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- Sustainable recreational trail design from the recreational opportunity spectrum and trail user perception: a case study of the Seven Hanging ValleysPublication . Lukoseviciute, Goda; Pereira, Luis; Panagopoulos, ThomasRecreational trails represent corridors of benefits to human health and well-being, learning and education through an understanding of other cultures or countries, raising environmental awareness, local economic development, limiting the dispersion of the visitors, linking key attractions of a given area or diversifying tourism markets. However, trail development and design require to keep up sustainability principles and understand trail user perceptions. This paper aims to identify trail management priorities to improve sustainable design and visitor experience. The most popular hiking trail of Portugal located in the Algarve region was used as a study case to describe recreation opportunities of the trail’s management, development stage, preferred trail attributes and determinants of trail visitor loyalty. This study applied the recreation opportunity spectrum framework and the logistic regression model. Planners and managers might utilise these results to identify strategies for nature conservation and sustainable trail development, simultaneously maximising trail-related experiences among loyal trail users.
- Tourists' perceptions of beach quality improvement during the off-peak season: a segmentation approachPublication . Lukoseviciute, Goda; Pereira, LNRecently coastal tourism has increased rapidly and has negatively affected environmental, social and cultural sustainability. The Algarve is the main sun-and-sea tourism destination in Portugal, with a large number of beautiful beaches. Due to negative tourism impacts and climate change, coastal tourism management tools need to be assessed and implemented. Most beach areas have the dual mandate of conserving coastal natural resources and providing opportunities for recreation and tourism. This paper aims to identify off-peak season beach users' profiles and to segment them according to their priorities for sustainable beach management in the face of climate change and seasonality balance. Four beaches with different types were chosen in the municipality of Albufeira as case studies: an urban, a rural, a resort and a remote beach. A cluster analysis was applied to data collected through a survey applied to 200 tourists through face-to-face interviews. The survey aimed to measure beach visitors' opinion about beach environment and services, as well as about the importance of 25 quality beach attributes. The cluster analyses generated three segments of beach users with the following profiles: comfort and food lovers, young and active environmentalists and sustainable minimalists. The results provide valuable information and insights for both academics and beach managers, who can adjust their management tasks to suit market segments and their preferences, fulfilling emerging environmental policies.
- Management priorities from tourists’ perspectives and beach quality assessment as tools to support sustainable coastal tourismPublication . Lukoseviciute, Goda; Panagopoulos, ThomasRecently coastal tourism has increased dashingly; however, it has negatively affected environmental, social and cultural sustainability. Algarve is the most visited tourist attraction in Portugal with a large number of beautiful beaches. Due to negative tourism impacts and climate change, coastal tourism management tools need to be assessed and implemented. Most beach areas have the dual mandate of conserving natural resources and providing opportunities for recreation and tourism. This paper aims to develop a methodology for sustainable beach management. An urban, rural, resort and remote beach type were chosen as case studies. The proposed methodology for assessing beach quality and effective beach management consisted of three parts: initially, SWOT analysis was performed, where overcrowding, coastal urbanization, ecosystem degradation and coastal erosion due to sea level rising emerged as main future threats. Beach quality evaluation was assessed using the Bath Area Registration and Evaluation (BARE) method. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to get the beach visitor’s opinions. An Importance–performance (I–P) analysis has been applied to identify the service quality gap and the most appropriate actions to improve beach management. For most of the beach attributes, satisfaction exceeded importance, and hence no management attention was needed. Exceptions were the condition of litter facilities, public toilets, showers and associated footpaths, the use of renewable energy, and the presence of litter in sand and vegetation health. For these, satisfaction was lower than importance, suggesting management attention is needed. The combined methodology allowed to identify beach management priorities resulting in enhanced visitors’ experiences and protecting the natural environment.
- Assessing the income multiplier of trail‐related tourism in a coastal area of PortugalPublication . Lukoseviciute, Goda; Pereira, Luis; Panagopoulos, ThomasRising demand for access to trail networks has encouraged local governments to invest in trail development. This study is the first attempt to estimate the local income multiplier effect of recreational trail tourism, applying an Ad hoc model. The most popular recreational trail in the Algarve region of Portugal was used as a study case to verify the relevance of the Ad hoc model application. The result acknowledges a significant trail-related contribution to the local economy and rural community development. This study suggests the use of the Ad hoc model to assess the economic impact of local-scale outdoor-recreation activities in terms of income generation.