“…Legitimacy can be defined as "a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions" (Suchman, 1995 p. 574). Legitimacy has become one of the key elements in research regarding stakeholders (Mitchell, Agle & Wood, 1997), environmental corporate responsibility (Bansal & Roth, 2002), adaptation to local institutions (Gelbuda, Meyer, & Delios, 2008;Ferreira & Serra, 2015) amongst many fields of research. In tourism, on the other hand, the element of legitimacy has attracted little attention, only coming through in research regarding ecotourism (Lawrence, Wickins & Phillips, 1997).…”