The Creative Industries’ Role in Low-Density Territories’ Sustainability: The Douro Region

The main objective of this study is to understand the role of creative industries in the sustainability of low-density territories. Primary data were gathered from semi-structured interviews’ transcripts. The interviews were applied to five creative entrepreneurs and heads of companies belonging to the creative industries, and four heads of local institutions, namely a university, two municipalities and a business incubator. The data were processed using NVivo software. The results obtained show that creative industries can be a solution to the problems identified in low-density territories, since creative companies reduce the unemployment rate and increase the population, thus reversing the depopulation of these territories. Creative industries also value local resources and the development of the local economy, thus enabling the emergence of innovation. This research’s findings include evidence of creative industries’ significant impact on low-density regions. In addition, this study demonstrates information and evidence on the role of creativity and this sector of creative companies, as well as the influence shown by creative entrepreneurs in the development of the region. The main limitations of this study are related, on the one hand, to the subjectivity of qualitative studies, due to the fact that the results can be interpreted in several ways. On the other hand, because only one territory was studied.