Abstract

COSTA, Teresa  and  LIMA, Maria João. Cooperation in tourism and regional development. TMStudies [online]. 2018, vol.14, n.4, pp.50-62. ISSN 2182-8458.  https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.2018.14405.

The contribution of tourism to the economy in general and, i n particular, to the local economies, seems to be already unquestionable. This evidence is presented in several studies in the literature and reinforced by some official organisations. However, given both the increasing competitiveness and competition between destinations and the increasing complexity of the management of tourism destinations, the formation and development of cooperative relations between stakeholders has been pointed out as a requirement for its success and sustainability. This study aims to understand business cooperation from the perspective of the complementarity of different territorial singularities, aimed at the tourist development of the sub-region Peninsula of Setúbal. The qualitative research was supported by a case study methodology. Documentary sources were used as collection instruments, which allowed the characterisation of the Setúbal Peninsula as well as interviews applied within a focus group, supported by a semi-structured script. The results of the study indicate that stakeholders understand the importance of cooperation to obtain synergies that ensure the development of tourism and territory; they recognize and identify a set of benefits associated with cooperation and have a collective awareness of some of the difficulties associated with it, but which do not necessarily prevent their willingness to cooperate.

Keywords : Tourism; cooperation; sustainable regional development.

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