The mountain areas have seen a growing ecocultural and tourist appreciation in the face of natural and cultural resources and housing due to the perception of integrity and authenticity associated with them. However, in Portugal, specific territorial policy interventions as well as guidelines for concerted development of tourism have stayed away from the mountains. It appears that the practises of recreation and leisure are becoming wider, which implies new forms of tourism and environmental planning. These perceptual changes, and even occupation, mean that these areas, previously isolated and hostile due to natural constraints, today have a distinct ownership as a result of awareness and their opening to the outside. Increased accessibility, use of resources, dissemination of ecocultural values, the extension of recreation and leisure activities, and the increase of visitor flows have contributed to their revival as a space for production and consumption, associated with quality and integrity standards.
Rural Vulnerability, Migration, and Relocation in Mountain Areas of Western China: An Overview of Key Issues and Policy Interventions
