Cultural Heritage; Information And Communications Technologies; Religious Heritage; Routes; Senior Tourism;

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85126237510&doi=10.1007%2f978-3-030-96293-7_15&partnerID=40&md5=3ca0987e82ad76c4a1bc49ebeff42918

10.1007/978-3-030-96293-7_15

The archipelago of the Azores islands, comprising 9 islands in the Atlantic, has more than five hundred years of history, rich in cultural, natural, religious, architectonic, and intangible cultural heritage. The Azores islands, a travel destination holding a variety of awards (e.g., sustainability, biodiversity, safety, beauty, excellence, among others), is visited by millions of tourists every year, and senior tourism (55 years of age or older) was not an exception, making up over 25% of tourists. Information and communications technologies (ICTs), which are increasingly present in the daily life of generation W, contribute to the strategic innovation and (re)creation of tourism products in the Azores islands’ destination. The present paper aims to propose a religious and cultural route, based on a religious cult with more than three hundred years of existence which leads thousands of people (e.g., residents, immigrants, tourists) to the city of Ponta Delgada, on the 5th Sunday after Easter. Some of them are motivated by faith and devotion to Lord Holy Christ of Miracles while others are motivated by personal and cultural enrichment through contacting the habits and customs of the people from São Miguel Island. Using ICTs, we propose a tourist route that depicts the itinerary of the procession of Lord Holy Christ of Miracles, so that the senior tourist directly gets to know the cultural, religious, architectonic, and intangible heritage in a journey that starts in the 15th century until the 21st century. It is expected that the present route provides the senior tourist with a memorable experience that promotes well-being.