Issues on the residents’ perceptions of the impacts of tourism development: the case-study of Guimarães

In recent years peripheral regions, such as Guimarães, in the Northwest of Portugal, has been experiencing the expansion of its tourism industry. This occurred, may be, as part of the wish felt by a large number of tourists of reaching “unspoilt†landscapes and more “authentical†experiences (Nepal, 2008). After the nomination by U.N.E.S.C.O., in 2001, of its historical centre as world heritage, the city of Guimarães is now in the process of hosting the 2012 European Capital of Culture. These recent facts helped to reinforce its external visibility and cultural significance and put it in the trail to become a more consolidated cultural tourism destination. This paper aims presenting a few results of a survey that envisaged capturing the Guimarães residents’ perceptions of tourism effects and attitudes regarding the tourists. The survey was implemented between January and March 2010 to a convenience sample of 540 inhabitants of the municipality of Guimarães. The results show that the Guimarães` residents keep a strong positive perception of the tourism benefits. The more or less favourable perception of tourism impacts the survey respondents kept are strongly correlated with some demographic features, such as age, gender and level of education. As expected, we got a more positive perception among the younger cohorts of age and the ones endowed with a higher level of education.

The use of stated preference and choice models in the analysis of tourists’ preferences: the Minho-Lima sub-region (Portugal) case

Some territories use its natural, historical and ethnographical resources aiming to preserve resources and to increase revenue and employment. In order to efficiently promote the folder of products and services available and attracting tourists, decision makers, private and public, need to know and incorporate in its marketing strategies tourists’ preferences. In this paper we illustrate the use of stated preferences as an instrument to identify national and foreign tourists’ preferences in what concerns the products and services the Minho-Lima sub-region (Portugal) touristic destination should offer. As a starting point, we have taken the three general groups of touristic resources mentioned above as attributes. We believe the previously identified methodology can be a valuable instrument in the identification of strengths and weaknesses of the selected territory and, thus, giving support to the decision making process behind its future tourist development and external promotion

Sustainable use of endogenous touristic resources of rural areas: two portuguese case studies

Empirical evidence shows that tourism can give a real contribution to regional development and, in the case of certain remote and economic lagged territories, it is the sector best placed to achieve this goal. This role of tourism as to do, namely, with the possibility of taking profit of the endogenous resources of these territories. Meanwhile, the opportunities are not the same for each region and it is easy to understand that, considering the resources available, not every one has the choice to base its development strategy in the tourism sector. On the other hand, sustainable development depends, both, on conservation and valorisation of the resources potential and on diversification of tourism activities and products, no matter the agents or policy options are. Based on empirical research carried out in Caminha and Paredes de Coura portuguese municipalities, and in what Tourism in Rural Areas (TRA) is concerned, we present in this paper a preliminary evaluation of the social and economic impacts of the tourism strategies followed. We also aim to extract some policy implications in order to better design future approaches to this issue of taking profit from resources endowment of territories. The starting point is the one of tourism based on quality, which serves the interests of local populations

A imagem de destino e o potencial turístico do Vale do Minho (Portugal)

A evidência empírica mostra que o turismo pode dar uma contribuição real para o desenvolvimento do mundo rural e, no caso de certas regiões mais remotas e deprimidas, é um dos sectores melhor colocados para alcançar esse objectivo. Este papel tem que ver com a possibilidade de tirar partido dos recursos endógenos desses territórios. No caso do Vale do Minho, um importante potencial turístico existe, em resultado da variedade e singularidade dos seus recursos – a beleza das paisagens, a riqueza arquitectónica de edifícios seculares, a exuberância da gastronomia e de muitas manifestações culturais são uma realidade neste território. Nesta comunicação, pretende-se catalogar e avaliar os recursos turísticos dos cinco municípios do Vale do Minho português, bem como analisar os elementos complementares e os factores externos relacionados com a imagem de destino. A metodologia assenta num processo em duas fases: numa primeira fase, atendendo às componentes primárias, analisa-se a consistência do território como destino, avaliando o potencial turístico e a sua configuração. Posteriormente, numa segunda fase, considerando os elementos secundários, as componentes da imagem do destino turístico conjunto foram analisadas. No presente caso, a análise da imagem teve um objectivo claro: averiguar a percepção do território como destino turístico comum e o envolvimento dos agentes na configuração deste objectivo

The tourist potential of the Minho-Lima Region (Portugal)

COMPETE; QREN;FEDER;Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Motivações de viagem dos residentes em Guimarães

