The rural village as an open door to nature-based tourism in Portugal: The Aldeia da Pedralva case

This case study describes a good practice in the rural tourism field. At the end of 2005, a young entrepreneur found a deserted village in the South of Portugal, where only seven locals were left from the initial dwellers. He and his colleagues decided to buy and rebuild the houses, a pile of ruins, and develop a rural tourism village project. The village’s integration in the Natura 2000 network and its close proximity to the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park allows multi-sensory experiences based on nature-based activities. Although oriented towards tourism, the project has benefited the local community. It includes the organisation of local events, partnerships with local enterprises and the support of the local council. Recently, the project aims to gather local enterprises into a single structure of public access, with a view to create conditions for higher quality nature-based experiences and job opportunities for locals. Furthermore, tourism in rural areas is also seen as a complement to the seasonal ‘sun and sand tourism’ in Algarve. This paper aims to discuss the economical, social, cultural and environmental implications of the project, presenting a contextualization regarding the recent developments of rural tourism in Portugal