This presentation shares insights and recommendations on the types of public policies and programs that would be valuable to support the further development of creative tourism initiatives in small cities and rural areas in Portugal. It is based on research and consideration of the expressed needs of the CREATOUR pilot organizations. It considers the types of public policies needed to foster and support cultural and creative organizations in small cities and rural areas, policies relating to rural tourism development, and the structures needed to foster ongoing interconnections between the cultural and tourism sectors. This work aims to inform policy and program development to create strategic intersections between policies and practices in the fields of tourism, culture, and local/regional development, including local memories. The study highlights the need to strategically intervene in small cities and rural areas in order to strengthen cultural, tourism and regional development through a holistic sustainability approach, one that explicitly accentuates and builds from cultural and other place-specific resources.

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public policies,regional development,creative and cultural sectors,collaborative methodologies