Promoting sustainable tourism in rural and natural areas through small business innovation: the case of Atenor village (Northeast, Portugal)

Abstract

Douro International is a cross-border mountainous region located between northeast Portugal and northwest Spain (see Figure 1). The Portuguese side is one of the most remote regions of the country. It has a diversity of natural, semi-natural habitats, and humanized landscapes, which are important repositories of biodiversity and cultural heritage. Indeed, this region has a high floristic importance (Carvalho & Frazão-Moreira, 2011) and is one of the most important areas for fauna within Portuguese, Iberian and European contexts.