Tourism, management and territory

Abstract

Tourism is an economic sector that more rapidly (and with lower investments) can act on territories and obtain significant positive impacts. The organization of territories with tourist visitation, the destinations and tourism locations need processes - preferably systemic - of intervention and action, forcing a great management capacity. Relations between territorial sustainability, promotion of places and image broadcast have to be more and more dense and reflexive in order to achieve, through tourism, both improvement of residents’ quality of life and maximum satisfaction for visitors. To the support policies of these strategies is given great attention by all stakeholders, direct and indirectly associated to tourism. This text highlights the importance of places while scenarios of interaction between offer and demand of touristic consumption, offers a perspective of valorization of competitiveness of tourism destinations and focuses on programs and policies of tourism support and guidance in Portugal, providing for territory a central role in defining tourism activities management processes.