Tourism Charter of Serra da Estrela: a tool for planning and tourism promotion

Abstract

The Tourism Charter of Serra da Estrela intends to be a management, promotion and revaluation tool of Serra da Estrela as a tourism destination and its products. It is therefore important to know the resources in its territorial context and how they are suitable for tourism, seeking to optimize and manage the potential impacts produced. The tourism phenomenon has an inductor character, able to promote territorial resources and contribute to the development of indigenous potential. It is an activity that is the driving force of development in many regional economies, when properly managed. By its nature, tourism is a complex phenomenon that integrates political, economic, social, cultural, biophysical, ecological and aesthetic subsystems, and its sustainability comes from the symbiosis between these different fields. At the same time, it is necessary to respond simultaneously to the expectations of visitors and the aspirations of local populations. In this context, this paper aims to describe the development of the Tourism Charter of Serra da Estrela, presenting a dynamic character through the application of geographic information methodologies which will be not only a tourist planning tool, but also an interactive platform to which tourists can access information.