Search results

This study aims to compare the financial performance of the tourism distribution sector between Portugal and Spain, regarding the years 2007 and 2017. It is also intended to determine which variables influence the performance of tourism intermediaries' enterprises.

This is a quantitative study based on financial information available on SABI database, with official data of Spanish and Portuguese enterprises. The final sample gathers 6095 intermediaries (1585 Portuguese and 4510 Spanish) which were analyzed regarding their profitability through DuPont model and an additional variable – size.

The return on equity (ROE) calculation in 2007 and 2017 identifies an increase of 12.8% for Portugal and 19.6% for Spain. Through Spearman's Rho, return on sales (ROS), asset turnover and return on asset (ROA) have a positive association with ROE, but the results about asset on equity and enterprise size did not reveal such precise evidence.

This study intends to reinforce the literature in terms of performance evaluation techniques to be used in this type of enterprises, applying DuPont model. At a practical level, besides aiming the maximization of the enterprise's profit, managers are faced with other financial challenges. Thus, this study provides important indications about aspects that should be considered to improve the enterprise's financial performance, supporting managers' decision making.

Financial studies focusing on the tourism distribution sector are limited. Even less frequent are studies with financial and official data from large samples, representative of the universe under study. The value of this study is based on these two aspects, allowing to strengthen the knowledge about tourism intermediaries and their financial performance, in a comparative approach between two countries.

This paper aims to identify the current state of the Portuguese tourism, its opportunities and challenges based on the conclusions of the International Tourism Forum (ITF)/Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes (WHATT) Round Table attended by representatives of the main public and private entities of the tourism sector in Portugal.

This paper presents and discusses the main conclusions resulting from the ITF/WHATT Round Table. The event was organized by the Institute for Tourism Planning and Development, under the theme “Tourism in 2016: from trends to results”.

The ITF/WHATT Round Table concluded that the tourism industry worldwide and in Portugal, in particular, is facing major challenges that call for innovative ways of managing the tourism experience. On the other hand, world tourism growth was seen as a reality that will remain, and destinations will have to continue working to achieve better tourists instead of getting more tourists.

This analysis provides knowledge about the current state of the Portuguese tourism, its challenges and opportunities while identifying innovative ways and likely solutions to improve the experience of tourists visiting Portugal.

The profiling of the current state of the Portuguese tourism, its opportunities and challenges contributes to the design of more effective strategies to improve the Portuguese tourist offer and the experience of tourists visiting Portugal.

This paper aims to study the decision‐making processes of Portuguese tourists traveling to South America and Africa destinations by developing a conceptual framework that focuses on information sources, motivations, perceptions, satisfactions, and behavioral intentions.

The study applies a structural model that looks to explain the factors behind decision making and the relationships present. The relationships are observed in detail through the application of a categorical principal component analysis.

The results of the empirical study show that behavioral intentions precede emotional and cognitive satisfaction, which in turn, are explained through perceptions and motivations. Tourists perceive tourism destinations as places of leisure although little information is available on existing facilities and core attractions.

The study has the restriction of being limited to the Portuguese tourists. However, these findings open paths for further investigation, namely extending to other destinations and to tourists with different motivations.

This study contributes to the overall understanding of the decision‐making processes of tourists. Specifically, the decision processes is assess by considering two stages: the pre‐purchase stage and the post‐purchase stage. These two phases were analyzed in order to understand how people decide to travel to a certain destination.

This paper investigates tourism distribution channels in a small island destination with capacity constraints and contributes to understanding distribution in an emerging economy. Using the case of Fernando de Noronha in Brazil, the structures and factors underlying channel choice behaviour of tourism suppliers and intermediaries were investigated.

41 in-depth interviews were conducted with the private sector (tourism suppliers based on Fernando de Noronha and intermediaries, based on the island as well as mainland Brazil) as well as governmental organisations. A stratified purposeful sample was taken to select suppliers and data were examined based on thematic analysis.

Both direct and indirect distribution channels are used, with limited airline tickets influencing the suppliers' choice of channels in this small island and capacity-constrained destination. Many suppliers focused on relationships with destination-based ground operators. These local intermediaries are important and extremely relevant to small island destinations building an effective business network to connect the destination to geographically distant markets and intermediaries.

Limitations include the absence of air and cruise operators as interviewees.

The paper provides a comprehensive representation of the structures and analysis of tourism distribution channels in fragile small island destinations, specifically, in an emerging country context. This includes emphasising previously unexplored indirect channels of cruise ship operators and supplier's associations.

The aim of this study is to identify the travel constraints of people with special needs (PwSN) and the strategies used to overcome them. The article also intends to analyze the differences in travel constraints and negotiation strategies according to the type of disability and/or special need.

A qualitative study was conducted in which a sample of PwSN (people with disabilities – mobility, sensory and cognitive – seniors and people with food allergies) were interviewed in depth.

PwSN face a wide range of constraints when engaging in tourism activities. These constraints are very diverse and influence people with different intensity and have to be overcome using different negotiation strategies. However, differences in the constraints were observed according to the type of special needs.

