholders, on the influx of domestic tourists to this city; and the way this influx of tourists is being fostered in order to generate medium- and long-term revenue turning the small town of Penafiel into a tourist hotspot. We have done some literature review as well as an exploratory and quantitative investigation. The data collection was carried out with a questionnaire designed to be answered online by the inhabitants of Penafiel. The results of the analysis highlight the importance of films and series as important sources of information giving visibility to destinations that are still little known or not at all.
- Soft skills in action: developing tourism students skills through interdisciplinarityPublication . Vasconcelos, Sandra; Melo, António; Melo, Carla; Liberato, Dália; Lopes, Maria CarlosTourism research has highlighted the strategic need to identify and assess relevant skills for the sector to ensure organizations’ competitiveness. Describing an interdisciplinary project carried out at the School of Hospitality and Tourism (Polytechnic Institute of Porto), this paper aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on the importance of soft skills in the tourism industry and the role played by higher education institutions and tourism education in promoting their development. Working toward bridging the gap between academia and the labor market, this project covered five different courses and challenged students to write research papers, drawing from interviews with stakeholders from different tourism subsectors. Making use of a collaborative approach, based on complementarity and field work, the project succeeded, exceeding initial expectations and enhancing participants’ teaching and learning experiences. In addition to being aligned with current trends in tourism education, it also provides valuable insights on the affordances and attainability of interdisciplinarity, ultimately informing further joint initiatives within this scope.
- Soft skills & turismo: do mercado à academiaPublication . Melo, António; Melo, Carla; Vasconcelos, Sandra; Liberato, Dália; Lopes, Maria CarlosA educação e formação em turismo tem vindo a ser alargada significativamente nas últimas décadas, concomitantemente com a importância da atividade turística para Portugal nomeadamente em termos sociais, culturais e económicos. As exigências dos desempenhos profissionais têm vindo a demonstrar a importância da formação técnica e a relevância da posse de competências transversais, ou soft skills, por parte de todos os atores deste setor. As competências transversais, entendidas como um conjunto de competências pessoais e interpessoais, podem ser utilizadas e são importantes em múltiplas profissões, independentemente da área específica de conhecimento (Vieira & Marques, 2014). Através da realização de um trabalho interdisciplinar, no âmbito de cinco unidades curriculares, os estudantes finalistas da Licenciatura em Gestão de Atividades Turísticas, foram motivados a recolher e analisar perceções relacionadas com as soft skills nos diferentes subsetores do Turismo, no sentido de perceber quais as competências exigidas/procuradas pelos seus potenciais empregadores. Para tal, através da aplicação de uma metodologia qualitativa, com recurso a entrevistas para a coleta de dados, os estudantes realizaram um trabalho investigativo, entre março e abril de 2021, do qual resultaram por grupo, um short paper e uma apresentação final em inglês. A realização deste trabalho interdisciplinar contribuiu, para os estudantes, na aquisição de competências relacionadas com a área do curso, designadamente a utilização de linguagem técnica, a capacidade de fornecer informações sobre o percurso académico, experiência profissional e o desenvolvimento de competências transversais, e, não menos importante para os docentes a construção de diálogos interdisciplinares e aprendizagens dialéticas.
- Technologies at the service of education: present and futurePublication . Azevedo, Patrícia Anjos; Lopes, Maria Carlos; Liberato, Dália; Liberato, PedroThe confinement caused by the spread of the disease COVID-19 transformed the way of teaching in the education sector during confinement, leading to the intensification of the development of virtual learning. This includes the use of many educational tools, applications, and Websites at zero cost for its users, the emergence of the STEM (STEAM education is a revolutionary approach that respects the particularities of students allowing them to develop different skills simultaneously, streamlining and optimizing teaching to make it much more complete) lockdown digital school and the emergence of remote education. Although knowledge and use and information and communication technologies (ICT) are considered a premise for the good performance of students in working life, complete knowledge is only achieved with active participation and accompanied by the pedagogical aspect that teachers are capable of impute to the teaching/learning process, which does not always happen because not all students and teachers are equipped with these technological tools, or even due to social and cultural reasons. Regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using technology to teach and learn, we will see that the use of technologies is a competitive advantage for students while they are in the education system and for those who need those same technologies in the performance of their profession. Still and in order to analyze the technologies at the service of education, as well as the goals foreseen for the coming years, we verified that action plans must be introduced that, covering a significant number of the active population, provide external and independent training from the education system. Compulsory education that makes contact with ICT by interested parties a reality.
- The evolution of thermalism in Portugal - the current state of health and wellness tourismPublication . Lopes, Maria Carlos; Liberato, Dália; Alén, ElisaIn Portugal, as in other European countries, thermal activity was developed under the influence of the Roman people. In the fifteenth century, the first thermal hospital in the world was established in Portugal. In the centuries that followed, the practice of going to the baths to cure illness developed across the continent. In 1928, the first legislation was passed that gave thermal activity the same importance as other economic activities. However, the Second World War dictated the closure of many spas. Other factors, such as drug development and the tendency to go to beaches, led to a decrease in thermal frequency. Several strategic plans to boost tourism in Portugal followed and legislation was created (DL n. º 142/2004, of 11 June) aimed at the development of thermal tourism. In turn, the National Strategic Plan for Tourism-2007 [1] advocated the consolidation and development of health and well-being tourism, which naturally includes spas. From that moment on, the conditions were in place to increase investments in the spa sector, aiming at the modernization and offer of new products and services, in the scope of relaxation, beauty, and anti-stress treatments, among many others, with which intended to attract new audiences and markets. This work intends to elucidate the evolution of thermal frequency and demand in general, verified over the years. It is also intended to understand the current state of classic thermalism and wellness thermalism in Portugal and to assess the profile of tourists who seek this type of tourism. In this sense, we resorted to the compilation and analysis of statistical data existing in the General Directorate of Energy and Geology (DGEG), the General Directorate of Mines and Geological Services (DGMSG), and the Geological and Mining Institute (IGM), from 1979 to the year 2021. As conclusions of this study, we emphasize that there is a growing propensity to frequent thermal springs, caused, mostly, by users seeking wellness treatments and services. This finding has an effect on the annual seasonality of the demand for thermal springs, which now reaches lower levels, since the frequency of wellness users has become constant throughout the year, giving rise, this time, to a weekend seasonality that is the period in which wellness users can enjoy leisure time.