Entitled "Impact of COVID-19 on summer holiday behaviours: evidence from Portugal", this study was developed by Susana Silva and Paulo Carvalho, from the Department of Geography and Tourism of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Coimbra, and was published in the international journal of research in Anatolian Tourism and Hospitality.

In a statement released by the UC, the authors of the study underlined that the results represent "an opportunity to change the tourism paradigm to a more sustainable model, which has long been demanded, especially through the redistribution of tourist flows, and to bet on domestic tourism, not only in the short term”.

“This research also contributes to the various territorial actors and tour operators adapting to the consumption trends arising from the pandemic”, they added.

For this study, which aimed to assess the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the traditional summer holidays of the Portuguese, the researchers applied a questionnaire after the summer vacation period, aimed at all national tourists who took at least one holiday in Portugal, between June and September 2020, having obtained a valid sample of 685 participants from different parts of the country.

Most popular destinations

Compared to pre-pandemic vacations, beaches continued to be the most popular destination for most respondents, although there was a slight decline. However, the countryside, mountains and rivers in the interior have gained popularity.

Also according to the study, “about 34% of respondents spent at least one vacation period in their area of ​​residence (NUTS II); 10% had at least one vacation period in the sub-region of residence (NUTS III) and approximately 25% in neighbouring sub-regions”.