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.
Regional Tourism Policy Program Anchored on Private Sector
base. This program is pioneer in Portugal in interconnecting these components and in allo- cating investment incentives.
PITER’s philosophy can be materialized in five strategic key vectors (Inácio, Rocha, &
Ferreira, 2001):
● The program has its foundation in the development of a tourism strategic and integrated vision of the territory, materialized with the identification of broad goals in accordance with national and regional policies and with the creation of a tourism development strategy.
● While analyzing both private and public sector investments, attention must be given to core projects that will materialize the tourism strategy, which has been developed for the territory. Those are defined as anchor projects, which supported by other complemen- tary projects, should demonstrate economic and strategic synergies. There is a minimum limit of 15 million euros for the total of projects considered, 50 percent of which must be private investment.
● The materialization of this program presupposes the dynamization and consolidation of partnerships between private and public stakeholders, not only in the definition of strate- gic goals but also in the implementation of the tourism development strategy. The involvement of different partners require the existence of articulation mechanisms and an internal organization capable of coordinating all aspects, thus being important the establishment of a program leader.
● The implementation of several interconnected investment projects should be preceded by their economic impact assessment, in terms of income and employment generation at the regional and local levels. These projects should be able to demonstrate their effects throughout the local economy.
● The last vector is also innovative because the program has its own investment incentive system. This facilitates and encourages the development of tourism by the private sec- tor through the provision of interesting investment incentives to facilitate new product development and the enhancement of existing products.
This program constitutes a paradigmatic example of how both public and private sec- tors can be brought together successfully and promote development within a legal frame- work. It should be outlined the way in which the Portuguese Government has decided to direct the tourism development process in two different, though complementary, ways. On one hand, the government is placing the message across that tourism investment should be underpinned on solid tourism strategies. On the other, the government is also stressing that both public and private sector investment should be brought together into the same pack- age of investment because, in most circumstances, they complement each other.
The region of Caramulo, although comprising a large number and diversity of tourist resources, presents four main types of products (see Figure 5.4).
Those constitute the core of the cluster of products (see Figure 5.5), essential to create an image for the territory.
Nature tourism is the main product, constituting the support for other important types of tourism, like rural and active tourism. Cultural tourism is also an important product, alongside with gastronomy and, in a lesser extent, wine tourism.
This region is perceived as being peripheral. The PITER program is therefore seen as a mechanism to prompt investment in an area which often lacks opportunities, but possesses Do Clusters and Networks Make Small Places Beautiful? 77
78 Zélia Breda et al.
Nature-based Tourism
Cultural Tourism
Wine Tourism and Gastronomy
Rural Tourism Cynegetic
Tourism Spas and Health
Tourism
Active Tourism
Incentives
Second Homes
Religious
Tourism Business
Tourism
Primary products Secondary products
Figure 5.4: Main tourist products of Caramulo.
Source: Costa, 2005a.
Forests Fluvial
Beaches
Water Lines Fishing
Heritage/
Monuments Heritage/
Housing
Gastronomy
Cultural Routes Pedestrian
Routes
Old Railway Tracks Second
Homes
Rural World Cultural
Associations
Hunting
Events
Vocational Training Mountains/
Valleys
Archeology
Entertainment
Landscape Health Spas
Figure 5.5: Regional cluster of products.
Source: Costa, 2005a.
a great potential for tourism development. The implementation of the tourism strategy con- signed in the program presupposes a territorial intervention, which take action at several levels: physical, financial and institutional (see Figure 5.6). This intervention, aiming the implementation of the tourism development strategy, takes into consideration the inter- connection between the object and the objectives of the program. The strategy itself focuses in four main areas: products (supply-side), markets (demand-side), socio-economic development (impacts) and the institutional structure.
Therefore, having as basis:
● the existence of a territory with many opportunities for tourism development;
● the existence of a potential demand market that can be attracted by the richness of the territory’s resources, enabling the commercialization of tourism products; and
● the existence of resources that can be improved and of equipments that can be built or modernized, helping to consolidate the tourism supply basis at the regional level
three main areas of investment were identified in Caramulo according to the dynamics of tourists’ attraction (see Figure 5.7).
