Measuring quality for destination marketing: local public stakeholders’ perceptions in Portugal

Authors

  • Andreia Antunes Moura Invited Adjunct Professor at Coimbra Education School, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal
  • Lisete dos Santos Mónico Assistant Professor at the University of Coimbra
  • Maria do Rosário Campos Mira Adjunct Professor at Coimbra Education School, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.2019.150104

Keywords:

Marketing, DMO, Quality, Competitiveness, Measuring instrument

Abstract

Based on academic research and international recommendations on tourism quality, this study sought to develop a wide-ranging tourism quality scale adapted for Portuguese contexts. The research included creating and validating a marketing subscale to measure local public stakeholders’ perceptions of marketing strategies focused on improving tourism destinations’ quality. A self-administered survey was conducted with a sample of Portuguese municipalities including, more specifically, 134 local public stakeholders commonly considered local destination marketing organisations, as well as public policy- and decision-makers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to measure destination marketing quality, resulting in the identification of two factors: (1) image and promotion and (2) product differentiation. The proposed instrument was shown to have validity and reliability and to be a useful measurement tool. The findings highlight local public stakeholders’ responsibility to ensure the quality and competitiveness of tourism destinations’ marketing and provide multiple useful practical and theoretical implications and insights to guide future research.

Author Biographies

  • Andreia Antunes Moura, Invited Adjunct Professor at Coimbra Education School, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal
    Integrated researcher at GOVCOPP - Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, University of Aveiro, Portugal
    Collaborating researcher at CiTUR - Centre for Research, Development and Innovation in Tourism, Portugal
    Researcher of the Alliance on Training and Research in Social and Fair Tourism, at ISTO - International Social Tourism Organization
  • Maria do Rosário Campos Mira, Adjunct Professor at Coimbra Education School, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal
    Collaborating researcher at GOVCOPP - Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, University of Aveiro, Portugal
    Collaborating researcher at CiTUR - Centre for Research, Development and Innovation in Tourism, Portugal

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Published

31.01.2019

Issue

Section

Tourism/Hospitality: Research Papers

How to Cite

Moura, A. A., Mónico, L. dos S., & Mira, M. do R. C. (2019). Measuring quality for destination marketing: local public stakeholders’ perceptions in Portugal. Tourism & Management Studies, 15(1), 44-53. https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.2019.150104

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