Tourists’ Perception of Tourist Destinations: The Case Study of Nazaré (Portugal)

Abstract

Although Destination Image is a relevant investigation topic in the literature, few studies pay attention to Destination Image as reflected in tourists’ evaluations and reviews on social networks. Given the importance of social media and the relationship between places and the image of those places, this investigation seeks to analyse visitors’ perceptions of a tourist destination. The village of Nazaré (Portugal) was chosen for the analysis. The purpose was to analyse the perceptions of tourists to this village. Methodologically, a netnographic analysis was carried out considering the comments and evaluations made on the TripAdvisor platform, renowned among tourists. The three main attractions were found, and all the comments were counted (n = 565) over the 6-year period, from January 2018 to March 2023. It was possible to define the visitor profile. A content analysis was carried out that sought to categorise visitors’ perceptions into fourteen categories, namely beach, landscapes, accessibility, recommendations, location, appreciation of the intangible, enjoyment of the experience, emotions, prices, climate, good for a walk, good gastronomy, tourist activity and senses. The contribution of this investigation is to recognise the importance of the village of Nazaré as a tourist destination, centred on the perception of its visitors. Although limited in its scope, this study emphasises the need for tourism promotion agents to focus their initiatives on the creation of immersive experiences and their emotions, as these were two of the categories little mentioned in this study.