Browsing by Author "Vasconcelos, Maria"
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- Examining the role of familiarity in the destination word-of-mouthPublication . Ferreira, Sónia; Santos, Sara; Augusto, Luísa; Santo, Pedro Espírito; Vasconcelos, MariaAfter the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism has grown enormously; this growth has been even more significant in Portugal. The dissemination of experiences by tourists who have already visited a region significantly impacts the interest aroused by other tourists. It is increasingly common for tourists to analyse the experiences of others before they travel. In this sense, word-of-mouth by tourists is a factor to be considered in tourism. Since tourism is based on experiences and familiarity with destinations is reinforced by accumulated experiences, studying the effects of familiarity on tourists' intention to word-of-mouth would be relevant. Furthermore, given that the attitude towards the region visited comprises cognitive and affective dimensions, it would be relevant to analyse the effects of the attitude towards the region on the intention to word-of-mouth. In this sense, this study sought to analyse the determining factors of word-of-mouth in tourism. To this end, a quantitative, cross-sectional survey was carried out, for which data was collected through a questionnaire from a sample of 906 tourists using the Smart PLS software. The results showed that familiarity with the region and attitudes towards the region is essential in tourists' intention to WOM. Therefore, this study supports the idea that tourist destinations should welcome tourists in the best way possible by providing them with greater familiarity with the region so that, through the word-of-mouth generated, it is possible to attract more tourists.
- Promotional tourism videos: examining the role of familiarity, attitude, and word-of-mouth towards the regionPublication . Ferreira, Sónia; Santos, Sara; Augusto, Luísa; Santo, Pedro Espírito; Vasconcelos, MariaAfter the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism has grown enormously; this growth has been even more significant in Portugal. The dissemination of experiences by tourists who have already visited a region significantly impacts the interest aroused by other tourists. It is increasingly common for tourists to analyse the experiences of others before they travel. In this sense, word-of-mouth by tourists is a factor to be considered in tourism. Since tourism is based on experiences and familiarity with destinations is reinforced by accumulated experiences, studying the effects of familiarity on tourists' intention to word-of-mouth would be relevant. Furthermore, given that the attitude towards the region visited comprises cognitive and affective dimensions, it would be relevant to analyse the effects of the attitude towards the region on the intention to word-of-mouth. In this sense, this study sought to analyse the determining factors of word-of-mouth in tourism. To this end, a quantitative, cross-sectional survey was carried out, for which data was collected through a questionnaire from a sample of 906 tourists using the Smart PLS software. The results showed that familiarity with the region and attitudes towards the region is essential in tourists' intention to WOM. Therefore, this study supports the idea that tourist destinations should welcome tourists in the best way possible by providing them with greater familiarity with the region so that, through the word-of-mouth generated, it is possible to attract more tourists.
- Recommendations for Internal Communication to Strengthen the Employer Brand: A Systematic Literature ReviewPublication . Santos, Sara; Augusto, Luísa; Ferreira, Sónia; Santo, Pedro Espírito; Vasconcelos, MariaThe increasingly intense competition in organisations means that they have to develop strategies to differentiate themselves. One of these strategies consists of using internal communication to improve the company’s attractiveness to outside talent and increase its attractiveness to its existing employees. However, this relationship still needs to be studied in the existing literature. This review aims to find and understand the main recommendations to be used in internal communication to improve employer branding. Nine open access scientific articles published between 2013 and 2023 on Scopus and Web of Science, written in English, met the inclusion criteria. Internal communication has been proven to play a crucial role in employer branding. The review presents a series of guidelines that can be incorporated into internal communication to strengthen the employer brand. These relate to communication qualities, knowing how to listen to and respect employees, maintaining responsiveness, providing feedback and the flow of company-related information, and choosing the appropriate communication channels. This study contributes to the ongoing scientific community by summarising and exploring the literature from the past decade. Its findings enhance our understanding of this field of study and strongly advocate for future research.
- Tourists' Engagement on Tourism Organizations' Facebook Pages: The Role of User-Generated ContentPublication . Santos, Sara; Vasconcelos, Maria; Ferreira, SóniaTourism industry prospects are presented by digital marketing and consumer travel behaviour changes. Given this fact, digital content marketing (DCM) assumes greater significance for enhancing social media user engagement. Providing valuable and relevant information that differentiates the company and catches the consumers' attention has been one of the current challenges in this area. The wide availability of information on the Internet changes how consumers engage with it. Therefore, creating and disseminating educational and pertinent content is now mandatory. To ensure the effectiveness of the process, it is crucial to understand with whom, how, when, and where communication will be carried out. Thus, tourism organisations must offer targeted, tailored, and appealing information to interest customers more about the destinations. Social media is a commonly used strategy for tourism promotion initiatives, where User Generated Content (UGC) has emerged as one of the most popular means to achieve this goal. “Turismo Centro de Portugal” is responsible for publicizing the Centre region of Portugal, including cities such as Coimbra, Aveiro, Viseu, and Leiria. Turismo Centro de Portugal has won several communication-related awards, having already been recognized internationally for its advertising campaigns. Numerous studies analyzing user-generated content and digital content are available, but they invariably look at businesses rather than tourism-related institutions. Hence, conducting a study to identify follower engagement and involvement in digital content marketing posts versus user-generated content posts applied to the Turismo Centro de Portugal was considered pertinent. For this purpose, a qualitative analysis of the existing content and its results on Turismo Centro de Portugal's Facebook page was developed based on a social media content analysis framework adapted from other authors. The results revealed the importance of using user-generated content in a social media communication strategy for tourism organisations.
- User-Generated Content in Tourism: Could it impact Brand Equity and Intention to Visit?Publication . Santos, Sara; Ferreira, Sónia; Vasconcelos, MariaThe Internet has changed communication and created significant challenges for the tourism and hospitality sectors. Due to the abundance of tourist destinations available, competition is fierce. Therefore, destinations must devise strategies to set themselves apart and strengthen customer brand equity by providing informative and engaging content on digital platforms, specifically social media, with millions of users. Web 2.0 allows users to generate and distribute information through user-generated content and e-word-of-mouth as trustworthy sources for tourist information that can significantly influence travellers' decision-making process. Therefore, businesses must share pertinent information and incentivize online customer feedback on social media platforms where ideas and opinions are highly valued. These can influence a potential tourist's decision to visit, which makes them critical to destination promotion. Effective communication is essential in shaping consumer opinion and fostering strong customer relationships. This study analyses whether user-generated content impacts brand equity and visitation intentions. It utilized a quantitative approach, using a survey to collect data from tourists and potential tourists of Portugal's Central Region. The sample size consisted of 515 participants. The collected data was then analyzed statistically with the assistance of Smart PLS 3.3.2 software. Based on the results, it was found that user-generated content has an impact on destination awareness, perceived quality, and intention to visit.