Azores Trail Run® as a sustainable vehicle for promotion and local development Azores Trail Run® como meio de promoção e desenvolvimento local sustentável

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the impact of the trail running event in the Azores territory, and how it fits into sustainable development strategies and the policies promoted by the regional Government. For the present study we used two surveys and an interview with the ATR coordinator during the 2018 edition of the Azores Trail Run ® Triangle Adventure. One survey was sent by email for non-residents participants and the other was applied in person to residents of Faial, Pico and São Jorge islands during the event, with the objective of evaluating their perception of the event and the impact of the ATR. In order to complement the information gathered through the two surveys, we conducted an interview with ATR director and general coordinator. This sport event follows the principles of local sustainable development defined by the Azores regional Government and promotes the Azores as a sustainable tourism destination.


Introduction
It is widely reported that sports tourism contributes to local development of territories and their communities, and that should be considered when defining policies and subsequent decisions, since sports tourism, in its most diverse forms, has a preponderant role in the exploration of existing endogenous resources. In rural and island territories, such as the Azores, micro, small and medium-sized events are the most representative, as we have seen in Silva's study (2013) and the larger events are carried out in the main cities.
Considering that rural and island territories are more susceptible to the impacts generated by tourism activity and sporting events, it is extremely important that the organizers of these activities are fully aware about the importance of local sustainable development in these places (Ferreira, 2017), and the impact in the local community itself (Valente, 2012).
Sporting events in rural and island territories, such as the Azores, should be in accordance with the guidelines adopted by public institutions, especially the regional Government, in affirming the region as a sustainable tourist destination. Recently, the Cadernos de Geografia Azores, was recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council as the first archipelago in the world with sustainable tourism destination certificate, among other awards and recognitions on the themes of sustainability and development. Considering the importance of preserving and defending the natural and cultural heritage while at the same time creating equitable and lasting wealth; from the international imperatives of climate governance towards a low carbon global economy; and increasing population pressure on the planet and the region, it is essential to "reinforce the Azores as having a tourism strategy with a clear orientation towards sustainable tourism, adapted to the local reality and resilient to the global challenges" (GRA/IPDT, 2016, p. 11).
In this sense, it is necessary that events organized in rural and island territories have a preponderant role in defining strategies, actions and measures with the objective of reducing or mitigating the associated impacts generated. This article fits in depth the ATR, demonstrating how this event contributes in a sustained way to the local development of the Azores.

Sport Tourism and Sustainable Local Development
Tourism is an important economic sector in the development of regions, territories and communities.
If this is fact, it is still most in rural and island territories where exist a small economy, demographic ageing and population withdrawal, the social and economic local agents considered tourism as an opportunity to development (Mourão, 2000;E. Silva, 2016;F. Silva, 2017). It is indeed tourism, as a rejuvenation of the social and economic activities, which makes many of the rural areas today known and recognized nationally and internationally. In recent years we have been witnessing a clear commitment to the implementation of national and community policies for local development with greater emphasis in rural areas. These policies have the main objective to minimize the effects of dropout of the territory, seeking to promote development that is intended to be sustainable.
It is widely published that tourism and sport as sectors of activity contribute positively to the development of territories, places and communities (Chalip, Ritchie, & Adair, 2004 (2017)  Although the theme of sustainable development is mainly related to environmental issues (Borges, 2016;European Commission, 2016), it is assumed by tourism agents as related to the economic issues of an industry that moves people, products, goods and services and respective currencies. Indeed, in spite of the different positions adopted by the most diverse authors and researchers of the theme, tourism as the engine for sustainable local development is no more than tailoring the activities of the sector to the latest principles and objectives of human, environmental, economic, natural development, social, political, institutional and cultural issues (Garcia, 2011;Oliveira & Manso, 2010 Sharpley, 2000). Local and regional organizations and institutions will be responsible for the planning and management of the territory, as well as the definition of development actions, objectives and strategies, keeping in mind the specificities and constraints of its territory. The sustainable development of tourism is therefore based on its own deontological principles,

