Rossana Santos is a full-time teacher and current coordinator of the BA in Hotel Management and Administration in the School of Technologies and Management, University of Madeira, Portugal. She holds a Ph.D. in Tourism (2013), a master’s degree in Tourism Management and Development (2004), and a BA in Tourism (2001). Since 2006, she has been teaching in tourism and hospitality courses at several Portuguese institutions. She has also published several scientific papers on tourism.
Part of the book: Peripheral Territories, Tourism, and Regional Development
Nowadays, the need for sustainable development and growth is considered as a maximum. Therefore, in Mediterranean territories, this issue is not dissociable as well. Nevertheless, this concept of sustainability, when applied to the environmental sphere, is not always fully considered and understood—as is the case of the landscape’s sustainability. Contextually, the present chapter intends to provide evidence of what way migrants and tourism businesses can change Mediterranean territories into sustainable landscapes. A Portuguese case study of 5,157 inquired migrants revealed that a significant percentage of them wish to return to their home country of origin to manage a tourism business and practice agriculture for self-consumption. This is owing to their tradition of practicing agriculture, where they generally do not employ insecticides and use simple techniques, as well as to the rural organization of the house and other cultivated lands they have scattered in their place of origin. Their similar experiences and migratory characteristics also lead us to argue there is a strong probability that migrants from Southern Europe and Mediterranean countries can also contribute to tourism development and sustainable landscapes in those countries.
Part of the book: Post-COVID Tourism - Tendencies and Management Approaches [Working title]