This study examines the determinants of the financial performance of the Portuguese hotel industry. Despite the economic relevance of the hotel industry and financial performance as an indicator of business survival, academic research on the factors that influence it in the context of this industry, particularly in Portugal, is not extensive. This study encompassed a sample of 738 hotel companies from 2016 to 2021, using data from the Orbis database. This research was based on the assumption that a company’s size, liquidity, the tangibility of its assets, and debt level influence financial performance in the hotel industry, as well as the assumption that gross domestic product and consumer sentiment also affect the business success of hotel companies. By applying a panel data methodology, the findings indicate that all variables showed significant influence on financial performance, except liquidity. The analysis also reveals that smaller companies were more negatively affected by the demand decline induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. To improve the financial performance of the Portuguese hotel industry, the findings suggest that policymakers must work towards ensuring diversified sources of financing for the hotel business, such as investment subsidies, so that companies can minimize debt, especially during periods of slow economic growth. Additionally, companies must promote management strategies that enhance self-financing. Both measures could help companies increase their size, taking advantage of good business opportunities to explore economies of scale.

This paper examines the interconnections between segments of exchange‐traded funds (ETFs), bridging the traditional financial perspective with the sustainability‐driven approach based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in Agenda 2030. The analysis is endogenous, focusing on the shocks that emerge within the system composed of these segments. Utilizing daily data from six sustainable segments, each corresponding to different SDGs, alongside one traditional segment, spanning a sample period of approximately 14 years, the study reveals notable spillover effects. Specifically, the periods associated with the pandemic and the war in Ukraine were marked by a significant surge in information transmission across the segments. Furthermore, the findings indicate that sustainable segments exhibit a strong interdependence with their traditional counterparts, a dynamic that facilitates contagion risk and limits the effectiveness of portfolio diversification strategies.

Digital technologies, including peer-to-peer platforms and online booking systems, have significantly transformed the tourism industry, with short-term rental accommodations (STRA) becoming a key component of global options. While STRA has notably impacted urban tourist centres, its effects on rural sustainability are less explored. This chapter examines STRA, or ‘alojamento local' (AL) in Portugal, in the rural Algarve, comparing its impacts to urban settings. Using both secondary quantitative data from national databases and qualitative interviews with stakeholders, this study aims to expand the limited literature on rural STRA. It characterizes rural AL patterns, explores the connections between lifestyle migrant entrepreneurship and the STRA sector, and assesses their role in sustainable rural development. This research also addresses the challenges and opportunities in promoting rural tourism as a driver for a sustainable future in areas considered ‘lagging' and ‘in decline' for decades.