Tourism in the Centro de Portugal region: Residents' satisfaction, perceived impacts, and involvement in decisions

Authors

  • Francisco Dias Professor and researcher at Centre for Research, Development and Innovation in Tourism (CiTUR) in Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar, Polytechnic of Leiria
  • Sara Góis Researcher at CiTUR - Centre for Research, Development and Innovation in Tourism in Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar, in Polytechnic of Leiria
  • Gonçalo Gomes Head of Division of Tourim Investment, Regional Entity Turismo Centro de Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59072/rper.vi69.599

Keywords:

Impacts of tourism, resident satisfaction, tourism benefits, social exchange theory

Abstract

Listening to local communities is essential to analyse the impacts of tourism. The aim of this study is to assess the satisfaction of residents of the Centro de Portugal region regarding tourism development in their region. Moreover, it analyses the factors affecting their perceptions on the perceived impacts of tourism, using social exchange theory as the frame of reference. The results show that respondents are overall satisfied with the impacts of tourism on their regions. Furthermore, economic dependence on tourism and involvement in decisions regarding tourism planning are found to positively influence the perceived impacts of tourism. The data highlights the need to involve local communities more strongly in decisions regarding tourism planning in the region.

Author Biographies

Francisco Dias, Professor and researcher at Centre for Research, Development and Innovation in Tourism (CiTUR) in Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar, Polytechnic of Leiria

Francisco Dias held a PhD degree in Tourism Sciences from the University of Perpignan (France). Before, he held a master degree in Neuropsychology, at Moscow State University (Russia), and another master degree in Social Psychology, at University of Porto (Portugal). He is full professor in the Leiria Polytechnic (Portugal). From 2010 to 2013, he was the director of GITUR - Tourism Research Unit of the IPL. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation (EJTHR) until 2015. He also was the founder and the first President of the EATSA – Euro-Asia Tourism Studies Association. His empirical studies cover a large scope of tourism, mostly its psychological and sociological aspects - imaginary, social representations, destination image, motivation, perceived quality – but also several aspects of destination management.
Currently, he is full member of CITUR – Centre for Research, Development and Innovation in Tourism, where he has been the principal researcher of several research projects (for instance, Favourite Destinations Worldwide project, Tourism Observatory of Turismo do Centro de Portugal, Olive4All). Aside academic world, on the last 14 years, he has been the Director of the ART&TUR - International Tourism Film Festival, and as a reaction of Covid crises he is leading the implementation of a new one: the EATSA – Art & Tourism Film Festival.

Sara Góis, Researcher at CiTUR - Centre for Research, Development and Innovation in Tourism in Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar, in Polytechnic of Leiria

She is currently a scholarship researcher in the project SMAT - Monitoring Systems of Tourism Activity at CiTUR Leiria, in Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar of the Polytechnic of Leiria. She held a Master's degree in Tourism and Communication from the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning of the University of Lisbon. Her background is in Languages, Literature and Culture at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon, where she specialised, with a minor, in Communication and Culture. Her research interests are in tourism sustainability, tourism activity monitoring systems and tourism communication.

Gonçalo Gomes, Head of Division of Tourim Investment, Regional Entity Turismo Centro de Portugal

He is Head of the Tourism Investment Support Centre of the Regional Tourism Authority of Centro de Portugal since 2014, where he has been involved in investment support, monitoring applications and regional tourism activities since 1999. He has a degree in Management and Public Administration from the Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas.

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Published

17-09-2024

How to Cite

Dias, F. ., Góis, S., & Gomes, G. . (2024). Tourism in the Centro de Portugal region: Residents’ satisfaction, perceived impacts, and involvement in decisions. RPER, (69), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.59072/rper.vi69.599

Issue

No. 69 (2024): Portuguese Review of Regional Studies

Section

Articles

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