Surf Tourism for Destination Competitiveness and Sustainable Tourism Development

• Autor(a) principal: Carvalho, Deborah da Silva
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/9402
• topic: Surf tourism; Sustainable tourism development; Destination brand; Competitiveness; Ribeira Grande

Surf tourism has been growing in recent years, becoming a highly profitable activity and industry. Many coastal regions have developed due to surf tourism, including Portugal. Surf tourism has been seen as a new tourism product with the potential to develop regions and contribute to their competitiveness and sustainable growth. This dissertation aims to analyze the potential of surf tourism for the competitiveness and sustainable development of the destination Ribeira Grande, Azores. This destination has invested in surfing as a differentiating element, branding itself as the "Capital of Surf." It is a surf destination in the early stages of development, making it relevant to study in order to chart a sustainable and competitive path. Through a qualitative study, data was collected from various stakeholders affected or involved in surf tourism, including local surfers, surf tourists, residents, members of the business community, and members of the surf business community, as well as municipal government officials. The perceptions and involvement of stakeholders in tourism development are crucial elements considered pivotal for this study. Conclusions were reached regarding the development of surf tourism in Ribeira Grande, its potential and importance, its attributes as a surf destination, recommendations for improvements, and well as the relevance of the destination brand, and the contribution of this niche tourism to sustainable development. The results show that there is general support for the development of surf tourism from all stakeholders, who see it as a differentiating element with the capacity to develop the destination. However, since this is still in the early stages of development, there are weaknesses regarding some typical attributes of a surf destination, a lack of a surf culture and vibe, a dissonance between image and reality, and weak involvement of the local population in surfing, despite their support. The results also show some environmental weaknesses and that the destination brand is premature. With the support of all stakeholders and the belief in the potential of this tourism product, these weaknesses can be addressed, establishing the destination as a true and competitive surf destination.