Practices of literary tourism: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Literary tourism is characterized by visits to places and landscapes related to writers' life and literary work. This study aims to analyze literary tourism practices discussed in scientific production. This study conducted a systematic literature review based on a preliminary protocol and PRISMA statement supported by the software StArt (UFSCAR/Lapes). The search string "literary tourism" was used in the Scielo, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The analytical corpus was composed of 33 articles. The investigated literature indicates that the practices: i) take place in various geographical contexts, being led by European countries and China; ii) are structured from sightseeing, tours and visits and, in a spontaneous way, when the tourist encounters visual landmarks of literary references; iii) the diffusion happens from tourist guides and maps, and also popularized by the audiovisual industry. The results infer two other factors: firstly, the houses of the writers are valuable environments for literary tourism: they are often transformed into museums that guarantee the safeguarding of memory and allow educational and tourist visitation; and second, the diverse literary places and landscapes, which combine those places associated with writers and works, imply in multidisciplinary initiatives for the development of literary practices and are presented as opportunities for tourism planning and management.