Caramulo’s tourism development strategy, which implies deepening the networking among local and regional actors, is supported essentially by private initiatives, through the establishment of a network of different types of accommodation and food and bever- age equipments. The public sector is less directly involved in the development of tourism products; it assumes the role of equipment and infrastructure provider, is responsible for preserving and enhancing natural and historical attractions, for offering leisure and recreation Do Clusters and Networks Make Small Places Beautiful? 79
OBJECT OBJECT
•physicalphysical
•financialfinancial
•institutionalinstitutional INTERVENTION INTERVENTION
Markets Markets
Socio
Socio--economic developmenteconomic development Institutional structure
Institutional structure Produ
Producctsts
STRATEGY STRATEGY
OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE
Figure 5.6: General framework concerning the implementation of the tourism strategy in Caramulo.
Source: Costa, 2005a.
activities as well as it is critical to stimulating and facilitating private sector investment.
The public sector is also responsible for the creation of a coordination body which will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the whole program, producing events, developing promotional activities and a reservation center, as well as for creating an information network with demand and supply-side indicators. One of the main philosophies of the program is therefore the introduction of a new logic of coordinated and systematized support for investment within the tourism sector, thus putting an empha- sis, not on individual projects, but rather on a group of investment projects.
As cooperation, rather than competition, will enable destinations to develop value chains and to achieve their strategic objectives, this seems to be a successful public–private sector partnership in tourism development at the local level. It intends to improve the destination’s tourism attractiveness, and all stakeholders involved in the program are working closely and simultaneously for the same goal.
Conclusion
Traditionally, the theories of clustering and the cluster concept have mainly been applied to the manufacturing industry. Despite this scenario is still dominating, the service sector, from which travel and tourism industry are an important part, is fast growing and showing a great future potential. Innovations in the field of tourism have, however, been a matter of limited research and political consideration.
The preponderance of small and micro enterprises together with the fragmentation of the tourism industry constitute a constraint to development, which may be helped by 80 Zélia Breda et al.
DYNAMIC ATTRACTION DYNAMIC ATTRACTION
OF TOURISTS OF TOURISTS
STATIC ATTRACTION STATIC ATTRACTION
OF TOURISTS OF TOURISTS
Food and Food and Beverage Beverage Accommodation
Accommodation
Leisure Leisure
Territorial basis Territorial basis
Figure 5.7: Dynamics of tourists’ attraction.
Source: Costa, 2005b.
regarding each individual operator as a part of an integrated system. This holistic perspec- tive aims to bring together both private businesses as well as government stakeholders at various levels in order to foster economic growth and development.
The role of the public sector is often pivotal in peripheral areas and it is common to assist a big reluctance of the private sector to invest. The involvement of commercial sec- tor companies in tourism development is often undermined by the perceptions of these locations by investors. The problems inherent to peripheral areas and the small scale of most enterprises dissuade private sector investors from locating in some areas because of the perceived limited returns on investment.
The PITER program is considered to be a successful example of how to promote socio- economic development in those areas lacking opportunities, associating private and public sector investment in a harmonized effort to encourage tourism initiatives. The establish- ment of strategic partnerships is seen as a key factor to trigger potential investment, which will benefit from the outcomes of the projects already implemented, thus consolidating the tourism supply basis. All the projects to be implemented must be in accordance with strate- gic guidelines developed specifically for the area, which means that besides creating a pole of investment, this program intends the creation of sustainable forms of tourism, particu- larly important in areas which rely heavily in their endogenous resources.
The Caramulo area, suffering from a somewhat peripherality and having a little role in the tourism in the central region of Portugal, aims to achieve sustainable development through the implementation of several integrated projects, which will result in a very com- prehensive network. This can constitute the foundation of a tourism cluster in the area, as a critical mass of enterprises, skills and supporting structures will be available, in a dynamic process.
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