IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i1p433-d305701.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modeling Nature-Based and Cultural Recreation Preferences in Mediterranean Regions as Opportunities for Smart Tourism and Diversification

Author

Listed:
  • André Samora-Arvela

    (Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, New University of Lisbon, 1069-061 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Jorge Ferreira

    (Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, New University of Lisbon, 1069-061 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Eric Vaz

    (Laboratory for Geocomputation, Faculty of Arts, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON M5B 1W7, Canada)

  • Thomas Panagopoulos

    (Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal)

Abstract

The tourism and recreational offer of Mediterranean destinations involves, essentially, the promotion of mass tourism, based on the appeal of the sun and beach, and the quality of its coastal assets. Alongside the impacts of climate change, poor tourism diversification represents a threat to the resilience of the territory. Thus, heterogenization of noncoastal tourism products presents an opportunity to strengthen regional resilience to present and future challenges, hence the need to study, comparatively, the complementary preferences of tourists and residents of these regions in order to unveil their willingness to diversify their recreational experience, not only in coastal spaces, but also—and especially—in interior territories with low urban density. Consequently, this strategic option may represent a way of strengthening resilience and sustainability through diversification. In this context, a survey was conducted among 400 beach tourists and 400 residents of a case study—namely, three municipalities of the Algarve region in southern Portugal—in order to analyze their degree of preference for activities besides the sun and beach, such as nature-based and cultural tourism activities, and to probe the enhancement potential of each tourism and recreational activity through the various landscape units considered by experts, stakeholders, and tour operators. The respective degree of preference and enhancement potential were indexed to the area of each landscape unit. Subsequently, respecting the existing recreational structure and constraints, a suitability map for territory enhancement and the implementation of smart tourism practices for each tourism activity and landscape unit is presented. Results show a significant preference for noncoastal outdoor recreational activities.

