Fonte: Journal of Tourism & Development; n. 6 (2006); 125-132
Palavras-chave:
Resumo: Tourism activity is no longer confined to certain spaces and contexts, as more tourists are looking for alternative destinations and moving away from the usual tourism enclaves originally promoted to satisfy them.Since the 1980s, Serra da Lousã has been sought after by foreign tourists looking for alternative ways of life and by domestic tourists influenced by changes in holiday habits. The increase in living standards and disposable income, the democratization of travel, the improvement of accessibility to the interior, the growing urbanization and the higher rate of automoblie use in Portugal were decisive factors from the demand side to generate conditions for growth of the tourist activity outside the traditional destinations, located along the coasts. Based on the trilogy of territorial planning in Serra da Lousã, sustainable investment and tourism organization, it is intended to understand if the organizational process of having a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) would have an important role for the promotion of tourism development process in Serra da Lousã, which can benefit the tourism sector and the local people.This article may provide the 'reinvention' of the traditional tourist destination concept, rather than being spontaneous, organized to always serve tourists in the usual way (industrialized) triggering a process in which tourism partners organize serving each tourist in a unique and differentiated way.
