methaodos.revista de ciencias sociales E-ISSN: 2340-8413 [email protected] Universidad Rey Juan Carlos España Castel-Branco, Cristina; Soares Albergaria, Isabel The Azores Lake Gardens as touristic asset: using the visual preferences methaodos.revista de ciencias sociales, vol. 5, núm. 1, 2017, pp. 182-193 Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Madrid, España Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=441550663015 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative methaodos.revista de ciencias sociales, 2017, 5 (1): 182-193 Castel-Branco y Isabel Soares Albergaria Cristina ISSN: 2340-8413 | http://dx.doi.org/10.17502/m.rcs.v5i1.162 Nota de investigación The Azores Lake Gardens as touristic asset: using the visual preferences Los jardines de los lagos de las Azores como bien turístico: estudio por el método de las preferencias visuales Castel-Branco Cristina Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal [email protected] Isabel Soares Albergaria Universidade dos Açores, Portugal [email protected] Recibido:27-02-2017 Aceptado: 02-04-2017 Abstract This paper discusses the touristic asset of the Azores Lake Gardens, analysing landscape transformations and testing the currently visual preferences of local people (C. Steinitz 1990; C. Castel-Branco et al. 2011). On the volcanic Islands of the Azores lake gardens built in the 19th century in the old craters of Furnas and Sete Cidades at S. Miguel Island had a naturally picturesque setting. Since then, they became cultural landscapes; encompassing extensive woodland gardens and romantic buildings (I. Albergaria 2000), these Lake Gardens have turned into iconic symbols of local identity becoming the subject of representations as part of the tourist attractions of the island. Albeit the high standards of environmental and landscape quality of the Azores, promoted in international publicity as the most sustainable tourist destination in the world (Global Sustainable Tourism Review, 2014), these two lakes are polluted due to an intensive dairy practice impact and became eutrophic. A long term goal of the project envisions to protect these lakes and landscapes to promote them through cultural landscape management and spatial planning within a sustainable tourism framework. Key words: Lake Gardens of S. Miguel Island, Identity Landscapes, Touristic Interpretation, Visual Preferences. Resumen En este artículo se estudia el activo turístico de los Jardines del Lago de las Azores, analizando las transformaciones del paisaje a partir de las preferencias visuales actuales de la población local (C. Steinitz, 1990; C. Castel-Branco et al., 2011). En las islas volcánicas de las Azores, los jardines lacustres construidos en el siglo XIX en los viejos cráteres de Furnas y Sete Cidades en la isla de S. Miguel tenían un entorno naturalmente pintoresco. Desde entonces, se han transformado en paisajes culturales que comprenden extensos jardines boscosos y edificios románticos (I. Albergaria 2000). Estos Jardines del Lago se han convertido en símbolos emblemáticos de la identidad local y, con ello, tema de las representaciones como parte de los atractivos turísticos de la isla. A pesar de los altos estándares de calidad ambiental y paisajístico de las Azores que se promueve en la publicidad internacional como el destino turístico más sostenible del mundo (Global Sustainable Tourism Review, 2014), estos dos lagos están contaminados debido a un intenso impacto en la práctica láctea y se han vuelto eutróficos . Un objetivo a largo plazo del proyecto prevé la protección de estos lagos y paisajes con el fin de promoverlos a través de la gestión del paisaje cultural y la planificación espacial, dentro de un marco de turismo sostenible. Palabras clave: Jardines del Lago de la Isla de S. Miguel, paisajes con identidad, interpretación turística. Summary 1. Introduction | 2. The landscape changes introduced and signed by José do Canto and by António Borges and the new cultural identity of the Island | 3. The cultural landscapes identities through Tourism marketing | 4. Visual preferences today. The measure of local people’s opinion and the identity of the Island as a cultural landscape | 5. Conclusion | References How to cite this article Castel-Branco; C.; Soares Albergaria, I. (2017): “The Azores Lake Gardens as touristic asset: using the visual preferences method”, methaodos.revista de ciencias sociales, 5 (1): 182-193. http://dx.doi.org/10.17502/m.rcs.v5i1.162 182 methaodos.revista de ciencias sociales, 2017, 5 (1): 182-193 Castel-Branco y Isabel Soares Albergaria Cristina ISSN: 2340-8413 | http://dx.doi.org/10.17502/m.rcs.v5i1.162 Nota de investigación 1. Introduction