"Satisfaction with Braga (Portugal) and recommendation: comparisons between information coming from relatives/friends and from other sources"

Abstract

Recommendation from family and friends is considered to be the most credible source in the travel decision-making process. Being relevant that studies on destination loyalty focus on this variable, this study investigated the tourists’ motivations, perceived attributes of the city and satisfaction gotten from the visit performed comparing the following two groups: those who indicated that they obtained travel information from relatives/friends (n=120); and those who obtained information from other sources (n=186). The research methodology consists of a quantitative approach based on a self-administered survey applied to travellers who visited Braga (a medium sized city located in the Northwest of Portugal), during 2017. The results indicated that there were some significant differences across the two groups with respect to demographic characteristics, tourists’ motivations and perceived attributes of the city. However, the groups did not differ in their global image of the destination and intention to recommend it to relatives and friends.

Keywords: destination attributes; tourists’ satisfaction; word-of-mouth recommendation; Northwest of Portugal; Braga.

Paula Remoaldo, Department of Geography and Lab2pt, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, cris.remoaldo@gmail.com

Laurentina Vareiro, Management School, Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave and UNIAG, Barcelos, Portugal, lvareiro@ipca.pt

J. Cadima Ribeiro, Economics and Management School and NIPE, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, jcadima@eeg.uminho.pt

Jessica de Abreu, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, jessicaabreu93@hotmail.com

Ana M. S. Bettencourt, Department of History and Landscapes, Heritage and Territory Laboratory – Lab2pt, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, anabett@uaum.uminho.pt

[Resumo de comunicação apresentada no 25º Congresso da APDR (25th APDR Congress), genericamente subordinado ao tema ‘Circular Economy: Urban Metabolism and Regional Development’, organizado pela Associação Portuguesa para o Desenvolvimento Regional, que decorreu na Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, a 5 e 6 de julho de 2018]