Abstract
The new sporting era in which we are living has new forms, new contexts and values, and a growing demand for evasion, wellbeing and health, and new experiences. In this leisure environment, favorable to sports practice, there has been an increase in the number of resorts in Portugal offering a range of sport services to its customers in accordance with their wishes. In this context, the main goal of this research is centered on the general characterization of the sports animation services offered by resorts in the Alentejo Coast. A qualitative research approach was used, in which content analysis was the chosen data analysis method; a semi-structured interview was the tool for data collection. The results show that the services of sporting activities in resorts located in this region are still underdeveloped. The majority of such resorts has a small amount of services, equipment and human resources. The search for these services is meager, despite their gratuitousness nature. In spite of the reduced offer of the sports animation services, the resorts’ managers state that in a recent future there won’t be new investments in the area, since the offer now satisfies the actual level of demand.
Highlights
Tourism is one of the greatest economic activities in the world and so far, it is still growing; as stated by Phillips and Moutinho (2014), tourism remains an important export earner and main originator of foreign exchange earnings and employment
According to the annual report of the UNWTO (2014), international tourism hit a new record number in 2014 - a total of 1.153 million overnight visitors - which represents an increase of 4.4% over the previous year amounting to over 48 million overnight visitors than in 2013; along the same source, after the global economic crisis of 2009, international tourism experienced an above-average growth for a period of five consecutive years (20102014), against the sector's growth expectations (3.8% for the period 2010 to 2020), which reveals a consistency of good performance despite the slow progress in terms of recovery of the world economy
The study of the sports recreation’s characterization in the Alentejo coast’s resorts fulfills a vacuum in knowledge of sport tourism at the regional and local levels, as it has been urged in the literature (Higham & Hinch, 2002); in addition to the study of Pereira (1999), allows a greater understanding of the state of the supply of sport tourism in Portugal
Summary
Tourism is one of the greatest economic activities in the world and so far, it is still growing; as stated by Phillips and Moutinho (2014), tourism remains an important export earner and main originator of foreign exchange earnings and employment. (representing 17% of the total foreign market issuer); other European countries maintain the following three positions (Spain, Germany and France, with an increase compared to 2013 of 14.7%, 9% and 19.8%, respectively); among source markets outside Europe with higher growth, Brazil is the most prominent (over 10.6% in 2014 compared to 2013). According to the annual report of the UNWTO (2014), international tourism hit a new record number in 2014 - a total of 1.153 million overnight visitors - which represents an increase of 4.4% over the previous year amounting to over 48 million overnight visitors than in 2013; along the same source, after the global economic crisis of 2009, international tourism experienced an above-average growth for a period of five consecutive years (20102014), against the sector's growth expectations (3.8% for the period 2010 to 2020), which reveals a consistency of good performance despite the slow progress in terms of recovery of the world economy. As regards to the results obtained by region, it was observed that Europe remains the most visited continent, accounting for more than half (51%) of international tourist flow (a total of 584 million arrivals in 2014)
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