Guidelines for Tourism Sustainability in Ultra-Peripheral Territories: A Research Based on the Azores Region’s Touristic Companies’ Analysis

Gualter Couto, Rui Alexandre Castanho, Carlos Santos, Pedro Pimentel, Áurea Sousa, Sandra Faria and Maria da Graça Batista
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Gualter Couto: School of Business and Economics and CEEAplA, University of Azores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Rui Alexandre Castanho: School of Business and Economics and CEEAplA, University of Azores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Carlos Santos: School of Business and Economics and CEEAplA, University of Azores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Pedro Pimentel: School of Business and Economics and CEEAplA, University of Azores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Áurea Sousa: Faculty of Sciences and Technologies and CEEAplA, University of Azores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Sandra Faria: School of Business and Economics and CEEAplA, University of Azores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Maria da Graça Batista: School of Business and Economics and CEEAplA, University of Azores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-15

Abstract: Tourism is an important activity to achieve territorial sustainability. In fact, a properly planned long-term tourism activity is critical for the regional planning to reach the desired living conditions capable of attracting new residents in the future. Thereby, the present research aims to assess the perceptions of the managers of tourist companies in the Azores on sustainability actors about the sustainability of tourism activity in the archipelago. Contextually, throughout an exploratory methodology, it was possible to assess the Azores Touristic Companies managers’ perceptions. Hence, this paper shows that the sustainable practices most frequently adopted by the surveyed companies are the following: prioritize the purchase of regional goods and services (94.7%); selective waste separation (94.5%); minimize the use of hazardous substances or replace them with less hazardous products (92.3%); ensure the proper final destination of wastewater (public sanitation, septic tank) (88.8%); and adopt purchasing criteria that take into account environmentally friendly products or services (88.6%). This research also recognizes that 67% of the respondents consider that the respective participating companies have their goals aligned with environmental conservation principles, 66.7% aligned with environmental conservation principles, 36.9% aligned with social conservation principles and 26.4% aligned with cultural conservation principle.

Keywords: Azores region; regional planning; tourism companies; sustainable tourism (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 (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:3895-:d:528026

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