The sea as a connection between residents and tourists in coastal destinations: A case in Algarve

Coastal regions involve a set of interactions between tourists and residents, which implies that management and marketing strategies should take into account both stakeholders. Indeed, one of the greatest challenges of destination management organizations is to understand that they serve not only tourists and stakeholders directly related to tourism, but also the local community. Thus, the central purpose of this study is to measure the destination image of both tourists’ and residents’ perspectives, identifying the major aspects of agreement and disagreement. The data was collected in Lagos, one of the 16 municipalities of the Algarve (South Portugal), which, due to its coastal location, offers sun-beach tourism. Furthermore, due to historical, cultural and economic reasons, the sea has been a factor of identity for the coastal communities in the region. The empirical investigation includes a mixed methodology, with the use of open-ended questions followed by the application of a structured questionnaire to both tourists and residents. The results meet the growing need to diversify the destination supply depending on “sun and beach”, aiming at local sustainable development by focusing on the cultural component and the sea as an important attribute of the destination