Storytelling by the Sea: The Legend of Ílhavo as a Reinvented Tourism Destination

Abstract

Global competition has challenged destinations in devising new ways to enhance image and awareness, so they can be perceived as attractive to visitors. Storytelling is gaining increasing importance in destination marketing by adding emotional value to products. Stories impact positively on tourist involvement in experiences, as well as on destination differentiation. Furthermore, visitors' identification with destination stories seems to increase whenever stories are perceived as authentic. Ílhavo's history as a fishing community deeply connected with the sea developed from traditional cod fishing techniques. The history of this Portuguese community has helped shaping a new and distinctive narrative that sustained its positioning as a cultural destination around the identity “the Portuguese cod fishing capital”, the gem of Portuguese cuisine, and a major symbol of the country itself.

Key Terms in this Chapter

Experience Economy: The sale of memorable experiences to customers.

Transmedia Storytelling: The technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies.

Cod Fishing With Line: Fishing carried out by a single man using a line and hooks from a small wooden boat (dóri).

Story World: Set of stories and activities linked to a central story or a particular character.

Co-Creation of Tourist Experiences: The sum of psychological events a tourist goes through when actively contributing through physical and/or mental participation in activities and intervening with other subjects in the environment of the experience.