Cultural destination’s attributes and tourists’ satisfaction: Differences between first time and repeated visits

Considering the importance of tourists’ satisfaction in regards to their intentions of revisiting the destination and providing word-of-mouth referrals, this study attempts to investigate the differences between first time and repeated visitors in terms of the perceived attributes of cultural/heritage destinations, tourists’ satisfaction and intention to return and to recommend a destination. The current case study is the city of Guimarães, in Portugal. The research methodology consists of a quantitative approach based on a self-administered survey applied to tourists who visited Guimarães during 2015. Looking at the empirical results, it was possible to conclude that first time and recurrent visitors showed no noticeable difference in the way the perceived attributes of the destination were ranked. In terms of satisfaction, both first time and repeated visitors showed a high level of overall satisfaction with their visit. However, this aspect seems to be insufficient to guarantee their willingness to return. Based on the results, several recommendations may be made to increase tourists’ satisfaction vis-à-vis Guimarães, not forgetting tourists’ needs, attributes valorisation and cultural/heritage sustainability.This work has the financial support of UNIAG - Applied Management Research Unit, R&D unit funded by the FCT – Portuguese Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through national funds under the project UID/GES/04752/2016. This work has also the financial support of the Project Lab2PT - Laboratory of Landscapes, Heritage and Territory - AUR / 04509 and of FCTMEC through national funds and when applicable of the ERDF co-financing, under the new partnership agreement PT2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A INFLUÊNCIA DA CRISE NA ESCOLHA PELO CONSUMIDOR ENTRE AGÊNCIAS DE VIAGENS OU OPERADORES ON-LINE

The global financial crisis in recent years has triggered people to re-evaluate their perception of their daily lives. We are witnessing the emergence of new rehabilitation routines and ways of living. It is thus the birth of a new awareness of choice in daily habits. This new perception also reflects on special occasions and times in people’s lives, such as the choice of being able to take a vacation, which for many is the largest expenditure of the year. When and how much they can spend to enjoy a week of vacation with family. The methodology used in this study was quantitative, based on a questionnaire applied to students in several higher education institutions in Portugal (post-graduate and master’s degrees). 412 valid surveys were obtained. Taking the case of the students, and by implementing a survey about the choice of tourist suppliers, it intends to examine to what extent the crisis affects the demand of people through travel agencies or through online services. This study also seeks to understand the differences in the behaviour of consumers who use, or do not use the web when they intend to travel; the motivations when searching for travel websites, tourism products and suppliers; the types of products; and motivations for choosing travel agencies and corresponding consumer satisfaction and loyalty. The study concluded that, in general, the economic crisis has influenced the choice of the consumer by online suppliers. There were also differences in the motivations and characteristics most valued, depending on the demand of online or traditional suppliers.A crise que tem abalado as economias nos últimos anos despoletou nas pessoas novas formas de entendimento do seu quotidiano. Assiste-se ao surgimento de uma nova readaptação nas rotinas e de maneiras de estar na vida. Verifica-se, assim, o nascer de uma nova consciencialização de escolha nos hábitos diários. Esta nova percepção também se reflete em situações especiais da vida das pessoas, como é o caso da escolha das férias que, para muitas, é a despesa mais avultada do ano: quando, como e quanto podem despender para usufruir de uma semana de férias com a família. A metodologia utilizada neste estudo foi de caráter quantitativo, com base num questionário aplicado a estudantes em várias instituições de ensino superior em Portugal (pós-graduações e mestrados), tendo sido obtidos 412 inquéritos válidos. Tomando o caso dos estudantes, e através da implementação de um inquérito acerca da escolha do fornecedor turístico, pretende-se verificar em que medida a crise influencia a procura das pessoas pelas agências de viagens ou pelos serviços on-line. Este estudo procura, igualmente, perceber as diferenças no comportamento dos consumidores que recorrem, ou não, à Web quando pretendem viajar, quais as motivações pela procura de fornecedores on-line e respectiva aquisição de serviços e produtos turísticos, quais os tipos de produtos, quais as motivações pela procura de agências de viagens e correspondente grau de satisfação e lealdade. O estudo concluiu que, de forma geral, a crise econômica influenciou a escolha do consumidor por fornecedores on-line em detrimento das agências de viagens tradicionais. Verificaram-se, igualmente, diferenças nas motivações e nas caraterísticas mais valorizadas, consoante a procura de fornecedores on-line ou tradicionais