"WHAT DOES IT MATTER RETURNING TO A CULTURAL DESTINATION?"

This study attempts to investigate the likelihood of tourists repeating a visit to a cultural destination. For this purpose, an empirical study was conducted using tourists who had visited Guimarães during 2015 and 2016. A cluster analysis was used to separate Guimarães visitors into clusters according to their opinion towards the city´s attributes. Then a logistic regression to analyse the variables that affect the likelihood of a return visit took into account the three clusters obtained (Enthusiastic, Satisfied and Unconvinced). The empirical results showed that, for the total tourists’ sample, the global quality of the destination had the biggest influence on the decision of whether to revisit the destination, while the least important reason has shown to be the amount of prior visits. However, these influential factors varied when different cluster group compositions were considered. Based on those results, several recommendations can be driven to increase tourists’ satisfaction towards the destination together with the intention to return.

Keywords: cultural/heritage tourism; cluster analysis; destination´s attributes; logistic regression; repeat visit; tourists’ satisfaction. 

Laurentina Vareiro

J. Cadima Ribeiro

Paula Remoaldo

(resumo de comunicação apresentada no 24º Congresso da APDR (24th APDR Congress), genericamente subordinado ao tema ‘Intelectual Capital and Regional Development – new landscapes and challenges for planning the space’, organizado pela Associação Portuguesa para o Desenvolvimento Regional, que decorreu na Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, a 6 e 7 de julho de 2017)