The Impacts of the Cancellation of Historic Re-enactments in Portugal—The Case of Santa Maria da Feira

ABSTRACT

Re-enactment events are widely recognized to play an important role in individual, regional, or even national attractions, raising a community's cultural heritage identity and boosting local tourism development. The aim of this paper is to share the importance of experiences based on Historical Reconstruction and Recreation and analyze the consequences of cancellation of this type of events. The paper consists of six blocks to present a literature review, definitions of event tourism, medieval tourism events and analyses of the effects of cancellation of historical re-enactments and events in Portugal and in the world. We have selected the most important medieval re-enactment that takes place in Santa Maria da Feira, widely recognized by attendees and visitors, as well as by locals as the most significant of its kind in Portugal. The data is organized in the results of the survey conducted between June and September 2020, on the perceptions of residents, participants, and visitors to understand the various impacts of the cancellation of Historic Re-enactments in Portugal. Data analysis points out an unequal potential of these events. Conclusions seek to make suggestions for post-COVID-19 tourism recovery and define some future paths. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.