Fonte: Journal of Tourism & Development; n. 19 (2013); 149-176
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Resumo: This paper aims to contribute theoretical and practical relation to tourism and its interconnection with the sport, on the one hand, and present sports tourism as a factor for the development of the Alentejo Region, on the other hand. In a globalized world, or globalized, that arouses passions, by mobilizing identities, reflecting the strategies, as well as the economic interests implicit or explicit, sport constitutes an important dimension of society, which, in its modern forms, it sought to establish and affirm as a universal language and as a cultural model adopted internationally. Tourism has become an undeniable fact of postmodern life, being an indicator of economic development throughout the world. Tourism activity shows trends to increase, now spanning more than the small and restricted elite to whom it was initially reserved, becoming the largest industry in Europe and the world. The importance of tourism is now recognized worldwide. It is one of the main economic sectors, or even the main, in many regions and countries receiving tourism. Regarding its contribution to job creation and wealth, as well as its multiplier effects across other sectors of the economy, the tourism industry takes an increasingly important role in socio-economic development of different countries and tourism regions receivers. Tourism provides interfaces with the sport. For this study we used Social Sciences techniques, sought to review existing literature on sport and tourism, exposing its interconnections and tried to analyse various available instruments of national and regional planning. In terms of results and conclusions, we can affirm that sports tourism can be an important strategy to the development of the Alentejo Region.