Azores: Sustainable Tourism Destination
The Azores, located in the Atlantic Ocean, and being one of the two autonomous regions belonging to Portugal, are made up of nine islands of volcanic origin. In the immensity of deep blue ocean, the Region, known for its landscapes and natural beauty, In this sense, the Strategic Marketing Plan for Tourism of the Azores (PEMTA) was adopted, where nature tourism is defined as the strategic product of the Azores, and where we find, besides many others, the organization and capture of sporting events in direct contact with nature.
Consider ing that one of the transversal problems of the tourism sector is seasonality, it was defined in the PEMTA that the sporting events should be realized mostly during the season with lower rates of visitation, commonly dubbed low season. For this to be possible, the regional Government supports, logistically and financially, the events with the highest level of recognition and media exposure and of the most impact for local development, in addition to increasing those that fit the perspective of sustainability.
The destination of the Azores is undoubtedly a world reference in terms of sustainable development as a result of the participation of both tourist agents working directly and indirectly in the sector and the policies adopted by public organizations. In this way, tourism development of the Azores will have to meet or exceed and surpass, standards that are stipulated in the booklet for sustainability, "for an unequal environmental supply, allied to energy sustainability, in a concerted strategy to safeguard natural resources, which will enhance the tourist activity of the Geografia archipelago of the Azores as a destination of nature" (SREAT, 2017, p. 11).
Tour ism has been play ing an increasingly important role in the regional economy, not only at the level of the product generated, but also in terms of the employment and entrepreneurship opportunities it has provided. The decision by the regional In addition to these singularities, in recent years, the Azores has strengthened its identity matrix, as a tourism destination strongly based on outdoor, cultural and experiential activities. This identity, embodied in both documents mentioned as a strategic bet for the tourism sector, became evident both in the scope of the various tourism products offered and the promotional actions carried out.
All this development and resource framework of the Region determined that the tourism sector in the Azores should be one of the driving forces of the economic development of the Region and that the political orientation for its growth strategy, assumed by the Regional Government of the Azores, be based on the concept of sustainability, combining, in a profitable way, the environmental, economic, social and even cultural dimensions (Moniz, 2006;Valente, 2012).

Azores Trail Run ® -A Brand for Regional Sustainable Development
As the name implies, this is a tourist-sport It should be noted that for the main event of the ATR, which takes place on Faial Island in May 2019, participants from more than 30 countries was registered ( Table 1). The ATR is an example of good practice about the segment commonly known as sports tourism: it combines sport in direct contact with nature and the community for harmonious, sustainable, fair and equitable development.

Azores Trail Run® as a sustainable vehicle for promotion and local development
nº 41 -2020 The organization of the event has as its vision, to combine sports in a relaxed environment where sustainability is present during the days of the race.
Since its first edition, the organization creates several mechanisms in order to minimize the impact caused: Board that recognized the ATR as a perfect example how to promote the archipelago as a sustainable active tourism destination.

Methodology
For the present study we used two questionnaire surveys and an interview with the ATR coordinator during the 2018 edition of the Triangle Adventure. The first survey was sent by e-mail to the athletes enrolled in the race and only to non-residents in the Azores. Of the total of the 124 non-resident questionnaires distributed, we received a response from 46 participants, which corresponds to a total of 37%.
For the construction of this survey we have used other similar investigations and adapted the main goals related to trail running and adapted the survey to local reality and the investigation (Berdychevsky & Gibson, 2012;Deery et al., 2004;Gammon et al., 2017). The second survey was applied in person to the residents of Faial, Pico and São Jorge islands during the event, with the objective of evaluating their perception of event impacts. In order to complement the information through the two surveys, we also conducted an interview with ATR director and general coordinator Mário Leal. Since the results were not too exhaustive, we have chosen to manually analyse the data collected by creating a spread sheet for its analysis, without resorting to any information processing software.

Main Results
Regarding the survey applied to non-resident participants in the Azores, we obtained a response from 46 of the 124 non-resident participants (37%).
Of these, 63% were accompanied by friends and 30% by family members. It is important to mention here the multiplier effect that this type of event generates in the territories, since many of the participants travel accompanied.
The average amount spent per participant during the four days of the event was approximately € 500, which makes a daily average of € 125. Now, with this value deduced and knowing that the total number of participants in the ATR Triangle Adventure 2018 was 140, we were able to calculate an estimate of the local economic impact.
In addition to these results, it should be mentioned that 50% of the respondents stayed in the region five or more nights, taking time to know, discover and explore the three islands of the central group of the Azores. Regarding the satisfaction of the participants, 32% consider the event to be excellently well organized and 33% of the respondents believe that this event contributes to the sustainable development of the territory since it is an event of reduced environmental impact. We refer here to the policy of the ATR organization to minimize and mitigate the impacts caused by the event itself, eliminating the use of plastic, planting native species in places duly If the first edition of the ATR in 2014 had 12 entities, the 2019 edition has the support of about 60 local, regional, national and international entities: "there is an effort to attract new partners and to continue with existing ones", says the director and coordinator of the ATR. If in the first edition plastic marking tapes were used to mark the paths, the latest editions count on the organization's investment in environmentally friendly and reusable material.
The evolution of the ATR event is quite significant, both in terms of the number of participants enrolled in the various races that make up the ATR, the number of partnerships and partners, and related environmental, natural, social and cultural issues.

Final Considerations
Tourist-sporting events play a major role in the revitalization, promotion and publicizing of territories and regions, whilst targeting intended sustainable local development. The Azores and the ATR event are, unconditionally, a success story due to policies and decisions adopted and the promotion of sports Azores Trail Run® as a sustainable vehicle for promotion and local development nº 41 -2020 tourism as the identifying link of the territory and its community.
Considering that rural and island territories are more susceptible to the impacts generated by tourism and sporting events, it is extremely important that the organizers of these events are fully aware of the importance of sustainable local development.
While in the Azores this theme is recognized by the various organizations and international entities, through the various acknowledgements, awards and recommendations, the organizations of the events must fulfil this same design.
The ATR is a good example of the large social and economic benefits that these kinds of well