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- ‘Enjoyers’, ‘seekers’ and ‘vacationers’.Proposal for a typology of motorhome travellers in EuropePublication . Marques, João Filipe; Rodrigues, Teresa IsabelMotorhoming consists of a way of travelling in vehicles that incorporate a living space. These vehicles usually include a sleeping area, a kitchen, a dining area and, in some cases, a bathroom and shower. People who travel in motorhomes choose a type of tourism that does not rely on traditional touristic infrastructures. They sleep in their own beds, cook their own food and can be self-sufficient and independent for several days without interacting with the rest of society. The main objective of this article is to propose a typology of European motorhome travellers, taking the Algarve region (in southern Portugal) as a case study. Previous investigations conducted in other regions of the world have proposed some typologies of motorhome travellers, but the sociocultural contexts where they were elaborated are very different from the European reality, namely from the studied region. Contrasting with the previous typologies, which used only one or two characteristics of the motorhomers, the proposed typology combines their objective attributes with their subjective discourses about the trip. The three resulting types were designated as 'enjoyers', 'seekers' and 'vacationers'.
- Motorhome and vanlife travel as serious leisure: a positive sociology approachPublication . Anica Claro Rodrigues, Teresa Isabel; Marques, João FilipeDespite travel and tourism sometimes being mentioned in the literature as 'casual leisure' activities, they are practically absent from the 'serious leisure perspective'. However, a significant number of studies have argued that some modes of travelling and touring can indeed be framed from the serious leisure perspective. The main objective of this article is to demonstrate, through empirical evidence and the theoretical lens of positive sociology, that motorhome tourism and 'vanlife' travel possess the six qualities of serious leisure identified by Stebbins: perseverance, career, effort, durable benefits, unique ethos and identity. Not only can motorhome and van touring induce experiences of hedonic pleasure (as casual leisure), but they can also promote states of eudaemonic well-being and flow (as serious leisure), which are more challenging to achieve but much more lasting and transformative. Considering the blend of hedonic and eudaimonic experiences lived by motorhome travellers, it can be argued that, with this way of travelling, they achieve an 'optimal leisure lifestyle'. The empirical research took place in the Algarve region (Southern Portugal) and resorted to a 'mobile methodology': an ethnographic approach that included participant and non-participant observations and a series of semi-structured interviews through the use of a rented motorhome.