Sustainable Competitiveness of Tourism in the Algarve Region. Critical Stakeholders’ Perception of the Supply Sector

Fátima Farinha, David Bienvenido-Huertas, Manuel Duarte Pinheiro, Elisa M. J. Silva, Rui Lança, Miguel José Oliveira and Ricardo Batista
Additional contact information
Fátima Farinha: Higher Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, CEPAC/CTA, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
David Bienvenido-Huertas: Department of Building Construction II, University of Seville, Av. Reina Mercedes 4A, 41012 Seville, Spain
Manuel Duarte Pinheiro: Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georesources, Técnico, Universidade Lisboa, CERIS, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Elisa M. J. Silva: Higher Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, CEPAC/CTA, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Rui Lança: Higher Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, CEPAC/CTA, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Miguel José Oliveira: Higher Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, CEPAC/CTA, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Ricardo Batista: AHETA—Associação dos Hotéis e Empreendimentos Turísticos do Algarve, E.C. Cerro Alagoa—Apartado 2360, 8201-918 Albufeira, Portugal

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-24

Abstract: The Algarve region, located in the south of Portugal, is a well-known tourism destination that seeks to be sustainable and competitive. The local administration looks to establish a collaborative network, where stakeholders take a crucial role. The research aims to appeal to the accommodations and food services stakeholders to have a shared vision of the issues and priorities related to sustainable tourism development. Their perception is a critical factor in making decisions regarding the region’s competitiveness. Algarve’s two major and leading associations of the tourism supply sector AIHSA and AHETA were invited to participate in the study. Based on the responses of an online questionnaire, an artificial intelligence algorithm was applied to the data to identify the common and divergent aspects. The conceptual model developed is based on a simplified model of psychological ownership. The results highlight a convergent perspective regarding sustainability challenges, namely, natural resources and biodiversity, safety, and supply chain. However, hotels and restaurants do not reflect the same perception regarding sustainability initiatives, e-tourism, or free internet access. These divergences are essential results since they indicated which issues require local authorities’ priority intervention.

Keywords: sustainable tourism; destination competitiveness; stakeholder’s perception; Algarve region; artificial intelligence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/11/6072/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/11/6072/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:11:p:6072-:d:563989

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().