Law, social capital and tourism at Peneda-Gerês: An exploratory analysis of the leadership and decision-making processes

Abstract

The following article seeks to explore the three-way relationship between law, social capital and tourism development through the analysis of the leadership and decision-making processes established by law in the Peneda-Gerês National Park, in Portugal. Since social capital is a determining element for the development of a sustainable tourism development model and law is accepted as a form of social capital, law was found to be of enormous importance for the implementation of an integrated rural tourism model in the national park area. The main conclusion extracted was that there are severe debilities in the leadership and decision-making processes, which in turn constituted serious hindrances to sustainable tourism development.