Santos (2000) has also identified that the lack of cooperative culture and the absence of networking structure make the different agents to act on the basis of a set of individual strate- gies developed internally by each sector, this constituting the major limitation of the regional institutional structure in Portugal. It is argued that these Portuguese weaknesses can only be overcome if inter- and intra-regional cooperative relationships were reinforced.
Networks may bring significant improvements not only to the planning process but also into the administrative structure in which the planning activity is carried out. As seen pre- viously, the way in which Portuguese regional tourism administration operates is based on an informal networking of organizations, though very weak. Their functioning discourages participation of many participants, since policies are set up in a formal and top-down way, resulting in fragmented and uncoordinated actions set up in the field.
When questioned about whether or not the bureaucratic way in which tourism boards are run in Portugal should be replaced by horizontal forms of administration based on the network philosophy, the vast majority of the organizations linked to regional tourism organization showed their willingness to accept tourism networks in substitution of the present administration. Although recognizing their theoretical importance, it was further suggested that networks could be difficult to put into practice because of opposition to change, unwillingness to share information, lobbying, lengthy decision-making process, disputes and conflicts, among other reasons.
However, the benefits pointed out by the same participants far outnumbered the prob- lems that could emerge from the establishment of tourism networks in Portugal. The most important advantage is the better horizontal coordination of policies; that is, by giving an effective voice and empowering all participants, networks are able to strengthen the com- munication channels among organizations in order to lead to stronger commitments and to improve the inter-sector coordination of policies. Furthermore, it would lead to the estab- lishment of better-informed policies and better management of tourism resources.
Networks could also bring more efficiency and effectiveness to the operation of the regional tourism administration, new dynamics into their functioning, and make them more powerful and stronger for influencing national policies.
The study, thus, revealed that as a result of the characteristics and potential offered by networks, they present a credible alternative for the way in which regional tourism admin- istration should move forward in the future. It also concluded that, if the government stimulates the establishment of tourism networks at the regional level in Portugal, they can be a reality since the vast majority of regional tourism organizations showed great willingness to join.
special issues of journals (the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,10(5), 1998 — covering small hospitality businesses — and the International Journal of Tourism Research,1(5), 1999 — looking at the broader issues of tourism in peripheral areas), the proceedings of the conference (Brown & Hall, 1999) and one book (Brown & Hall, 2000) resulted from the contributions presented at the conference.
One main conclusion of the conference was that insular and peripheral areas has several common problems and can benefit from sharing experiences, avoiding previous mistakes. It was also demonstrated that those regions, which have not explored their tourism potential fully, emerge as new and innovative destinations, following the collapse of traditional activ- ities (such as agriculture and some industries). Service sector activities are frequently advo- cated as being sympathetic alternatives to the existing primary sector economies. Tourism, leisure and recreation activities are thus regarded as a means to achieve competitive advan- tage and are expected to play a major role in the development and prosperity of those regions.
Although relatively small, Portugal is a very diverse country, with pronounced differ- ences between north and south, and the coast and the inland region. As a consequence of geographic constraints to many economic activities in peripheral areas, underdevelopment has favored the preservation of unique landscapes, environmental features, culture and tra- dition, which are being re-valued in post-modern societies. Caramulo is located in the Portuguese central interior region (see Figure 5.3) and comprehends four municipalities (Águeda, Oliveira de Frades, Tondela and Vouzela). It is situated in a mountainous area, which confers it a peripheral position.
The territory of Caramulo is characterized by an ageing population, which until recently had in agriculture its means of living. In spite agriculture had always been the main eco- nomic activity, it has faced a sharp decline in favor to industry and services in the last decade (see Table 5.1). Tourism can therefore play an important role in local economy and 74 Zélia Breda et al.
Oliveira de Frades
Tondela Vouzela Águeda
Figure 5.3: Location of Caramulo.
Do Clusters and Networks Make Small Places Beautiful?75 Table 5.1: Some indicative characteristics of the Caramulo area.
Year of Caramulo Águeda Oliveira de Tondela Vouzela
reference Frades
Area (km2) n.a. 1038.60 333.50 147.45 366.00 191.65
Population 2001 102.550 49.016 10.519 31.152 11.863
Population variation (%) 1991/2001 3.4 11.3 ⫺0.6 ⫺2.8 ⫺4.9
Population density (person per km2) 2001 98.74 146.97 71.34 85.11 61.90
Isolated places (%) 2001 4.2 4.8 7.2 2.2 3.9
Places with more than 2000 inhabitants (%) 2001 11.2 15.2 — 12.8 —
Elderly population (%) 2001 18.9 15.5 19.6 22.8 22.2
Life surplus (%) 2000 3.2 ⫺3.0 ⫺5.2 ⫺4.2
Illiterates (%) 2001 7.4 5.9 9.2 8.7 9.0
Population with higher education (%) 2001 6.3 7.1 5.3 5.9 5.0
Unemployment rate (%) 2001 4.4 2.9 5.1 6.4 5.5
Rate of dependents elders (%) 2001 36.6 28.6 40.4 45.8 45.3
Primary sector
Percentage of total 2001 9.3 2.1 17.8 17.5 16.1
Variation (%) 1991/2001 297 784 571 405 591
Secondary sector
Percentage of total 2001 49.9 59.9 42.2 36.5 42.7
Variation (%) 1991/2001 42.8 9.3 62.9 17.0 184
Tertiary sector
Percentage of total 2001 40.8 38.0 40.0 46.0 41.2
Variation (%) 1991/2001 112.4 53.0 33.3 47.0 32.7
Number of enterprises 2001 11.236 5.679 1.235 3.105 1.217
Tourism enterprises (%) 2001 6.4 7.2 5.9 5.4 18.4
Note: n.a. ⫽Not applicable.
Source: National Institute for Statistics.
in communities’ development. Products are delivered by small and medium tourism enter- prises (SMTEs), mostly in the form of family-run businesses, whose workers lack of specific training. For a number of reasons, but especially because of the lack of tourist infrastructures and of a strong positioning strategy, the study area had always been left out of the traditional tourist routes.
Nevertheless, the territory possesses an exceptional natural environment and a rich cultural legacy. The variety and diversity of assets from which to harvest tourism opportunities confer an enormous potential to Caramulo, which can transform itself in a regional honey pot.
However, it should be noted that tourism faces several constraints in peripheral areas, which usually are characterized as lacking the appropriate tourist infrastructure, skilled workforce, entrepreneurship and has having limited market opportunities, among other factors (Wanhill, 1997; Morrison, 1998; Wanhill & Buhalis, 1999; Nash & Martin, 2003).
In accordance with the arguments presented before, the way Portuguese less-favored regions should deal with that kind of constraints should be through the strengthening of network relationships.
It is recognized that tourism needs development networks that exhibit both exogenous and endogenous features (Williams & MacLeod, 2004). While, endogenous development set within the local framework is particularly important from a perspective of tourism in peripheral areas, exogenous forces must also play a role in tourism development, as the area must be linked in some way to a global network.
The establishment of a milestone investment program in Portugal (as discussed in the next section), which was the driven force for a change in the way the tourism sector started to be viewed in many regions, constitutes an important tool for less-developed areas to pro- mote economic development through the encouragement of sustainable tourism activities.
The Caramulo region, as many areas in Portugal, took this opportunity to encourage sev- eral stakeholders to strengthen and enhance the existing informal network of relationships, which may bind tourism participants together. One of the main goals of this program is the establishment of formal networks, having as basis the already existing informal links, and the development of strategic guidelines.