Text: Hugo Rocha Pereira | Photography: Katja Schmidt
Katja Schmidt has recently completed a Licentiate Thesis that places Ericeira World Surfing Reserve as an object of study in terms of sustainable surfing tourism.
Entitled “Sustainable Surf Tourism: A Case Study on Ericeira as a World Surfing Reserve” (EWSR), this academic study received a very high grade (1.3, whereas in Germany – where she was born and studied – the grades go to from 1.0 to 4.0, with 1.0 being the best possible grade) at the Hochschule University in Bremen – International Business School – where she dedicated herself to studying Tourism Management.
Katja Schmidt – ph. Daniela Buchholz
Katja Schmidt used several sources during this investigation, including journalistic articles, the EWSR booklet, the Save the Waves Coalition website and information provided by the Mafra Municipal Tourism Department. The student also conducted stakeholder interviews with experts, comparing them with the EWSR Management Plan to, in the end, form her own vision on this very sensitive topic.
“During my travels in Portugal, I always consciously analyzed tourism in the places I visited. That particular focus comes mainly from my studies, but also from my own interest in how tourism affects places positively and negatively. Furthermore, I like to think about good approaches to make it a more sustainable destination”, she begins by saying, when asked why she chose Ericeira as the topic of her thesis.
“When I was in Ericeira for the first time, I realized that it has everything I needed for a good life here, according to my ideas. As during the last year I lived mainly in Portugal, opting at one time to stay in Ericeira, the matter was quickly made clear to me and to my thesis supervisor.”
Katja Schmidt lists environmental, economic and socio-cultural impacts
According to what can be read in the introduction to the thesis, “the aim of this degree dissertation is to analyze the surf tourism market in Ericeira through a case study with a scientifically-based analysis. Through this analysis, the development and management in terms of sustainable approaches will be demonstrated at the end to see if and how Ericeira faces negative impacts as a surf tourism destination.”
Jumping to the conclusions of the investigation, Katja Schmidt begins by writing that “with the attribution of the title of World Surfing Reserve, there has been a strong growth in surf tourism. With this uncontrolled growth, there has been great pressure on the environment, the economy and socio-cultural aspects. All of this imposed the need to demand a more adequate management of the destination.”
Based on this division into three distinct areas, the main impacts detected are as follows:
Environmental impacts – exaggerated growth of real estate construction, which occupies natural areas, wild camping and problems with the increase in the number of tourists, which lead to increased pressure on infrastructure, especially in terms of sanitation, as well as an increase in the average amount of garbage deposited in nature.
Economic impacts – there are many positive aspects here, such as the creation of jobs and the offer of jobs in Ericeira, with a break in seasonality. On the other hand, there are problems due to the unregulated number of surf schools and other similar businesses. Furthermore, there is also an excessive dependence on tourism. The EWSR Management Plan also points out aspects such as the lack of legislation and regulations or the lack of knowledge about the impacts of surfing on the local economy and the type of tourists associated with surfing.
Socio-cultural impacts – the increase in the number of tourists and the frequent bad behavior associated with them means that the local community does not feel respected. Furthermore, gentrification means that the local population will gradually move from the center of the village to the outskirts because they cannot pay the prices currently charged. There is also, associated with this, the loss of local identity. Many of these aspects are a consequence of exceeding capacity limits.
The researcher also considers that the EWSR Management Plan should be improved in terms of its implementation, even because it has become “visible that the Economy has had primacy over the values of Nature”.
As a final conclusion, Katja Schmidt writes the following: “Ericeira is on the right path to be a model for other surf destinations, there is especially a lot of potential for the future. If active collaboration continues and sustainable approaches are incorporated, with the review and improvement of the respective processes, the municipality and Ericeira as a destination can help other destinations in the implementation of sustainable practices. A destination can make mistakes in its management in the face of challenges. In this way, experience is gained and new knowledge can be used to help other destinations, showing them what not to do or where the challenges lie.”
Esta publicação também está disponível em | This article is also available in: Portuguese (Portugal)
