Satisfaction with Braga (Portugal) and recommendation: A comparison between information coming from relatives/ friends and from other sources

Abstract

Recommendation from family and friends is considered to be the most credible source in the travel decision-making process. Since studies on destination loyalty focus on this variable, this study investigated tourists’ motivations, perceived attributes of the city and satisfaction obtained from the visit by comparing the following two groups: those who indicated that they obtained travel information from relatives/friends (n = 120) and those who obtained information from other sources (n = 186). The research methodology consists of a quantitative approach based on a self-administered survey applied to travellers who visited Braga (a medium sized city located in the Northwest of Portugal), during 2017. The results indicated that there were some significant differences between the two groups with respect to demographic characteristics, tourists’ motivations and perceived attributes of the city. However, the groups did not differ in their global image of the destination and intention to recommend it to relatives and friends.