Quality in Tourism From The Perspective of Local Portuguese Public Decision-Makers: A Case Study of Portugal’s Centro Region

Abstract

In Portugal tourism has developed greatly in recent years, as a result of the investment made in the: (i) qualification of human resources; (ii) specialization of supply; (iii) modernization of tourism management processes; (iv) marketing development; (v) and investment in infrastructure and other services and products complementary to the tourism sector. This study aims to identify Portuguese municipalities’ perception of what contributes to the quality of tourism. To this end, a quantitative approach was used, with a questionnaire being distributed to municipalities (125 participated in the study, with a total of 134 valid answers). The results revealed that there is a ‘single voice’ discourse regarding the need to differentiate products, develop destinations emphasizing their identity, strengthen networks and differentiate tourism options according to their location.