Abstract:

This research started from the interest of exploring the landscape as a tourist resource and understanding its role, performance, and importance in the current tourist context. This article aims to understand the role of the landscape as a tourist resource relating the characteristics of the landscape with the choice and motivation of the visitor and interpret the factors that influence the valorization of the landscape. In this sense, four research hypotheses were proposed for the northern region of Portugal: Tourists visiting the region of Porto and northern Portugal give importance to the characteristics of the rural landscape, to the aesthetics of the rural landscape, to the characteristics of the urban landscape, and to the aesthetics of the urban landscape; There are differences regarding the importance of the characteristics of the rural and urban landscape by sociodemographic variable; There is a relationship between the length of the average stay and the visit to the northern regions of Portugal; and finally, there is a relationship between the reason for the trip and the visit to the northern regions of Portugal: Porto Metropolitan Area; Trás-os-Montes; Minho, and Douro. These research results evidence that visitors from the region of Porto and Northern Portugal attach importance to the characteristics and aesthetics of the landscape