The Algarve is perhaps the Portuguese region that has undergone, in the last six decades, the greatest changes in its economic, social and territorial structure.
From an agricultural and fishing space in the early sixties of the last century, the region is transformed into a territory specialized in services, strongly associated with the production and consumption of tourist activity.
Tourism has represented, nowadays, around two thirds of the wealth produced in this region, positioning the Algarve with a significant specialization in activities associated with tourist, residential and leisure activities.
It can thus be said that tourism has been, indisputably, the key to the expansion of the economy in this region, although this leading role should be better accompanied by other economic activities that enhance greater added value and guarantee a greater impact of tourism in the region. .
Studying the touristic reality of the Algarve is, however, of significant complexity, not only because of the heterogeneity of the activities it hosts but also because of the interrelationships it maintains with the economic, social and environmental surroundings in which it develops.
It is, therefore, necessary to include the environmental and social dimensions, alongside economic analysis, in the study of tourism, which lacks any meaning, for example, the contrast between the environment and tourism development. The environment must be a partner to development, just as development must adopt ways of relating to natural resources that meet some basic requirements.
The first is that the process aimed at satisfying the needs of the population that resides here and of those who visit this region is carried out through production and consumption patterns that lead to the least possible pressure on natural resources.
Secondly, it is necessary that this development process allows at the same time a high rate of accumulation of savings and investment that makes it sustainable, both from an economic point of view and also from a social and environmental point of view.
Thirdly, it must be recognized that tourist activity, although it may have some points in common with other economic activities, is, in its essence, completely different. The fundamental difference has to do with the fact that tourism is associated with the movement of people, experiences and the exchange of social and cultural values and not the exchange of material goods. These characteristics have, in fact, been dramatically present in the current pandemic situation.
In this sense, tourism analysis instruments must take into account not only quantitative methodologies but also those of a qualitative nature, as well as less concern with flow concepts associated with the measurement of economic activities, characteristic of regions based on industrial sectors, and greater attention to concepts where the conservation of natural resources, sociocultural heritage, or the improvement of technical-scientific knowledge and the training of human resources are in evidence.
In summary, the study of tourism, as a systemic and holistic reality, implies a complex analysis at the frontiers of various social sciences, such as economics, sociology, psychology, ecology and geography, among others.
Another important area of study associated with tourism development in this region, which is worth mentioning, stems from the major global challenges related to sustainable development.
It is a concept that challenges many of our current civilizational models and that, in addition to being an area of analytical study anchored in the science of complex systems, which aims to explain and predict the complex and non-linear interactions of natural and human systems, it transports us also for a three-dimensional normative model, covering economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.
From a normative point of view, for example, this concept underscores that we cannot only hope for the Algarve that this community be economically prosperous, but also that it be a socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable community with solid governance mechanisms.
A large number of tourist destinations have been incorporating this concept of sustainable development which, in the approach proposed by the World Tourism Organization, means that sustainable tourism development will imply an improvement in the quality of life of populations, in the experience of tourists and in higher levels of economic profitability, without questioning the environmental quality and cultural heritage.
Ultimately, it will mean acknowledging the importance of the participation of the whole community in a dual perspective of social and long-term cohesion. Taking on as a challenge the guarantee of the principles of tourist sustainability for the Algarve will mean bearing in mind the intimate relationship between sustainability and the challenge of competitiveness, because the former sustains the long-term dimension of the competitiveness of tourist activities.
On the other hand, growing concerns about the effects of climate change and the close links between the environment, climate and tourism were present in the constitution of an Observatory for Sustainable Tourism of the Algarve in March 2019, between the University of Algarve , RTA, CCDR and Turismo de Portugal, and its adhesion to the international network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories of the World Tourism Organization, in January 2020, with a set of tasks related to obtaining pertinent information, which includes not only indicators associated with aspects such as seasonality, employment, economic benefits for the region, or the satisfaction of residents and visitors, landscape diversity and land uses, to energy management and management water and solid waste.
The achievement of sustainable tourism development today and for generations to come is the great challenge to our collective capacity to shape a regional consensus that harmonizes development needs and the imperative to minimize the negative impacts resulting from tourist activity.
This great challenge cannot do without the construction of an evaluation model that allows the measurement and monitoring of the sustainable development of tourism in the Algarve, complemented by the creation of a decision support system, strongly participated by the main actors of the tourism system, as a central instrument observation and continuous monitoring of the dynamics of tourist activity in the region.
Author João Albino Silva is a full professor at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Algarve. Researcher and member of the scientific coordination of the Research Center for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-Being at the University of Algarve.
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