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- Pre-emptively managing overtourism by promoting rural tourism in low-density areas: lessons from MadeiraPublication . Majdak, Piotr; Almeida, António Manuel Martins deOvertourism refers not only to situations in which carrying capacity levels have been exceeded, but also to those in which tourists and residents share negative feelings of discomfort and other emotions, loss of quality of life and unpleasant experiences in their activities of daily life. The growing number of places struggling with the problem of overtourism suggests that brand new approaches are required to minimize the effects of excessive tourism. However, the impacts of overtourism are place-specific and a one-size-fits-all approach is inappropriate. Many destinations still have a considerable margin to manoeuvre but are nonetheless heading towards increasingly unsustainable levels of tourists per square kilometer. Such regions have time to take some pre emptive measures based on principles of sustainable development using greener and energy-saving technologies. Over the past few decades, degrowth has arisen as an unorthodox approach based on principles of fairness and social and environmental justice. In certain areas, such as island economies, the economic dynamics remain largely dependent on the tourism sector, which forces the local actors to think and act differently. In this study, we analyze the strategies employed by Madeira to counter the negative effects of oversaturation in a pre-emptive way. The findings of this case study, based on the data at the county level, are enhanced by a panel data analysis of a number of relevant explanatory variables explaining the dispersion of tourists to the rural hinterland. The results suggest that the development of the rural hinterland has proven capable of exerting a progressively positive influence well beyond the borders of the rural hinterland by accommodating a growing share of the increasing numbers of tourists welcomed in the region in the 2002–2019 period, at the expense of the main capital city. This study confirms the importance and potential of the development of the rural hinterland to tackle overtourism in the main tourism areas. In terms of recommendations, it is suggested that local operators and policy-makers must develop efforts to research new ways to adopt energy-saving projects and develop tourisms products that incorporate eco-friendly behaviors.
- Factors explaining length of stay: Lessons to be learnt from Madeira IslandPublication . Almeida, António; Machado, Luiz Pinto; Xu, ChenThe length of stay for tourists is shrinking for traditional tourism destinations, with tourists instead opting for short breaks to multiple destinations. The reasons for these changes include the increasing number of low cost airlines re duces the cost per journey, alongside heightened disposable income and strong marketing strategies by competing des tinations. Madeira Island is well placed in this study as it faces a typical issue of declining length of stay, meanwhile acquires rich data in carrying out thorough analyses in the factors that explain length of stay in Madeira Island Portugal by five different econometric approaches, further policy implications of the research findings, particularly those that could potentially prove useful to increase the length of stay, are also discussed.