The ARTUR project aims to assess the impact of tourism on air quality and to investigate how air quality could be a criterion to increase the competitiveness of a tourism destination, focusing on the central region of Portugal. The tourism sector will be characterized in terms of emissions and its impact on air quality estimated using numerical modeling tools. Questionnaires and interviews will be used to evaluate how tourism destination competitiveness could be improved based on natural-advantage- environmental resources as air quality. The impact of travel behaviors on air quality will be investigated and a competitiveness index integrating air quality indicators will be developed and tested for the study region with potential application for other regions. Finally, this challenging project, mainly due to its transdisciplinary and innovative approach, will produce guidelines to support future strategies for the tourism sector and its environmental sustainability.