Editorial

Citation

Teare, R., Costa, J., Gomes, J. and Montenegro, M. (2014), "Editorial", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 6 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-09-2014-0026

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Volume 6, Issue 5

The headline: “Portugal emerges from its deepest recession in more than 40 years” (Financial Times economic report, August 2013) highlights the significance of this theme issue. To examine the impact of the Portuguese recession on its tourism industry, theme editors Jorge Costa, João Gomes and Mónica Montenegro draw on in-depth research and analysis undertaken by the respected IPDT Institute of Tourism in Portugal and on the perspectives of Portuguese government and tourism industry leaders. The broad-ranging collaboration between researchers, practitioners and policymakers has produced the most detailed and authoritative review to-date on this topic. I should like to thank Jorge, João, Mónica and their writing team for their ground-breaking analysis of the role that tourism can and does play in national economic development.

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes (WHATT) aims to make a practical and theoretical contribution to hospitality and tourism development, and we seek to do this by using a key question to focus attention on an industry issue. If you would like to contribute to our work by serving as a WHATT theme editor, do please contact me.

Richard Teare, Managing Editor, WHATT

Did the context of economic crisis affect the image of Portugal as a tourist destination? What were the answers and lessons learned?

This theme issue examines the context of economic crisis in Portugal and how it has affected the tourism industry. The articles selected provide a contextualization to the economic crisis and its impact on the tourism industry. The articles range from a series of research studies on Portuguese tourism, demonstrating its evolution over the past three years (2011-2013) to various viewpoint and position papers reflecting the perspectives of the main industry stakeholders and how they analyse the context of crisis that has affected the country since 2010.

The joint contribution of the authors sheds light on an important phase of Portugal’s history, allowing for a better understanding of the impacts of the financial crisis on domestic tourism and sectors such as restaurants and hotels, as well as the government’s perspective on the evolution of the industry over past three years. Major challenges and barriers are discussed, and the testimonies of key players presented, as they analyse the resilience and strategic moves adopted to help overcome the tough economic and social context the country lived during this period, as well as proposals for the future. It is encouraging to report that Portugal is once again enjoying recovery – it is slow but sustained and that tourism is a central pillar of this recovery. The information presented and analysed here reveals some interesting lessons, in particular, the fact that a financial crisis may not directly affect the growth and development of the tourism industry.

The reflections arising from this theme issue demonstrate the need for very close cooperation between the different hospitality and tourism stakeholders in the development and implementation of a tourism policy for the future, where this sector assumes a key strategic role for Portugal.

Jorge Costa, João Gomes and Mónica Montenegro, Theme Editors

About the Theme Editors

Jorge Costa is Co-Founder and President of IPDT – Institute of Tourism, an UNWTO Affiliate Member. He is also Professor and Director of the Doctoral Program in Management Sciences at Fernando Pessoa University, where he held the position of Pro-Vice Chancellor from 1997 to 2004. His consultancy clients include: Allied Distillers, BAA plc, Forte plc, Cockburn’s, Accor Portugal, Sheraton Portugal, TAP Air Portugal, the Tourism Observatory of Azores, the Ministry of Hospitality and Tourism of Angola, The Ministry of Tourism of Cape Verde, The Regional Government of Azores, UNCTAD, UNDP and UNWTO. He was a member of the Sectorial Tourism Council (Ministry of Economics) and of the Strategic Council of the Portuguese Hotel Association and Regional Editor of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (1997-2013). He graduated in Management and Public Administration (Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal) and received a PhD in Strategic Management from the University of Surrey, UK.

João Gomes is Co-Founder, Executive Director of Research at IPDT – Institute of Tourism, and Founding Partner of Future Trends, a research and organizational development organization. An expert in statistics and quantitative methods, he has coordinated a large variety of studies on the profile of visitors to the Port Wine Caves, Tourists visiting Porto and the North of Portugal, Profile of travellers at Porto Airport, Tourist Spending in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Holiday intentions of Portuguese Residents among others. He has authored several publications in the areas of research methods, market research and tourism management. He has also undertaken consultancy projects in the areas of tourism planning, strategic and marketing management. From 1997 to 2013, he held the position of Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Management Sciences at Fernando Pessoa University, Porto, Portugal.

Mónica Montenegro is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Marketing at IPDT – Institute of Tourism, and Founding Partner of Future Trends, a research and organizational development organization. She holds a degree in Marketing Management from Fernando Pessoa University, Portugal, and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Bournemouth, UK. Her international experience in applied research and consultancy in the areas of strategic marketing, tourism planning and organizational development include clients such as Petrofina, Boheringer Ingelheim, Regional Government of Madeira, Regional Government of Azores, Government of Angola and Government of Cape Verde. She also held research and teaching appointments at Bournemouth University, University of Surrey (UK) and Fernando Pessoa University.