Mediating rurality, history and exclusivity in Pousadas de Portugal

This chapter examines modern consumption of heritage through the lens of culturally motivated tourism in the Pousadas de Portugal, a state-owned chain of tourist accommodations created in 1939. Located primarily in rural areas, installed in historic fabric and associated with upper-class taste, Pousadas provide a catalog of modalities of representing and consuming rurality, history and exclusivity. Grounded in anthropological fieldwork, the chapter analyzes the centrality of different cultural repertoires in the Pousadas guests’ motivations and the depth of their tourism experiences. It argues that Pousadas have become heritage attractions in themselves, not only disclosing postmodern understanding of the past, but also confirming tourism consumption as a learning skill within classificatory struggles, where upper and new middle classes strive to assert cultural capital and social differentiation.