Stakeholders' integrated perspective of the Schist Villages Network as a tourist destination: motivational factors

Português

Abstract

This paper presents an integrated approach of the stakeholders of the Schist Villages Network, in Central Portugal, aiming to understand the importance of a set of endogenous resources used in tourism activities as well as the motivation they generate, by measuring and comparing multiple perceptions and attitudes.

A comparative research involving the stakeholders from the territory of the Schist Villages Network was conducted from July to November 2015, resulting in the analysis of 751 inquiries.

Despite the many empirical works that have been published on the issue of tourism in rural areas, there are few studies that present an integrated view of rural territories as a tourist destination, taking into account the set of stakeholders involved. In this context, the paper analyzes the multiple comparison of the perceptions of four stakeholders: tourists and visitors, residents, economic operators and official and associative entities. The results of the multiple comparisons allow us to find divergences, highlighting significant differences between the perceptions of the different stakeholders, regarding the endogenous motivational factors of the territory.