This paper addresses capital structure determinants for Portuguese hotel firms between 2006 and 2014. Secondary data from 356 hotel units was analysed using the partial least squares (PLS) statistical technique, a variance-based structural equation modelling (SEM). The results show that the explanatory variables proposed as capital structure determinants have an impact on the financing and debt decisions made by the firms in the sample. Of these, tangibility has the greater explanatory power. Overall, the results support the notion that trade-off theory and pecking-order theory are important in explaining the capital structure of the Portuguese hotel industry, particularly as regards the agency conflicts triggered by growth opportunities and the preference firms have for internal funding. The results also point to the importance of collateral in accessing credit and the lesser impact of asymmetric information pertaining to tangible asset value and firm size. The results suggest small firms find it difficult to contract loans, which can somewhat limit their growth and performance.Keywords: Capital structure, hospitality, structural equation modelling, debt, management. ResumoEste trabalho investiga os determinantes da estrutura de capital de empresas hoteleiras em Portugal no período de 2006-2014. Os dados secundários referentes a 356 unidades hoteleiras foram analisados com recurso à técnica estatística de mínimos quadrados parciais e respetivo modelo de equações estruturais, baseado na variância. Os resultados obtidos evidenciam que as variáveis explicativas propostas como determinantes da estrutura de capital têm impacto nas decisões sobre o endividamento das empresas da amostra, sendo a tangibilidade a que tem maior poder explicativo. No geral, os resultados apresentados sustentam que as teorias do trade-off e da pecking-order não são mutuamente exclusivas e são importantes na explicação da estrutura de capital das empresas hoteleiras portuguesas, nomeadamente quanto aos conflitos de agência suscitados pelas oportunidades de crescimento e à preferência das empresas pelo financiamento por fundos internos. Os resultados apontam também para a relevância no acesso ao crédito da característica de colateralidade e menor severidade da informação assimétrica associada ao valor dos ativos tangíveis e à dimensão da empresa. Neste contexto, os resultados sugerem a existência de dificuldades das pequenas empresas na contração de empréstimos e, eventualmente, o condicionamento do seu crescimento e desempenho.Palavras-chave: Estrutura de capital, indústria hoteleira, modelo de equações estruturais, dívida empresarial, gestão.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a tool to safeguard marine natural systems, yet their effectiveness depends on how well they are integrated into the existing socioeconomic context. Stakeholder engagement in MPA design can contribute to increasing integration. This study focuses on the co-design of an MPA between researchers, public administration, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations. The proposed MPA is in Portugal and includes an area that is a hotspot for biodiversity and economic activities. This is the first MPA proposal in mainland Portugal co-designed using a participatory approach. This study highlights the steps of the zoning process and synthesizes the eight main lessons learned, useful for other cases, particularly for relatively small coastal MPAs with multiple socioeconomic activities. Three zoning proposals were developed and discussed within the participatory process. The proposals considered the best scientific and local knowledge available and were defined using ecological, socioeconomic, and shape-area guiding principles. In an iterative manner and following a participatory approach, compromises with stakeholders were achieved, and a final proposal, scientifically sound and socially accepted by most stakeholders, was delivered to the government. The final zoning plan will achieve ambitious conservation goals, including the largest fully protected area to be declared in mainland Portugal, while minimizing the impacts on the existing economic activities and promoting its sustainability. This process resulted in valuable lessons that may be applied elsewhere and guide future MPA implementation or rezoning of existing ones. These transdisciplinary and participatory processes can be time and resource-consuming but are vital for ensuring MPA effectiveness.

This paper presents the results of a pilot experiment with an existing tidal energy converter (TEC), Evopod 1 kW floatable prototype, in a real test case scenario (Faro Channel, Ria Formosa, Portugal). A baseline marine geophysical, hydrodynamic and ecological study based on the experience collected on the test site is presented. The collected data was used to validate a hydro-morphodynamic model, allowing the selection of the installation area based on both operational and environmental constraints. Operational results related to the description of power generation capacity, energy capture area and proportion of energy flux are presented and discussed, including the failures occurring during the experimental setup. The data is now available to the scientific community and to TEC industry developers, enhancing the operational knowledge of TEC technology concerning efficiency, environmental effects, and interactions (i.e. device/environment). The results can be used by developers on the licensing process, on overcoming the commercial deployment barriers, on offering extra assurance and confidence to investors, who traditionally have seen environmental concerns as a barrier, and on providing the foundations whereupon similar deployment areas can be considered around the world for marine tidal energy extraction.

Sustainable development has been growingly recognized as important in the scope of tourism and hospitality industry practices. Gastronomic tourism associated with regional food-and wine pairing helps the emerging of higher quality services and contributes to the sustainability of tourist destinations. This study presents a pairing model based on three Real-Time Delphi (RTD) questionnaires to allow experts to select and pair regional wines with regional foods. In the first questionnaire, the experts were asked to choose, by category, the most representative regional dishes from the Algarve region (Portugal). In the second questionnaire, for each dish, experts voted on the best regional wines for the dish. In the third questionnaire, experts made quantitative and qualitative analyses for each of the three most voted wines for each dish. The resulting pairing model of regional food and wines will be communicated to tourism professionals and the general public. By promoting the consumption of these pairings, we promote an efficient, socially fair, and ecologically sustainable local economy. At the same time, we stimulate the circular economy in tourism.

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