The Alentejo Sustainable Tourism Observatory was created through a partnership between Portugal Tourism, the Regional Tourism Board of Alentejo, the University of Évora, as well as both the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre and Santarém. ASTO is the first monitoring entity within a nation-wide observatory initiative launched by the Portugese Government in the framework of the 2027 Tourism Strategy. Monitoring areas include, among others: Community Participation, Tourism Seasonality, Competitiveness of Tourism Businesses, Water Availability and Conservation, Local Satisfaction With Tourism; Destination Economic Benefits; Employment.