Trends in portuguese tourism: a content analysis of association and trade representative perspectives

Trends in Portuguese tourism: a content analysis of

association and trade representative perspectives

Paulo Ramos

Senior Researcher, Centre for Trends Study in Hospitality and Tourism (CETS-HT),

Fernando Pessoa University, Porto, Portugal

Ana Salazar

Senior Researcher, Centre for Trends Study in Hospitality and Tourism (CETS-HT),

Fernando Pessoa University, Porto, Portugal

JoaÄo Gomes

Senior Researcher, Centre for Trends Study in Hospitality and Tourism (CETS-HT),

Fernando Pessoa University, Porto, Portugal

Introduction

The objective of this paper is to provide a

summarised view of the main trends in the

Portuguese tourism and hospitality sectors

based on the analysis of the proceedings of

The Portuguese Hotels Association

Conferences (1993-1999). In carrying out the

analysis the conceptual framework used is

based on the SWOT analysis (Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)

proposed by Johnson and Scholes (1997).

The approach comprised selecting texts

from the conference proceedings that indicate

the key issues and trends in the sector. For

each conference we have analysed the texts

from the opening sessions' speeches and those

focusing on the following main issues:

. XI Conference (1993): Tourism Promotion,

Marketing Strategy and Definition of

Priority Markets; Supply Restructuring

and Innovation.

. XII Conference (1994): Competitiveness

and Costs; Key Instruments for Tourism

Attraction; Security and Tourism;

Competitiveness through Differentiation.

. XIII Conference (1995): The Culture of

Tourism; Tourism Financial Supporting

Framework; Factors Affecting

Competitiveness in Tourism.

. XIV Conference (1996): Tourism Promotion;

Tourism Competitiveness;

Internationalisation in the Tourism Sector.

. XV Conference (1997): Tourism in Algarve;

Tourism in Portugal; New Tourism

Financial Supporting Framework;

Tourism Politics; Tourism Resources.

. XVI Conference (1999): Promotional

Activity; Tourism Promotion in the Third

Millennium; Experiences in Tourism

Promotion.

The criteria applied in the selection of the

texts were:

. format of the texts (handouts and notes

were rejected due to their abbreviated

format);

. theme (when it is irrelevant to the context

of the research and its objectives).

Methodological approach and

conceptual framework

The texts were analysed using a content

analysis approach:

Content analysis is an accepted method of

textual investigation (...) it involves

establishing categories and then counting the

number of instances when those categories

are used in a particular item of text

(Silverman, 1997).

It also allows replicable and valid inferences

from data to their context (Krippendorff,

cited in Robson, 1997). This requires a

document analysis that provides an

unobtrusive measure of data not directly

observed by the researchers. In this study the

aim was to identify and understand the

participants' categorizations rather than to

count in terms of researchers' categories

(Silverman, 1997).

Following the suggestions made by Robson

(1997) and Bardin (1991) the stages adopted

for the analysis were:

1 Research question: to identify the main

trends in the Portuguese tourism sector

and the major changes affecting the sector

and how it is reacting to changes in the

environment.

2 Choice of documents: published

conference proceedings of the AHP from

the XI (1993) to the XVI Conference (1999).

3 Recording units: the paragraph and/or the

sentence when the sentences in a

paragraph can be included in different

categories.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

http://www.emerald-library.com

[ 409 ]

International Journal of

Contemporary Hospitality

Management

12/7 [2000] 409±416

# MCB University Press

[ISSN 0959-6119]

Keywords

Portugal, Tourism,

Content analysis, SWOT analysis

Abstract

A SWOT analysis is used to

perform a content analysis on the

proceedings of The Portuguese

Hotels Association Conferences

(1993-1999). The analysis

undertaken aimed to identify the

main trends and key issues in the

Portuguese tourism and

hospitality sectors. From the

analysis it is identified that there

is an absence of a clear and

enduring strategy on issues like

differentiation and positioning of

its products and services,

marketing research and product

portfolio management. The

analysis of the sector's main

strengths against the key trends

indicates that tourism and

hospitality depend too much on

the environmental changes. Some

of the main constraints that lead

to the incapacity to capitalise on

the key trends are the excess of

governmental control, difficulties

in reaching new markets, and

over-dependence on EU funds for

investments.