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Quality and sustainability

Quality and sustainability

The concepts of quality and sustainability are increasingly relevant, distinctive and promoters of competitiveness in tourism. Turismo de Portugal has developed and collaborated in several initiatives that promote the application of these two concepts.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The concept of quality has been widely discussed and there are several approaches to its application. In tourism management, the aim of this goal is to ensure that the services and tourism products supplied correspond to, or exceed tourists’, expectations. In increasingly competitive markets, concern about service quality has grown significantly.

Similarly, the concept of sustainability has gained relevance for tourism. The year 2017 was considered by the United Nations (UN) as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for D​evelopment.

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 901 million tourists crossed international borders between January and August 2017 – 56 million more than in the same period the previous year. This global organisation also predicts that, by 2030, the total number of international tourists will reach 1.8 billion. This high growth reflects the concern to ensure the sustainability of tourism in the long term, based on the balance of environmental, economic and socio-cultural values.

The guidelines for developing sustainable tourism and quality, as well as the management practices based on these concepts, are applicable to all forms of tourism, in all types of destinations.
In Portugal, sustainability policies have been incorporated into the ​Tourism Strategy 2027, the benchmark for the development of public policies and business strategies in the tourism sector for the forthcoming decade.

As Portugal’s national tourism authority and acting in liaison with the Portuguese Quality Institute (IPQ - Insti​tuto Português da Qualidade), Turismo de Portugal plays a crucial role as far as quality is concerned, by supporting and providing a framework for private sector initiatives.

Turismo de Portugal is a regular participant in the Plenary Assembly of the Technical Committee of the International Organization for Standardization, TC 228/ISO – Tourism and related services, as well as in the respective meetings of the working groups. 

Turismo de Portugal Hospitality and Tourism Schools have been carrying out social and environmental responsibility activities for some years now. These initiatives were recognised, in September 2019, with the awarding of the Social Responsibility Prize, in the Category Community, for the project "An Education for Responsibility", a distinction promoted by the Portuguese Association of Business Ethics (Associação Portuguesa de Ética Empresarial), which aims to identify and recognise good practices in the field of sustainability and responsibility.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​


  • Sustainability
  • Quality
  • Tourism
  • Sustainable development
  • UN Tourism
  • International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development
  • Turismo de Portugal
  • International Organization for Standardization
  • Portuguese Quality Institute
  • European Committee for Standardization
  • 2017
  • Turismo de Portugal's Schools
  • Social responsibility
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