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Authors
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
One of the fastest-growing segments of the tourism industry in recent years has
been cruise tourism. By boarding a cruise ship, river or sea, it is possible to
explore various tourist destinations without changing accommodation or means
of transport. By encompassing virtually all the customer’s facilities, this type of
tourism is becoming increasingly popular around the world (Macleod & Selwyn,
2002). With the opening of the Douro River’s navigability in its entire length in
the 1990s, this type of tourism has grown in Portugal, with the Douro river being
increasingly used by curious tourists from all over the world. Thus, the choice of
the problem addressed in this chapter arose from the meager existence of studies
carried out so far. However, COVID-19 triggered an unprecedented global health
and economic crisis with severe, and potentially structural, consequences for the
cruise world (Papachristou, Pallis, & Vaggelas, 2020). According to Farzanegan,
Gholipour, Feizi, Nunkoo, and Andargoli (2021), key cruise industry players such
as Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian have witnessed a rapid rise in
COVID-19 cases among passengers and crew members. This study’s main
objective is to understand the impact of river tourism, particularly cruise ships, on
the (post-pandemic crisis) development of the Alto Douro Wine Region. For this
theme’s development, we chose to use a qualitative methodology, conducting four
semi-structured interviews with participants directly or indirectly linked to the
Douro River’s cruise ship industry.