Guimarães has made a major effort in promoting tourism, positioning itself as an urban and cultural tourism destination. This strategy is based on the historical heritage of the city, which is a UNESCO world heritage site since 2001, and the promotion of events, such as the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) in 2012. The new image created for Guimarães has defined a new lifestyle for its residents by placing tourism and culture at the forefront of a new development strategy. This study examines the underlying reasons for the travel decisions of the population of the municipality of Guimarães, investigating their push and pull tourist motivations. The study also analyses the role that important socio‑demographic variables play in determining travel motivations of residents from this municipality. The empirical analysis was undertaken based on questionnaires administered in 2012 to residents of Guimarães. Results show that gender, age, and education make a difference with regard to travel motivations.Guimarães fez um grande esforço na promoção do turismo, posicionando‑se como um destino turístico urbano e cultural. Esta estratégia baseia‑se no património histórico da cidade, património mundial da UNESCO desde 2001, e na promoção de eventos, como a Capital Europeia da Cultura (CEC) em 2012. A nova imagem criada para Guimarães definiu uma novo estilo de vida para os seus residentes, colocando o turismo e a cultura na vanguarda de uma nova estratégia de desenvolvimento. Este estudo analisa as razões subjacentes às decisões de viagem da população do município de Guimarães, investigando as suas motivações turísticas. O estudo também analisa o papel que as variáveis sociodemográficas exercem na determinação das motivações de viagens dos moradores desse município. A análise empírica foi realizada com base em questionários aplicados em 2012 aos residentes de Guimarães. Os resultados mostram que gênero, idade e educação fazem a diferença em relação às motivações das viagens

The Minho-Lima sub-region as a common destination: tourist potential and agents’ commitment on it

Empirical evidence shows that tourism can give a real contribution to regional development and, in the case of certain remote and economic lagged territories, it is one of the best placed sectors to achieve this goal. This as to do, namely, with the possibility of making use of endogenous resources of territories. In the case of the Minho-Lima sub-region, an important tourist potential exists coming from the variety and singularity of its resources - the beauty of its landscapes, the architectonic wealth of secular buildings, and the exuberance of the gastronomy and many of its cultural manifestations. Taking this in view, this paper attempts to catalogue and evaluate the tourist resources of Minho-Lima, as well as to analyze the complementary elements and the external factors related with the image of the destination. The methodology followed relies on a two-stage process. Firstly, taking the primary components, the consistency of the territory as a tourist destination was analysed, evaluating its tourism potential. In a second stage, considering the secondary elements, the components of the image of the common tourist destination were evaluated through the study of local, regional and national promotion strategies, in what brochures and web sites are concerned. The ultimate goal is to check the perception of the territory as a common destination and agents’ commitment on it

The host-tourist interaction in a world heritage site : the case of Guimarães

Guimarães, in the northwest of Portugal, is a city of strong symbolic and cultural significance and its nomination by UNESCO as world heritage, in 2001, enlarged its tourism potential. In this paper we present a few results of a survey that envisaged capturing the Guimarães residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts and their attitudes towards tourists. Specifically, one analyzes the type of relationship that exists between some socio-demographic groups and the perceived tourism impacts, as well as their socio-characteristics and the existing level of interaction between residents and tourists. The survey was implemented between January and March 2010 to a convenience sample of 540 inhabitants of the municipality of Guimarães resulting in 400 questionnaires with complete data. For this, we made use of various statistical techniques. Using a factorial analysis, we can conclude that the three factors used explain 52.3% of the variance contained in the original variables obtained from the survey. By another side, using a logit model in the analysis and taking as the dependent variable the frequent or very frequent contact with tourists, we found that only the variables referred to perceived positive impacts of tourism, education and the place of residence in urban areas have shown to be statistically significant. We are aware of the multiple ways the issue of residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards tourism can be approached and of the difficulties to get useful policy-oriented insights. This paper is a step in that trail

Rural Tourism: a comparative analyses from Galicia and North of Portugal

This paper unveils the results stemming from two parallel researches, whose scope of analysis was tourism in rural areas (TRA) structures, as established in both northeast regions of the Iberia Peninsula which shape the Euro-region Galicia-North of Portugal. Firstly, a descriptive analysis of the regulations and the TRA supply for both territories is presented, and an evaluation of the strategies which have been followed by the private entrepreneurs and the public administration of each of them, as far as the utilisation of resources is concerned, is done. The symmetries and asymmetries of the touristic structures of those regions are also underlined. In the second part of this study, the above mentioned strategies will be discussed at length seeking to pinpoint how they configure and shape very similar touristic models based upon the use of natural and historical resources, which somehow display common features. Finally, it is sought to materialise a brief conclusion. Key Words: Tourism in Rural Areas (TRA), touristic strategies, TRA models