Sustainable Tourism in Natural Territories that Have Suffered from Catastrophes: The Perception of Public and Private Stakeholders of the Alva Great Route

Abstract

This study analyses the current meaning of the sustainable tourism model, especially for natural and rural areas, with the aim of understanding the new development scenarios in a post-COVID-19 era. The interpretation of the value of water and landscape for tourism and leisure is our main motivation for studying the different types of resources associated with the Alva River in the central region of Portugal. This region has been recently affected by two catastrophes that affect the tourist attraction, first the large forest fires in 2017 and then the pandemic calamity of COVID-19 that still affects tourism worldwide. The objective of this study is to interpret the tourism potential and the appropriate development model for this region, which leads us to evaluate the model of sustainability and competitiveness of this area with low population density. Considering the impact of these disruptive events, both regional and global, it is important to understand what are the associated threats and ultimately the opportunities. The methodology adopted for this exploratory study is essentially quantitative, and, in addition to the literature and secondary data review, questionnaires were sent to the main public and private stakeholders of the municipality of Oliveira do Hospital to obtain responses to the objectives of the study and to understand their opinions and expectations regarding the recent creation of the Alva Great Route (AGR). The main results indicate that new and innovative actions are needed to better articulate the development of tourism in the region, the majority of whose tourist situation is considered adequate or negative. In fact, there is a great lack of knowledge in the region itself about the existence and purpose of the AGR. However, those who know about this route consider it very important and agree on the strategy to be followed, which is an integrated management structure at the level of all the municipalities along the Alva River. The sustainability of this area, whose main attributes are the landscape/nature and the river, and which is therefore very vulnerable to disasters, requires a model of shared management between public and private entities. Their involvement in a network performance is important both for the planning and development of the tourist offer and for the promotion and communication with the tourist demand.