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Publication
Opportunities for Slow Tourism in Madeira
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The slow tourism movement is gaining popularity as more destinations focus on the local
environment and heritage experience. The approach to slow tourism usually occurs either when
traditional destinations exhaust their life cycle with an evident reduction in sustainability, or when
newly emerging destinations decide to develop in this way. The case of Madeira is different; the
island has several decades of tourism development without excessive pressure or overcrowding, and
in planning for the future it wants to sustain these conditions. Seeking to understand Madeira’s
perception of the development model, we surveyed entrepreneurs in Madeira’s lodging, restaurant
and bar, shopping, transportation, intermediation, and tourist activity industries, as well as its public
sector. Even without having encountered the popularized the ideas of slow tourism, Madeira’s
tourism entrepreneurs show significant alignment with the values of quieter tourism. In contrast
to its mature counterparts (i.e., Europe’s other popular sun and beach destinations), for Madeira it
is not a question of destroying or rehabilitating, but rather of continuing sustainable development
processes. Our results suggest that although slow tourism is typically a reaction to a very advanced
phase of the life cycle, it can be the result of an endogenous impulse, as is true for Madeira.
Description
Keywords
Alternative tourism Circular economy Destination life cycle Sustainability Values Madeira (Portugal) . Projeto Turismo Escola Superior de Tecnologias e Gestão
Citation
Publisher
MDPI