THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES: RESPONSABLE CREATIVE TOURISM
Deruralization in Portugal is a process whose roots can be traced back at least to the 1960s (Silva, 2009: 35). Rural development policies have tended to concentrate less on agriculture and progressively more on other economic activities - in particular tourism. Increasingly, public funds have been invested in projects that aimed not only to slow down demographic decline in rural areas, but also stimulate a functional and, indeed, symbolic reorientation of the Portuguese countryside. With regard to such publicly-guided processes of rurally-focused multifunctional diversification and reorientation, the case of the NUT III Douro is paradigmatic.
The Douro, located in Portugal’s North Region and comprising 19 conselhos, is endowed with an exceptional combination of endogenous resources. Among these, it is worth highlighting: the oldest demarcated wine area in the world; a significant hydrographic basin based on the River Douro and its tributaries; two UNESCO world heritage sites (the Upper Douro Vineyards (Alto Douro Vinhateiro), in 2001, and the Côa Valley, in 1998); as well as several other heritage items of significant archaeological and cultural value (churches, monasteries, baroque mansions and palaces).
Regarding Douro's long wine-growing tradition, we can highlight the "Porto" brand, worldwide recognized and associated to the wines produced in the Douro’s region. This recognition have come to assume a reputation for quality, confirmed with several awards and expert opinions. Besides its wines, the Douro is well known for other products such as olive oil, chestnuts, apples, cherries, cured hams and sausages.
Nevertheless, the territory’s abundance of resources contrasts to its relative poverty. This is due two main reasons: on one hand, the decline of the population-density (a frequent characteristic of rural areas) and the ageing population; on the other hand, the lack of dynamism of its economic base and business community. In 2011, compared to the other regions integrating the North area of Portugal, the Douro region showed negative indicators on several issues: it was the second region with shorter duration of tourists’ visits (1,8 days), the second region with lower performance in terms of gross product (67%), the region with the worst level of seasonality; and the second less international (only 17% of non-portuguese guests).
Tourism has been pointed out as an economic activity that results from local endogenous resources (INE, 2011), and therefore as a prime instrument to retain existing population and to attract new residents, significantly contributing to the regional development (RCM nº 150/2003). However, despite an increase of visibility and international recognition, the Douro tourism still falls short to the expectations of the social agents involved. Apparently, the tourism sector in the Douro has not yet took off, as eloquently demonstrates the region’s poor capacity to generate and retain wealth (Sousa 2013).
References:
-Fernandes de Sousa, Carlos Alberto (2013): Impacto no turismo na região demarcada do Alto Douro Vinhateiro, após a classificação de património mundial da humanidade pela UNESCO. Bragança: Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (tese de mestrado inédita).
-INE (2011): Retrato Territorial de Portugal 2009. A expressão territorial dos destinos turísticos, da sustentabilidade demográfica e da produção industrial. Lisboa: INE.
-Silva, Luís (2009): Casas no Campo. Etnografia do Turismo Rural em Portugal. Lisboa: ICS.