Fonte: Journal of Tourism & Development; v. 1, n. 21/22 (2014); 423-438
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Resumo: Tourism demand of rural destinations has increased considerably in last years, consequence, on the one hand, of the changes in the needs and desires of visitors and, on the other hand, because the development strategies designed to these spaces include tourism as a relevant economic activity. Taking into account the characteristics of Portuguese rural areas, tourism may play an important role in economic and social revitalization of these areas. However, when tourism development is not planned, involving all stakeholders, the negative impacts (economic, sociocultural and environmental) can be substantial. In this context, this paper examines the host-visitor interactions, tourism impacts perceived by residents and residents’ attitudes towards tourism development in small rural tourism destinations, located in Central Region of Portugal. In order to accomplish this objective, a questionnaire was administered to a sample of residents of several Schist Villages. Results suggest that the positive economic and sociocultural tourism impacts are the most perceived by residents, the level of interaction between residents and visitors is low, and the residents have a very positive attitude towards tourism development. The paper ends with some guidelines for strategies development to rural tourism destinations, in order to maintain in the future the positive attitudes of residents towards tourism development.
