The World Map presented here is the result of a survey of the nationalities of individuals (tourists, visitors, and customers) who have been at Café Santa Cruz since July 25, 2022.
It all started with a simple curiosity to understand/know/discover the nationalities of the people who visit the Café. We already had an idea that our visitors, our customers, came from all five continents, but we never knew specifically what their nationality was.
Our curiosity was immediately sparked at the entrance door by the appearance of the people: by the color of their skin, by their language, but also by the pronunciation, for example, of their English or their Spanish. It is also interesting to note that even in Portugal we have different accents that are characteristic of each of our regions, often presenting a challenge for us to identify their origin, for example, whether people are from Porto, Lisbon, the Algarve, the Alentejo, Madeira, or the Azores, …
In this World Map, only the countries of the customers to whom we asked their nationality are marked. At the end of this year, we had people from 66 nationalities, coming from all 5 continents.
Certainly, there must have been many people who came from other countries, but due to the movement, work, and hustle of the moment, we did not have the opportunity to ask for their nationality.
However, with the display of this World Map at Café Santa Cruz, where the 66 countries are already marked, our customers from other nationalities will probably have the opportunity to contribute to expanding the number of countries that visit us by placing a sticker on their respective country. In this World Map by Porto Editora, dated 2021, 198 countries are identified. So, we still have a long way to go…
It is worth noting that many of these visitors ask us for advice on places to visit, restaurants where they can taste our specialties, or other cafes where they can try the traditional and conventual pastries of our region. The information we provide aims to awaken and sensitize our visitors to the history, culture, and heritage of our city. This is a role that we perform with great care.
Based on our experience, we can identify and characterize the type of tourism that visits us as follows:
- Cultural tourism (due to our history, heritage, and traditions);
- Gastronomic tourism (especially regarding our conventual pastries);
- Business tourism (to participate in exhibitions, conferences, congresses, seminars on various topics: economic, scientific, political, and/or social; to participate in fairs and/or exhibitions, …);
- Recreational tourism (for leisure, just for the pleasure of temporarily changing location or entertainment because they are going to attend a show and/or another cultural event).
This is another initiative that aims to underline the existence, importance, and relevance of Café Santa Cruz as a Historic Cafe, as the meeting point of the City, a Cafe of Coimbra, a Cafe of Portugal, a Cafe of Europe, and the World.
Coimbra, January 15, 2023.