Immersive Tourism: From Massification to Meaningful Travel

Escrito por Graça Palma

Today, travel has become so common that it risks a certain banalization. In 2023, residents of the European Union aged 15 and over made more than 1.1 billion tourism trips with at least one overnight stay. This corresponds to an average of 2.4 trips per person per year (Eurostat, 2023). Across the Atlantic, in the United States, most families take an average of three trips per year.

Despite the impressive scale of these numbers, the massification and repetition of similar itineraries — beaches, monuments, popular capitals — means that many of these trips are no longer memorable or transformative experiences.

It is within this context that a strong international trend has emerged: immersive tourism, also known as experiential travel or curated travel. Its purpose is clear: to replace quantity with quality, encouraging travelers to live authentic experiences and to build genuine connections with local communities.

What makes immersive tourism different?

Unlike mass tourism, immersive tourism focuses on small groups and experiences of proximity, where visitors stop being mere observers and become active participants:

  • Learning directly from local artisans through hands-on workshops.

  • Discovering traditional knowledge, such as basket weaving with native plants or making goat cheese in a small artisan dairy.

  • Sharing meals of regional gastronomy prepared with local products.

  • Taking part in community festivities and living traditions.

  • Exploring nature through guided walks that reveal landscapes, history, and biodiversity.

A recent study by Zhou & Wang (2024) highlights that the quality of such experiences depends on two main factors: the physical experiencescape (the setting, theme, and facilities that frame the experience) and the interpersonal experiencescape (shaped by the interaction between hosts and visitors). Both, according to the authors, generate positive emotions, increasing the likelihood that travelers will recommend the destination or return in the future.

A Practice of Responsible Tourism

Immersive travel is not only rewarding for travelers – it also represents a concrete step forward in the global movement for Responsible Tourism. By choosing this type of experience:

  • Local economies benefit directly: artisans, producers, guides, and small businesses see their work valued and fairly compensated.

  • Cultural heritage is preserved: traditional crafts and practices gain visibility and continue to thrive.

  • Communities are strengthened: welcoming travelers boosts pride in local identity and opens new opportunities.

  • The environment is respected: small-group formats and nature-based activities encourage low-impact practices.

In this way, immersive tourism generates mutual benefits. Visitors enjoy authentic — not staged — experiences that often become the highlight of their trip: the stories of the people they met, the crafts they tried with their own hands, the recipes they tasted, and the traditions they took part in. At the same time, each trip contributes to a stronger local economy and the preservation of what makes each place unique.

Proactivetur’s Commitment

At Proactivetur, through the TASA Project, we are deeply committed to fostering this type of immersive tourism experiences in the Algarve. It is what defines us. We know the special corners of our region, have privileged access to knowledge holders, work with the territory’s traditional crafts, and are experienced nature guides.

We are also strengthening international partnerships to design exclusive programs that celebrate the region’s cultural and natural heritage, always with a positive impact on the local economy and community life. One example is the program we developed with Artist and Nomad, scheduled to take place in May 2026.

More than just visiting, we invite travelers to participate in the living culture of the Algarve. Because we believe it is in this encounter — between people, knowledge, and places — that tourism becomes truly memorable and responsible.


References

Graça Palma
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In 2026, we will measure the impact of tours with a new Sustainability Index