The Methodology
The MONITUR Project adopts a mixed methodology, of qualitative and quantitative nature, although strongly anchored on statistical and econometric analyzes.
The project uses questionnaire surveys to collect primary data, which are applied to all stakeholders involved in tourism activity: tourists, residents and industry. It also uses the Delphi method (panel of experts) to validate the selection of indicators used in the evaluation model.
The project also uses secondary data from other official statistical entities.
Sampling and Collecting Data
Questionnaires were administered to tourists and residents at three moments: high season 2022; low season 2022/2023; and high season 2023.
The sample of residents was stratified based on municipality of residence, gender and age group according to the number of inhabitants in the region in 2021 (Population Census), while the sample of tourists was stratified by country of origin according to the number of guests in the Algarve in 2019 (before the pandemic).
The sample sizes are summarised below and were calculated for a confidence level of 95.0% and a maximum margin of error of 1.5%.
| High season 2022 | Low season 2022/2023 | High season 2023 | |
| Residents | 990 | 534 | 1104 |
| Tourists | 974 | 514 | 1098 |
The residents’ survey was implemented by personal interview using a paper-and-pencil approach. Residents were personally invited by the team of interviewers to answer the questionnaire. Residents were selected for the sample using the itinerary method, with pre-defined selection rules in the streets, residences, commercial spaces, gardens and public parks, until the desired sample size was obtained for each layer. The questionnaire for residents was written in Portuguese.
The tourist survey was also implemented by personal interview using a paper-and-pencil approach. Tourists were personally invited by the team of interviewers, speakers of several languages, to answer the questionnaire at Faro International Airport and other tourist locations in the Algarve. The selection of tourists for the sample was carried out systematically, with pre-defined selection rules at the places of enquiry, until the desired sample size was obtained for each stratum. The tourist questionnaire was available in Portuguese, Spanish, French, English and German.
The results for the residents are presented for the Algarve as a whole and for each of the 16 municipalities of the region, while the results for the tourists are also presented for whole region and for each market of origin.
Additionally, a questionnaire was applied to accommodation companies in the Algarve in 2023. This was done with the collaboration of Associação de Hotéis e Empreendimentos Turísticos do Algarve (AHETA), resulting in 62 responses.
All information is available in Reports.