Tourism in Portugal and Beyond

Published on 30th May, 2013

Tourism is one of the most important industries in many parts of the world. It's indicative of a change from a economy based on manufacturing to one based on service and entertainment.

There are many different things that governments and other institutions that are more privately funded will often do to promote tourism within certain areas. This is important because drawing in tourists enough will encourage even more and more tourists to come a the same time.

This is true because many people will judge how good an area is for tourism based on how many people are going to that location. It's just human nature. So the hard part is getting the crowds there in the beginning. Because if you can do that, then you can make sure that the effect multiplies. The more people you have, the people you can get, and so on.

In order to facilitate this it's important to put funding in the right places. For example, many tourist regions only focus on something called the “tourist season” which is only during a certain part of the year. But if you can instead get an area to open up their doors year round, and find ways to pull the crowds in year round you will significantly boost business in a particular area.

This is something Portugal has done to a wide extent, for example. They have a particular advantage in this front, however. This is because they are in a much warmer climate than some other countries and areas, so it's much easier to make sure that you get people coming down year round, since there's not as much to dissuade them from doing so the way that it might be the case if there were torrential snow storms, hurricanes, floods, or other natural disasters that might happen in that country. Tourists don't really want anything that is quite that hazardous.

Tourists want all the fun parts, all of the exciting and interesting flair of a region without having to deal with the realities of the region such as tornadoes or general natural disasters. That's one of the benefits of being a tourist after all, that you can leave when you want to do so. But if you don't have to leave, if you get a sense that you are coming and doing based on what you want to be doing instead of being forced out by inclement weather, then you will be much more likely to come back many times. Essentially, this will create a more positive sense of the place the tourist is visiting.

The Algave area has added over 30 measures that help make sure the area is a perfect holiday destination for any number of tourists. It's this kind of effort on behalf of the people that will make sure the region is tourist friendly.

For example, there's a document called the “Algave Tourist Memorandum” which puts forth the the need to make the region sustainable not just during particular seasons, but absolutely year round. A tourist should feel like they can come not just for official holiday, but for any of their own holidays, their own personal vacations, during absolutely any point in the year, any day.

Many hotels see a boost in sales for example, when these sorts of measures are put in place. And so are any sectors that could possibly benefit from tourism. That's the thing to be remembered, tourism can affect all aspects of an economy. After all, the people coming in will need to eat, they will need to shop around in stores, they will want to do recreational activities. Tourism benefits absolutely everyone. Even those that aren't directly connected to something tourists are likely to purchase will benefit just because of the influx of extra cash. Areas like Portugal with small economies to begin with can see substantial increases in this area which means that people who live there will have more money to spend on things they might not otherwise.

Published in: Travel