Faro
CinTurs is our principal research partner on regenerative tourism, guest experience design and destination sustainability. Coordinator Maria Manuela Martins Guerreiro authored the Algarvensis Geopark strategy that we now position ourselves alongside, and their experimental augmented-reality lab will use Hillside as a living-lab venue once we open.
— Hillside Sanctuary Team
Tourism, sustainability and well-being research centre at the University of Algarve. Authored the Algarvensis UNESCO Global Geopark education, geoconservation and geotourism strategy. FCT-funded UID/04020/2025.
CinTurs — Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being — is a Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) funded research unit at the University of Algarve, classified Very Good. The centre brings together researchers in tourism, hospitality, sustainability, regional development and human well-being, with a particular focus on the Algarve as a living laboratory for sustainable destination thinking.
The CinTurs team authored the strategy that earned the Algarvensis territory its UNESCO Global Geopark designation in April 2026, structured around three working pillars: education, geoconservation and geotourism. Their experimental augmented-reality lab develops interpretive guest experiences for cultural and natural heritage sites across the region.
Hillside Sanctuary is in early-stage research collaboration with CinTurs around two threads: a co-designed regenerative-tourism research project routed through the CCDR Algarve regional pathway, and use of the property as a living-lab venue for the AR team once we are operational. The connection was established through a discovery conversation with coordinator Maria Manuela Martins Guerreiro in May 2026, alongside researcher Fatima Bagheri who is integrating Hillside as a new-entrant case in her global regenerative-tourism study.
