STRATEGIC SPATIAL PLANNING AND CHALLENGES FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN PORTUGAL

Abstract

Tourism in Portugal has been an engine of the economy during the last decade and is even considered the country's largest exporting economic activity, having achieved historical results in main indicators. The growth of this activity has produced effects in all the regions leveraging the national economy. It is important to keep in mind how to give continuity to this growth and how it fits into the spatial planning of national territory. Thus, this paper analyses the strategic challenges and the strategic instruments that have been defined as a way of planning the strategy for tourism in Portugal. The paper also presents the Portuguese territorial management system and shows how tourism planning can have an important role on the development and implementation of these instruments to achieve a sustainable regional development.