The State of Knowledge About Tourism in Non-Metropolitan Areas of Portugal Continental (2010-2020)

The state of tourism in the non-metropolitan areas of mainland Portugal requires a more efficient knowledge to meet the objectives of territorial and social cohesion, required by the National Strategic Tourism Plan 2027. As a methodology, this study uses secondary data from studies published in the platforms BI and SIGTUR from Tourism of Portugal, applying the analysis from September 2019 to July 2020. The results indicated knowledge gaps in terms of geographic coverage, data sources and periodicity of publications. In conclusion, there is still a centralization in data management on tourism in mainland Portugal that does not include the comparison between urban and rural areas and no standardization and streamlining of data management processes. Finally, it is necessary to create creative tourism observatories at the regional level, which carry out more regular, and decentralized studies, dedicated to local sustainable development.