English version: Diana Taborda
A research team coordinated by Cláudia Seabra, professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra (FLUC) and researcher at the Centre of Studies on Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT), analysed the quality of life (QoL) perception by local residents and tourists, and the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on this perception.
This combined analysis between those who inhabit and those who visit cities allows us to register differences, similarities and singularities of both sides - tourists and residents -, which are key issues to manage the sustainability of tourist destinations. Among the areas analysed in this study are community well-being, urban issues, way of life, community pride and awareness, economic strength and recreational amenities.
Cláudia Seabra states that "tourist destinations need to assess the quality of life perception of residents and tourists to improve the experience and satisfaction rates of both stakeholders and thus balance the relationship between tourists and residents". On the other hand, "no study published to date has assessed the impact of covid-19 on QoL. It is important to understand whether tourists and residents changed their perceptions after the pandemic," adds the FLUC professor.
Coimbra was the case study of this research, which took place between 2019 and 2021 (before and during the pandemic), with people aged between 18 and 42. In total, 751 residents and 605 tourists were surveyed. On the choice of studying the Y and Z generations, the specialist explains that "these generations represent the future of the tourism markets, both on the demand and supply side, which means that, in order to foresee the sustainability of the tourism industry, it is crucial to analyse the habits and behaviours of these generations, which will influence the following generations. These generations were the most impacted by the pandemic, namely in their social dynamics”
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The results suggested that despite the pandemic, residents and tourists have a high " Quality of Life Perception". However, the "Urban Issues" domain was the one that obtained a lower level of evaluation both by residents and tourists. Cláudia Seabra underlines that "this is an important result that should be analysed by local entities, considering that both for residents and tourists the "prevention of crowding and traffic congestion" are crucial aspects". The former traffic problems were overestimated during the pandemic, as well as the prevention of overcrowding and congestion, largely contributing to this negative impact," she highlights.
On the opposite side, with the highest score, was the domain "Pride and Community Awareness", "to be considered a very positive aspect for the younger generations, a result that may be related to the fact that Portugal is a destination that welcomes people of various nationalities and cultures, and Coimbra, in particular, is a university city where students from all over the world bring different cultures and traditions, contributing to a more cosmopolitan environment," explains the UC researcher. The domain "Way of Life" was also highly rated and increased during the pandemic, revealing that "social relationships and the tourism industry were increasingly valued during the pandemic period, both by tourists and residents".
Cláudia Seabra says that the domain "Economic Strength" had a surprising result, "in which only tourists perceive that in Coimbra there are ‘Stores and restaurants owned by residents’ and ‘fair prices for goods and services', something that was more criticised by residents who were more aware of high prices and the loss of small businesses during the pandemic period".
In the last domain analysed, "Recreational Amenities", Seabra explains "that it had a higher rating during the pandemic, showing that tourists and residents attributed more value to "Variety of festivals, fairs and museums" and "Variety of sports to practice and watch", as during the pandemic young people valued these aspects more".
"This is an innovative study in the sense that, for the first time, it was possible to compare the Quality of Life Perception between residents and tourists of the younger generations and it was possible to understand the impact of the pandemic on that perception. The results prove that the pandemic changed the way we view our perception of well-being and quality of life in general. We need to look at the tourism industry from this symbiotic view between tourists and local communities. Knowing what the residents feel is fundamental to think about a more sustainable tourism at the economic, social and even cultural level", concludes the researcher.
The scientific article “Quality-of-Life Perception among Young Residents and Visitors: The Impact of COVID-19”, published in the journal Sustainability, had the participation of Sofia Almeida e Manuel Reis.