One of the most significant practical implications of this research is the need for raising awareness regarding human diversity among tourism stakeholders. It is critical to link sectoral policies that are reflected in the social and business reality, creating public–private partnerships to raise the sharing of knowledge, equipment and services. By addressing the constraints that prevent PwSN from traveling, the tourism sector can create more opportunities for them to participate in social activities, improving their quality of life and contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive industry.

Traveling can present significant challenges for people with special needs, which affect the quality of their tourism experience. Despite growing academic attention to this issue in recent years, research in this field has primarily focused on specific aspects of disability. This study seeks not only to identify the barriers to travel faced by people with different special needs but also to explore the negotiation strategies used to overcome these barriers and the differences according to the type of special need.

The study explores the concept of sustainability as a measure of tourism success from the perspectives of the Portuguese Promotional Tourism Boards.

The study reviews current approaches to defining sustainability and explores how this can contribute to measuring success in tourism destinations using the case of the Portuguese Promotional Tourism Boards to shed light on the theme issue question.

The evidence that the impacts of tourism are not all beneficial to destinations and their residents is mounting and well addressed by the main world tourism agencies who are now promoting alternative ways for the industry to adopt a more holistic approach to measure the success of tourism destinations. This approach is also being adopted and promoted by some of the world's best tourism destinations.

Based on contributions from the Portuguese Regional Promotional Tourism Entities (ERTs), it was possible to define a successful tourism destination as the one that creates income for the local community and ensures the quality of life of the population; values and preserves local identities, heritage, culture and traditions; and promotes the sustainable use of ecosystems and the preservation of natural resources, while practising a circular economy approach. Based on the same source, it was possible to identify the most important variable in evaluating the success of a tourist destination: the level of satisfaction of residents with tourism.

This research is about the evaluation of organizational risks in the hospitality sector, using the experience of a guest with visual impairments. The objectives of this research are to (1) identify if the previous expectations of a guest with visual impairments trip will be exceeded in the final; (2) classify organizational risks in the hotel sector; (3) verify if there are direct impacts on the travellers' future behaviour, such as destination recommendation and intention to return to the destination. Despite of the fact that organizational risks are composed by transport, hospitality and tourism attractions (tourism players can jeopardize the success of a travel experience), this research will only focus on the hospitality sector. To assure the achievement of the referred objectives, a case study will be used based on the analysis of the experience of a Portuguese guest with disabilities, who traveled alone, around Europe, with a guide dog. His expectations, constraints and risks will be analysed through a deep-depth interview, in which questions are organized from the literature review. Finally, it is expected that this exploratory research helps to find new avenues for the study of organizational risks, more precisely, hospitality risks for disabled people.

Drawing upon an analysis of resident and visitor survey data and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) press releases in 2012, the purpose of this paper is to understand the tourism destination image for this tourist historic city produced by these three key stakeholder groups in Macau.

This is achieved using a new stakeholder analysis tool, developed from previous studies, which compares the perspective of the MGTO, the city’s destination marketing organization, with that of its residents and visitors. This study examines the perceptions that residents and visitors have about the general images projected and generated in Macau.

This research highlights the multiplicity of images and producers of images in Macau.

The lesson from this case study is that public sector agencies need to acknowledge more clearly the tourism planning role of the host community in particular. The possibility of detecting disconnections and misalignments of shared destination imagery by residents and visitors has implications for the public sector in Macau and other destinations in relation to managing and developing a destination and contributes to a greater understanding of stakeholders and sustainable tourism development overall.

This paper tries to explore the possibilities of developing sustainable, community-based tourism (CBT) in Boa Vista in Cape Verde, Africa. Island territories are generally considered preferential tourist destinations. However, the negative effects of tourism in these destinations should not be overlooked, among them environmental concerns and impacts on the culture of the island’s inhabitants. The development of CBT takes on special relevance, as it based on planning schemes in conjunction with the local community who share the positive effects derived from tourism.

The methodology used consisted in designing two surveys: one focusing on the supply side and another on the demand side of tourism to define and analyse the current status of this sector in Boa Vista. The survey on tourism supply was distributed among a panel of experts formed by tourism service providers located in Boa Vista. The statistical results of the responses and the discussion carried out by the panel of experts permitted the development of a SWOT matrix. The survey on demand was administered to foreign tourists in different parts of the island. A total of 202 valid surveys were obtained.

The main results of the fieldwork are twofold. On the supply side of tourism, the community is making an enormous effort to actively participate in the development of sustainable tourism, efforts which are often constrained by the geographical barriers of Boa Vista (sandy soil, poor accessibility to other islands) and the institutional and political situation of the island. As regards the demand side of tourism, the vast majority of tourists stay at the island’s all-inclusive resorts, whereas few tourists require the services provided by the community, mainly because they are unaware that such services exist.

Certain island destinations are more appropriate for tourists wishing to flee mass tourism enclaves due to their natural environment, relative isolation and the traditional culture of their inhabitants. For this reason, it is important to develop a CBT model for these destinations in which initiatives are planned in conjunction with members of the local community who participate in decision-making processes and benefit equally from the positive effects of tourism. Although several case studies have been reported in the research on CBT initiatives, few studies have been carried out on CBT in island territories. This is the main contribution in this paper.