'New Haven' Rural Tourist Spaces

Abstract

The health tourism niche (in both its medical and well-being variants) has been growing rapidly and consistently across the world – including in Europe. Portugal is no exception to this trend, as is apparent both in the examples of rehabilitation of thermal tourism facilities in this country and in the growth of supply in this field in both urban (e.g. large number of spas in hotels) and, especially, rural areas. This paper focuses specifically on the innovative initiatives in this field that have been developed in the rural areas of southern Portugal over the course of the last decade. Generally speaking, health tourism makes it possible to combine two important dimensions of well-being: leisure and physical well-being. The demand for healthy longevity and discipline of the body through exercise, diet or meditation is an important element that accounts for the growing importance of this segment of the tourism market. Moreover, this niche makes it possible to anchor tourist practices in the consumption of unique experiences that foster personal transformation and development. It is this combination of factors that seems to guarantee the success of the initiatives that have been recently developed in southern Portugal. The cases that we present and discuss in this paper constitute a diverse set of tourist products that share the aforementioned features and goals. They consist of farms (an inheritance of the large estates of the past which, up until the 1980s, were used for agriculture) located in the Alentejo region, which typically take advantage of a remarkable landscape - whether ‘original’ or transformed through the construction of water mirrors, ponds, gardens, waterfalls, etc.. Even in those cases where the landscape has been transformed in order to make it more pleasant, the rural identity is usually preserved through the valorisation of the rural heritage and of the cultural background of the region or place in question. In most of these cases, the health and well-being activities are associated with a gastronomic offer that is based on organic products (which are also highly valued in terms of health) as well as on local products and recipes (providing the experience with a more unique character). However, the most important asset of all in the case of this tourist niche seems to consist of the central role played by nature, the landscape and rurality (preferably with agricultural work and the presence of farm animals) in the design and construction of these new therapeutic areas. These rural areas have thus been undergoing a profound transformation, which has seen them emerge as 'new havens' for both body and soul. In order to understand the profile of supply and especially the strategies that lead to success in this market, it is necessary to understand the criteria and expectations of demand. Thus, above all, this tourist niche seeks to meet the demanding requirements and expectations of urban costumers who wish to spend short holidays or just ‘healthy' weekends in settings that combine natural and cultural amenities. Two factors play an especially critical role in making it possible to meet this specific demand: the ease of access from/to metropolitan areas and the proximity to rural centers with a rich cultural heritage.