The experience of tourism in the rural space (trs) in Portugal

Abstract

The contemporary rural space has been taken into account increasingly due to its diverse attributions not only in relation to the production carried out in it, but also concerning the attraction it exerts on city dwellers. There is an increasing demand on rural space for leisure and tourism because these activities are important for revitalizing the local economy. This paper aims at analyzing the tourist activity in the rural space in Portugal focusing mainly on the aspects of supply and demand. In order to do that, consulted bibliography and collected data during the period of training in the Center for Geographic Studies at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon were used. It was possible to conclude that tourism in the rural space is a slightly significant activity considering the total of Portuguese tourist supply. Such activity constitution was marked by the availability of government financial resources as well as by the involvement of owners pertaining to higher social stratum who used the financial support to recover their family patrimony. The composition demand is divided between national tourists and foreign tourists and it is concentrated in the north of the country. Among the foreign ones, there is the important presence of Germans and English. Besides, one found out that the importance of tourism in the rural space during Portuguese vacation is still reduced. Key words: Tourism in the rural space. Tourist demand. Tourist supply.