Perceived Impact of the Alqueva Dam on Regional Tourism Development

Abstract

The paper studies the impact of the Alqueva Multi-Purpose Dam on the Alentejo region (Portugal), focusing on tourism development. In 2002, the Alqueva dam originated the largest artificial lake in Europe and was widely believed to bring a great number of benefits for the region by creating conditions for intensive irrigated farming and enhancing a new tourism destination in interior Portugal. The aim of this study is to assess to what degree the latter has been achieved. Interviews were held with 35 local and regional stakeholders of the tourism and cultural heritage sectors to understand their perception regarding the changes that occurred in the regional tourism industry since the dam's construction. Findings show that, against initial expectations, the tourism industry is still largely underdeveloped, partly due to a lack of investment and an inadequate tourism planning model. Furthermore, conflicts were observed concerning the balance between the value of the traditional montado landscape for tourism and irrigated farming development.