(Conference Proceeding)

Air transport underwent profound changes in recent decades. Some airport facilities were privatized although others remained under public control, all pursuing commercial purposes through specialization/diversification of its business models, which proved to be quite profitable for infrastructures above a certain traffic threshold. For smaller ones, public funding proved indispensable to their survival. Stockholders, including tourism organizations, saw increased potential for regions with investment realizations in regional airports. This paper presents the Portuguese case studies of Évora and Bragança, and illustrates different models of attracting investments to develop regional airports, thus attracting air services and facilitating economic development, tourism in particular.

(Comunicação em Conferência)

Air transport underwent profound changes in recent decades. Some airport facilities were privatized although others remained under public control, all pursuing commercial purposes through specialization/diversification of its business models, which proved to be quite profitable for infrastructures above a certain traffic threshold. For smaller ones, public funding proved indispensable to their survival. Stockholders, including tourism organizations, saw increased potential for regions with investment realizations in regional airports. This paper presents the Portuguese case studies of Évora and Bragança, and illustrates different models of attracting investments to develop regional airports, thus attracting air services and facilitating economic development, tourism in particular.