THE SUSTAINABILITY of SURFING TOURISM DESTINATIONS a Case Study of Peniche, Portugal
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THE SUSTAINABILITY OF SURFING TOURISM DESTINATIONS A Case Study of Peniche, Portugal Afonso Gonçalves Teixeira 2017 THE SUSTAINABILITY OF SURFING TOURISM DESTINATIONS A Case Study of Peniche, Portugal Afonso Gonçalves Teixeira A dissertation submitted to the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Sustainable Tourism Management Supervision João Costa, PhD Co-supervision Jess Ponting, PhD João Vasconcelos, PhD 2017 This page was intentionally left blank. ii THE SUSTAINABILITY OF SURFING TOURISM DESTINATIONS A Case Study of Peniche, Portugal COPYRIGHT Afonso Gonçalves Teixeira, student of the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria. A Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar e o Instituto Politécnico de Leiria têm o direito, perpétuo e sem limites geográficos, de arquivar e publicar esta dissertação/trabalho de projeto/relatório de estágio através de exemplares impressos reproduzidos em papel ou de forma digital, ou por qualquer outro meio conhecido ou que venha a ser inventado, e de a divulgar através de repositórios científicos e de admitir a sua cópia e distribuição com objetivos educacionais ou de investigação, não comerciais, desde que seja dado crédito ao autor e editor. iii This page was intentionally left blank. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The current thesis is the result of my involvement with several people, all of which made determinant contributions along the way to the accomplishment of this piece of work. This section pays tribute to the entities and people to whom I am particularly thankful for all the support, which are the following: • The Polytechnic Institute of Leiria’s Center of Tourism Applied Research (CiTUR) and San Diego State University’s Center for Surf Research (CSR), where part of the research and data analysis has been performed; • The 24 participants of this study, who accepted to be interviewed and generously contributed with their perceptions and knowledge to the creation of highly valuable data; • My fantastic ‘team’ of supervisors for the guidance and for believing in this project when it was nothing but a series of scrawls in a small piece of paper. Specifically, Professor João Vasconcelos for his vision and for inciting my critical view of the world; Professor João Costa for being the cornerstone of the project and for his ability to make things happen; and Professor Jess Ponting for his extensive knowledge on the subject and for his tireless contribution to my state of saltiness during my stay in San Diego; • All the faculty members of the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology who have been a part of my academic journey. Particularly, Professor António Sérgio Araújo de Almeida for his contribution in the process of application for scholarships; • The Municipality of Peniche and the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) for assigning value to the study and making valuable contributions towards its execution; • My family and closest friends, for making sure that I was never diving too deep into the research, regularly taking me away from the computer for golden leisure time. v This page was intentionally left blank. vi ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed description of the current state of the surfing tourism industry in Peniche, Portugal, and to perform a sustainability-oriented analysis of its development. Also, this thesis represents an attempt to contribute to the overall field of surfing tourism, specifically to a better understanding of the implications of this form of tourism’s development in developed country settings. A thorough review of the literature on surfing tourism was performed, which suggested that a proper contribution to the understanding of the issues surrounding the sustainability of surfing tourism destinations should be based on the perceptions of local stakeholders. As such, a Social Constructivist approach to qualitative research was employed during the analysis of twenty-four semi- structured interviews with local surfers and business owners of the county of Peniche. The analysis of the stakeholders’ main perceptions and concerns regarding surfing tourism suggested that there currently are a few threats to the sustainability of the industry in Peniche. Respondents have identified an “uncontrolled” growth of the local surfing tourism industry, which has been increasingly responsible for changes on both the commercial and recreational contexts, which in turn have caused a few economic, sociocultural and environmental impacts on the destination. The identified growth has been propelled by promotional efforts made by public and private entities, but the results suggest that there has not been an adequate investment in regulatory, infrastructural and logistical support for the growth of the industry that has resulted. Stemming from this realization, a set of recommendations for the implementation of innovative sustainability practices is presented, based on the main challenges to the industry’s future development pointed out by respondents. It is argued that such practices can turn Peniche into a benchmark for the sustainability of surfing tourism in destinations of developed nations, through the overcoming of future environmental, sociocultural, and economic challenges. Keywords: surfing tourism; sustainability; sustainable tourism management; Peniche; social constructivism. vii This page was intentionally left blank. viii RESUMO O presente estudo tem como propósito apresentar uma descrição detalhada do atual estado do mercado de turismo de surf em Peniche, Portugal, bem como analisar o seu desenvolvimento com base em princípios de sustentabilidade. Esta dissertação procura ainda, contribuir para uma melhor compreensão das implicações gerais do desenvolvimento do turismo de surf em destinos de países desenvolvidos. Após uma análise detalhada da literatura, constatou-se que uma contribuição adequada para a compreensão dos desafios inerentes ao desenvolvimento sustentável de um destino de surf, deve-se basear nas perceções dos seus stakeholders locais. Assim, desenvolveu-se uma investigação qualitativa, através da análise de 24 entrevistas semiestruturadas com surfistas locais e empresários de Peniche, baseada no paradigma do Construtivismo Social. A análise das opiniões e perceções destes stakeholders revelou que, em Peniche, podem-se identificar atualmente, uma série de ameaças à sustentabilidade do mercado turístico de surf. Os participantes do estudo referiram que houve um crescimento “descontrolado” deste nicho de mercado, o que tem vindo a causar alterações nos contextos comercial e recreativo do surf em Peniche. Por sua vez, essas alterações são responsáveis por uma série de impactos económicos, ambientais e socioculturais que se têm vindo a verificar no concelho. O crescimento do mercado turístico de surf ao nível local foi em grande parte motivado pelos esforços promocionais feitos por entidades públicas e privadas, contudo os resultados do estudo indicam que não tem havido um investimento adequado que suporte o próprio crescimento deste mercado, ao nível de regulação, infraestrutura e apoio logístico. Com base na identificação destas ameaças à sustentabilidade do turismo de surf em Peniche, este estudo apresenta um conjunto de recomendações para a implementação de práticas inovadoras de sustentabilidade, procurando superar os desafios ambientais, socioculturais e económicos identificados através dos resultados das entrevistas com os stakeholders. Este estudo sugere que uma eventual implementação das sugestões apresentadas, teria o potencial de contribuir para a consolidação de Peniche como um destino de referência ao nível da sustentabilidade do turismo de surf no contexto de países desenvolvidos. Palavras-chave: turismo de surf; sustentabilidade; gestão de turismo sustentável; Peniche; construtivismo social. ix This page was intentionally left blank. x TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................................... V ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................... VII RESUMO ........................................................................................................................................... IX TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................... XI LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................XIV LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................................................................................................XV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................XVI CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 STUDY FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 JUSTIFICATION FOR RESEARCH ............................................................................................. 2 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 3 1.4 THESIS OUTLINE ..................................................................................................................