In Portugal, sustainability in tourism is a priority area, a cornerstone of public tourism policies and  the underpinning vision of strategy  for the future. An example of this is the Tourism Strategy 2027, which is the benchmark for the development of public policies and business strategies in the tourism sector.

The vision defined in this context is to affirm tourism as a hub for economic, social and environmental development throughout the territory, positioning Portugal as one of the most competitive and sustainable tourist destinations in the world. The result of this vision is a commitment to the principles of sustainable development in all its three aspects and a clear ambition to lead internationally in this field.

Portugal, as a quality tourism destination, bases its competitive advantage on the principles of sustainability, a diversified offer and the enhancement of its distinctive and innovative characteristics, placing people at the centre of its strategy. In each of the three pillars of sustainability, specific targets have been set which we monitor on an ongoing basis:

     •    On the economic dimension, we aim to reach 80 million overnight stays by 2027, increasing tourist demand in the country and in the various regions, while at the same time aiming to grow in value and double tourist revenue in that period.

     •    On the social side, we consider seasonality to be the biggest enemy of employment and, in this context, the objectives are to extend tourism activity throughout the year, reducing the seasonality rate from 37.5% to 33.5%. Still on the social dimension, we want to double the level of secondary and post-secondary education in tourism employees and ensure that 90 per cent of the population living in tourist areas consider the impact of tourism on their territory to be positive.

     •    Finally, on the environmental dimension, the objectives are to ensure that 9 out of every 10 companies in the country adopt efficient energy, water and waste management measures.

2021, this commitment was extended to the plan Reactivate Tourism | Building the Future, a guiding document for the transformation of the tourism sector, both public and private, whose actions are embedded in the objectives of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the Portugal 2030 Strategy, thus ensuring a concerted strategy for the recovery of the national economy. It has four axes of action - supporting companies, promoting security, generating business dynamics, and building a future - each of them has specific actions that, in the short, medium and long term, will transform the sector and position it at a higher level of value creation, contributing significantly to GDP growth and a fairer distribution of wealth.

Sustainability Report

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The Tourism Strategy 2027 has sustainability as a guiding principle and defines ambitious goals and targets to be reached in the three dimensions of sustainability:

Economic: overnight stays and revenues from international tourism

Social: qualification of the workforce of the sector, seasonality and residents' satisfaction with the process of tourism development

Environmental: efficient management of water, energy and waste

Within this framework, Turismo de Portugal developed a set of sustainability monitoring indicators, based on recommendations from international organizations (OMT, Eurostat), in order to evaluate the performance of Portugal as a tourist destinantion in the three dimensions of sustainability.

Resources:

Tourism Strategy 2027​, TdP - Turismo de Portugal, 2016
European Tourism System of Indicators for Sustainable Management at Destination Level (ETIS)​ - European Commission, 2016
Indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations - A Guidebook​ - World Tourism Organization, 2004 (reserved access)

Sustainable Tourism Indicator System (SITS)