The Azores lake landscapes within the volcanic cones of the islands are the most attractive and valuable touristic resource of St. Michael Island. As an identity phenomenon these volcanic lakes play for most of the islanders the role of a kind of collective “superego” (as to use a psychology term). This daring hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the study carried in the project with inquiries that consulted the visual preferences of different groups of users within the island of St. Michael. The cultural landscapes of the two main lakes Furnas and Sete Cidades catalyse what Cosgrove refers as the symbolic landscape meaning/significance and its portrayal in art or other visual discourse (Cosgrove 1998). The historic and cultural transformation that occurred after 1840 on these previously forgotten landscapes is not recognized by the normal user and a frequently made idea about the natural origins of these landscapes has created touristic slogans for the “intact Nature” of the Azores islands. Destination for the islands claim to offer “Nature in its pure state” or “Nature alive” and these are misleading concepts because this “Nature” or rather, this landscape has been highly manipulated by Man. Its superb topography, its sublime waterscape, its raw materials were the elements that a handful of local men shaped to produce the present landscape with its sublime beauty and its internal liabilities. In Furnas, as well as in Sete Cidades, cultured and wide travelled men's vision got entangled with craters and volcanoes, as elements of a natural arena used as medium. Many times, during the last 170 years, sensitive mutations in the way these landscapes are perceived and represented were revealed, which deserve to be known and analysed. The duly explained process reveals its intimate connections with the tourism phenomenon. There is no need to go further than making a relationship between the progressive identification of the most touristic places with the acknowledgement of the heritage values (Palmer 1999), associated in the promotion of the brand Azores, especially in St. Michael island. Thanks to an international favourable framework, related to intensification of maritime traffic, the 20th century first decades witnessed tourism intensification, and it was then that the must-see sights for all tourists arriving to St. Michael Island were defined. The image of the Lakes and their landscaped margins, transformed into leisure resorts, start to build the representation of a territory that becomes the image of a Destination. Figure 1. the collapse crater of Sete Cidades Source: © Filipe Jorge However, in comparison with other insular contexts, the Azores remained rather isolated and remote from the most important touristic circuits, associated with sun and beach tourism. Branded by isolation, territorial fragmentation and the effects of insularity, the Archipelago stands up to high standards of environment and landscape quality, distinguished in the international scenery as the most sustainable 183 methaodos.revista de ciencias sociales, 2017, 5 (1): 182-193 Castel-Branco y Isabel Soares Albergaria Cristina ISSN: 2340-8413 | http://dx.doi.org/10.17502/m.rcs.v5i1.162 Nota de investigación touristic destination all over the world (2014); this distinction was awarded by Green Destinations, supported by indicators certified by Global Sustainable Tourism Review, that evaluate environmental and cultural performance, social well-being, "green" economy and politics of ecological tourism. Thus, the Azores achieved the highest maximum score, among all evaluated destinations, ahead of sites in The Netherlands (Noordwijk, Goedereede-Ouddorp, Westvoorne, Schouwen-Duiveland), Greece (Ierapetra, Creta), Italy (Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli) and Malta (Gozo and Comino). However, the remarkable aesthetic quality of the cultural landscape in St. Michael's lakes hides an elusive environmental quality. In reality, the economic dynamics and the consequent substantive changes in land use – mainly due to the exponential growth of the intensive agricultural activity that occurred in the second half of the 20th century – made a deep indent on the ecological balance of those landscapes, bringing about various environmental problems, the most visible aspect being the quality of the water in the lakes, presently in an eutrophic state of difficult reversion. Ascertaining validation of the population's synonymy between the lakes landscape and the visual landscape preferences, we aim at alerting to the need to reach the level that is being merchandising as "brand". Despite some environmental and spatial planning measures