L-Tour

Smart solutions for tourism, culture and territories

L-TOUR — the Tourism Laboratory of the Polytechnic University of Tomar — turns research into decision-making tools for municipalities, intermunicipal communities, heritage managers, companies and cultural associations. It works with data collected in the field, replicable evaluation methods and teams that bring together tourism, economics, heritage, communication, technology and sustainability.

Areas of work

Models and indicators to evaluate tourism and heritage practices, products, events and strategies, such as the HITTS model, applied to fifteen good practices from Portugal, Spain and France under the Interreg Sudoe programme.
Routes, itineraries and tourism products: resource inventory and validation, unifying themes, mapping and storytelling, as in the study for the Templar Route in the Médio Tejo region.
Territorial diagnostics based on primary data on cultural and creative agents, visitors and the economic dependence on tourism of Médio Tejo municipalities, with annual data collection from 2026/2027.
Seminars, training and micro-credentials: scientific programming for events in the region, such as the Templar Festival in Tomar, and short courses for public and private stakeholders.

Requests for proposals: l-tour@ipt.pt. The laboratory replies with a work proposal setting out the team, timetable and budget.

Objetivos

Develop applied research in the fields of tourism, culture, heritage and tourism-cultural product development.
Promote conditions for strengthening and expanding the network of institutions, companies and partner entities associated with L-TOUR.
Foster entrepreneurship among students and graduates of the Polytechnic University of Tomar by integrating them into ongoing projects.
Provide technical and scientific services in the fields of tourism and culture, contributing to the sustainable development of tourism activity in the region and in the country.
Stimulate national and international relations in the fields of research, tourism product creation, applied innovation and institutional cooperation.
Support public and private entities in structuring products, experiences, routes, management models, strategic studies and innovation projects.
Develop models, indicators and decision-support instruments applied to tourism, culture and territorial development.
Contribute to the creation of intelligent, sustainable and technologically prepared solutions, adjusted to the needs of destinations, organisations and communities.

Morada