Resumo: In the most recent years security became a crucial issue in the travel and tourism agenda. Security in tourism includes different areas, such as the public security, the environmental security, the informative security, the medical security, among others. The results of an empirical research conducted at the Faro Airport, from July to October 2006, to a sample of 1,262 international tourists, allows us to conclude that the Algarve is viewed as a safe tourist destination. Non parametric tests and contingency tables demonstrate that country of residence and age group are the independent variables with stronger impact on the perceptions of security, compared to the presence of children in the travel group, gender, previous visit to the Algarve, and education level. A higher perception of security means more recommendation to friends and relatives to visit the Algarve and a sooner return to the destination.
