CEG-UL Center for Geographical Studies

Travel agencies are currently faced with increasing difficulties in adapting products and services to a diverse and unpredictable demand. As part of a multi-year research on this phenomenon, a survey was carried out in order to analyse consumer behaviour, in its relationship with distributors. The measurement instruments were applied by means of a questionnaire for travel consumers. The study seeks to examine the process of choosing and purchasing tourism products, the means involved, and the specific relationships with travel agents. The findings reveal the importance of family and friends networks in the choice of holiday destinations, as well as the importance of Internet in searching for and planning trips.

The competitiveness of tourist destinations is a growing topic of research in terms of tourism. This article analyses the competitiveness of Portuguese regional destinations in the period 2001-2009, using Market Share Analysis to study the variable overnights in accommodation establishments. The results showed that most competitive destinations in this period showed a growing diversification of its tourist demand. On the other hand, less competitive destinations have demonstrated a strong dependence on just one market.
Keywords:
Tourism, competitiveness, tourist destinations, outbound tourism, market share analysis, Portugal.

To address the challenge of promoting the competitiveness and sustainability of the tourism industry, the Portuguese Government launched in 2017 the Tourism Strategy 2027, a 10-year strategy with the motto "Leading the tourism of the future". Tourism Strategy 2027 defines the vision for the Portuguese tourism industry for the next 10 years, defines sustainability as its basis and settles ambitious specific goals in both economic, environmental and social pillars. The purpose of this paper is to define a system of tourism destination sustainability indicators, oriented towards the decision-making process of tourism destination managers and other stakeholders in the sector and it is supported by a business intelligence platform, freely available on the Turismo de Portugal's knowledge management website, TravelBI. This system of indicators covers relevant areas of sustainability management in tourism, such as economic benefits, employment, seasonality, accessibility, pressure, satisfaction of tourists and residents, environmental management and water, energy and waste management. The project will support the development of regional sustainable tourism observatories and allow users an interactive experience with data, a systematic assessment of their performance and a benchmark of the industry in this field.