Suggested Citation

  • André Samora-Arvela & Jorge Ferreira & Eric Vaz & Thomas Panagopoulos, 2020. "Modeling Nature-Based and Cultural Recreation Preferences in Mediterranean Regions as Opportunities for Smart Tourism and Diversification," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:1:p:433-:d:305701
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/433/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/433/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hjalager, Anne-Mette, 2010. "A review of innovation research in tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-12.
    2. André Samora-Arvela & Eric Vaz & João Ferrão & Jorge Ferreira & Thomas Panagopoulos, 2018. "Diversifying Mediterranean Tourism as a Strategy for Regional Resilience Enhancement," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Hugo Pinto & Teresa Noronha & Eric Vaz (ed.), Resilience and Regional Dynamics, chapter 0, pages 105-127, Springer.
    3. Benur, Abdelati M. & Bramwell, Bill, 2015. "Tourism product development and product diversification in destinations," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 213-224.
    4. Paraskevi Karanikola & Thomas Panagopoulos & Stilianos Tampakis & Georgios Tsantopoulos, 2018. "Cycling as a Smart and Green Mode of Transport in Small Touristic Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Pedro Palos-Sanchez & Jose Ramon Saura & Ana Reyes-Menendez & Ivonne Vásquez Esquivel, 2018. "Users Acceptance Of Location-Based Marketing Apps In Tourism Sector: An Exploratory Analysis," Journal of Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being, Cinturs - Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being, University of Algarve, vol. 6(3), pages 258-270.
    6. Hugo Pinto & Teresa Noronha & Eric Vaz (ed.), 2018. "Resilience and Regional Dynamics," Advances in Spatial Science, Springer, number 978-3-319-95135-5, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Igor Trišić & Donatella Privitera & Snežana Štetić & Marko D. Petrović & Milan M. Radovanović & Marija Maksin & Dario Šimičević & Sara Stanić Jovanović & Dobrila Lukić, 2022. "Sustainable Tourism to the Part of Transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve “Mura-Drava-Danube”. A Case of Serbia, Croatia and Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-13, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vaso V Jegdić & Dragica Tomka & Mladen Knežević & Marko Koščak & Srdjan Milošević & Iva Škrbić & Ksenija Keča, 2016. "Improving Tourist Offer Through Inter-Destination Cooperation in a Tourist Region," International Journal of Regional Development, Macrothink Institute, vol. 3(1), pages 1-31, December.
    2. Carlos Fernández-Hernández & Jorge E. Araña & Javier de León & Carmelo J. León, 2022. "Tourists’ Preferences for Stargazing Land Resources," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Adi Weidenfeld, 2018. "Tourism Diversification and Its Implications for Smart Specialisation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-24, January.
    4. Jingjing Liu & Peter Nijkamp, 2016. "Inbound tourism as a driving force of the regional innovation system: An impact study on China," ERSA conference papers ersa16p600, European Regional Science Association.
    5. repec:cfe:wpcefa:2017_01 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Thomas, Rhodri & Wood, Emma, 2015. "The absorptive capacity of tourism organisations," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 84-99.
    7. Mariani, Marcello M. & Giorgio, Luisa, 2017. "The “Pink Night” festival revisited: Meta-events and the role of destination partnerships in staging event tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 89-109.
    8. Georgios Giotis & Evangelia Papadionysiou, 2022. "The Role of Managerial and Technological Innovations in the Tourism Industry: A Review of the Empirical Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, April.
    9. Hilal Erkuş‐Öztürk, 2018. "Related Variety and Innovation: Evidence from the Tourism Industry," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 109(2), pages 256-273, April.
    10. Torres, Juan Pablo & Barrera, Jose Ignacio & Kunc, Martin & Charters, Steve, 2021. "The dynamics of wine tourism adoption in Chile," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 474-485.
    11. Ti-An Chen, 2022. "Business Performance Evaluation for Tourism Factory: Using DEA Approach and Delphi Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, July.
    12. Selima Sultana & Hyojin Kim & Nastaran Pourebrahim & Firoozeh Karimi, 2018. "Geographical Assessment of Low-Carbon Transportation Modes: A Case Study from a Commuter University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-23, August.
    13. Thomas Panagopoulos & Stilianos Tampakis & Paraskevi Karanikola & Aikaterini Karipidou-Kanari & Apostolos Kantartzis, 2018. "The Usage and Perception of Pedestrian and Cycling Streets on Residents’ Well-being in Kalamaria, Greece," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-17, August.
    14. Eleni Dimitriadou & Thomas Bournaris & Theodoros Stavrinoudis & Olga Iakovidou, 2021. "The Efficiency Score of Small Accommodation Businesses in Non-Coastal Rural Areas in Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, October.
    15. Gajdošík Tomáš & Gajdošíková Zuzana & Maráková Vanda & Borseková Kamila, 2017. "Innovations and networking fostering tourist destination development in Slovakia," Quaestiones Geographicae, Sciendo, vol. 36(4), pages 103-115, December.
    16. -, 2020. "The Caribbean Outlook: Forging a people-centred approach to sustainable development post-COVID-19," Libros y Documentos Institucionales, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 46192 edited by Eclac.
    17. Getaneh Addis Tessema & Jan van der Borg & Anton Van Rompaey & Steven Van Passel & Enyew Adgo & Amare Sewnet Minale & Kerebih Asrese & Amaury Frankl & Jean Poesen, 2022. "Benefit Segmentation of Tourists to Geosites and Its Implications for Sustainable Development of Geotourism in the Southern Lake Tana Region, Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-25, March.
    18. Eric Vaz, 2020. "Archaeological Sites in Small Towns—A Sustainability Assessment of Northumberland County," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-13, March.
    19. Gry Agnete Alsos & Dorthe Eide & Einar Lier Madsen, 2014. "Introduction: innovation in tourism industries," Chapters, in: Gry Agnete Alsos & Dorthe Eide & Einar Lier Madsen (ed.), Handbook of Research on Innovation in Tourism Industries, chapter 1, pages 1-24, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Christian Longhi & Sylvie Rochhia, 2015. "Long tails in the tourism industry : towards knowledge intensive service suppliers," Working Papers halshs-01248302, HAL.
    21. Konu, Henna, 2015. "Developing a forest-based wellbeing tourism product together with customers – An ethnographic approach," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1-16.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:1:p:433-:d:305701. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.