Tourism in protected areas: the example of Peneda-Gerês National Park (Portugal)

Abstract

Tourism in protected areas can have a variety of positive impacts, on the protected areas themselves, for the people, communities and economies that surround them, and for the tourists who visit them. In Portugal, nature is one of the strategic differentiating assets of national tourism. Of the Portuguese protected areas there is one that stands out: the Peneda-Gerês National Park (PGNP). The aim of this article is to understand the evolution of supply and demand in tourist terms in the PGNP. It was possible to observe that the territory has early sought to consolidate itself as a brand both nationally and internationally, being inserted in networks of high prestige, having also sought to know, study and classify the existing heritage in the territory, considered as tourist attractions. The PGNP continues to be a reference in terms of tourist demand, despite having registered a decrease during the pandemic period.