Fonte: Journal of Tourism & Development; n. 29 (2018); 125-136
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Resumo: Tourism provides to the elderly a social activity that improves their quality of life. Emerged, in that context, a product that has gained great visibility: health tourism. Despite the importance it is still not possible to determine its impact in Portugal, and for the senior market. The objective of the study was to portray the current situation in Portugal and in the North of the public policies aimed athealth tourism for the elderly, and to create bases for a promotional policy aimed at seniors in Portugal. It was decided to conduct a qualitative exploratory study, using semi-structured interviews. The sample consisted of 10 key actors in the scope. The results indicate that: (i) there is lack of knowledge about the concept of health tourism and its divisions; (ii) Portugal has not defined a specific strategy for the sector; (iii) aging is seen as an opportunity for the phenomenon; (iv) the interventions that must be carried out are the development of a concerted strategy, the international promotion and the identification of the actors in the field of health tourism. The results allowed a better understanding of the current situation in the context of health tourism in Portugal (what remains to be done, what is being done, how and by who), as well as the knowledge that the decision makers in the area have regarding concepts and good practices related to the theme.
