Resources and potential of Coimbra as a literary tourism destination

Abstract

This article aims to evaluate and demonstrate the relevance of the development of the literary tourism niche in Coimbra. It presents the methodology used and the different phases of the research, as well as the results obtained so far, highlighting the low number of structured literary tourism products in Coimbra and a lack of diversity. In addition, this article is a proposal to transform Coimbra into a literary tourism destination by suggesting the implementation of literary tourism activities articulated with cultural tourism products and experiences or other niches and types of tourism as a way of distributing tourist flows in a balanced way around the city, fighting the overload in the UNESCO-classified area and boosting less known areas of the city. Coimbra has a potential to offer literary tourism, which is considered essential for the renewal and continuous attraction of culturally motivated tourists, and for a more balanced development of tourism around the city.