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Papers by Arthur B Araújo

Proceedings of 9th International Tourism Congress, 2017

Nowadays, tourism imagery concept is becoming a cutting-edge topic of research, since all tourism... more Nowadays, tourism imagery concept is becoming a cutting-edge topic of research, since all tourism destinations are competing in the global market using digital and audio-visual media, trying to generate positive
impressions in large audiences. Concomitantly, as people are steeped in sensory information about tourist destinations, it is important to understand how those stimuli act in the potential tourists' minds. The present study aims to analyse the contents of tourist imagery related to two highly desirable but contrasting destination categories: Dream destinations and Favourite destinations. The former category refers the places that one never visited but desires to visit in the future; while the later concerns those locations one already visited and liked the most and, hence, deserve to be recommended. Adopting the grounded theory approach, an online multilingual survey was carried out at worldwide level. The empirical material consisted of a mega-data comprising 23,446 responses that correspond to 70,338 words spontaneously associated by respondents to their Dream and Favourite destinations. The data analysis, performed with the software QSR NVivo 11 pro, was based on the Echtner and Ritchie’s (1991) framework, and included the following a hierarchy of nodes: psychological holistic, functional holistic, psychological attributes, functional attributes and unique. Results reinforce the most recent theories about the structure of destination imagery, as well as show clear structural differences between the imagery of Dream destinations and of Favourite destinations. Additionally, a theoretical model that offers a basis for future studies was proposed, and some managerial implications of significant relevance to destination marketing were discussed.

Film tourism encompasses visits to places whose attractiveness is related to audio-visual product... more Film tourism encompasses visits to places whose attractiveness is related to audio-visual products. Slum tourism consists of tourist visits aiming to experience the place where poor people live. The present work intends to address both phenomena by proposing a theoretical model of film-induced slum tourism motivations. To this end, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with tourists during their visits to Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. Results show that Slum Tourism Motivations are formed by a set of Learning Motivations and Experiential Motivations, and that each of those dimensions is affected by three groups of film pull factors. The study is a first step towards a structural analysis of slum tourism motivations, and the role of films in such motivations. Although the present study provides relevant managerial insights for slum tourism destinations, further quantitative studies are needed in order to calibrate and test the proposed model.

A structural equation modelling (SEM) technique should be used when models include both latent an... more A structural equation modelling (SEM) technique should be used when models include both latent and manifest variables, and require the simultaneous estimation of several regression equations, but that is not always the case in previous studies. In addition, although the comparison of one's model to alternative models is a fundamental practice in data analysis, it is not used as a rule in extant literature. Moreover, in SEM, the estimation and testing methods are based on asymptotic theory and the validity of the parameter estimates and test statistics depends on large samples. However, most research in this area is based on relatively small samples. The focus of this research is to provide an example of how models including both latent and manifest variables should be tested, employing effective, solid, and rigorous methodological procedures. To this end, this study tests a model of the effects of relationship marketing antecedents and mediators on objective performance, from a cross-validation, competing models approach. The empirical work draws on the perceptions of 5,368 firm representatives about their relationships with their counterparts in hotels. SEM results suggest that commitment is the strongest determinant of share of business and mediates the impact of relationship quality on objective performance.

The tourism system is viewable as a network of relationships amongst business partners where the ... more The tourism system is viewable as a network of relationships amongst business partners where the success of each actor will ultimately be determined by the success of the whole network. Especially since the publication of Gümmesson’s (1996) ‘theory of imaginary organisations’, which suggests that organisational effectiveness largely depends on managing relationships and sharing resources and activities, relationship quality (RQ) has been increasingly recognised as a main source of value creation and competitive advantage. However, there is still ambiguity around this topic, and managers and researchers have been recurrently reporting the need to better understand and capitalise on the quality of interactions with business partners. This research aims at testing an RQ model from a relational, imaginary organisation’s approach. Two mail surveys provide the perceptions of 725 hotel
representatives about their business relationships with tour operators, and 1,224 corporate client representatives about their business relationships with hotels (21.9 % and 38.8 % response rate, respectively). The analysis contributes to enhance our understanding on the linkages between RQ and its determinants, and identifies the role of their dimensions. Structural equation modelling results highlight trust as the dominant dimension, the crucial role of commitment and satisfaction, and suggest customer orientation as complementary building block. Findings also emphasise problem solving behaviour and selling orientation as the most relevant dimensions of customer orientation. The comparison of the two ‘dyads’ deepens the discussion and enriches the suggested theoretical and managerial guidelines concerning the contribution of quality relationships to business performance.

The present study proposes a theoretical model of the process of generation of slum tourism motiv... more The present study proposes a theoretical model of the process of generation of slum tourism motivation through films. To this end, a systematic review on the phenomena of film tourism and slum tourism was undertaken. Considering the contributions of both areas together, it is inferred that controversial films depicting slums increase slum tourism motivation factors, which ultimately increase viewers' likeliness to participate in a slum tour. The study contributes to the comprehension of the relationship between the two phenomena and provides initial insights to destinations dealing with slum tourism. However, in order to offer more concrete guidelines, the model should be refined through an exploratory qualitative research, as well as tested through a quantitative one. Both procedures should be based on data collected in real slum tourism contexts and are suggested for future research on the topic.

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the effects of films with a negative plot o... more This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the effects of films with a negative plot on tourists’ cognitive and affective image about Brazil and behavioral intentions of visiting the country. The film selected is City of God, one of the most internationally acclaimed motion pictures produced in Brazil. The results suggest that films with a negative plot tend to negatively reinforce the viewers’ evaluations of the image attributes, although the influence on the general image tends to be subtle. Moreover, it was concluded that in the case of films with a negative plot, the imagery of landscapes is the element that is most likely to increase visiting intention.

One country’s government has got a decisive role in the tourism planning. As one of its responsib... more One country’s government has got a decisive role in the tourism planning. As one of its responsibilities there is the controlling of the activity by creating proper public politics. In order to include every aspect related to tourism in a single law, the General Law of Tourism was created on 17th September 2008 and it stated to be necessary the creation of a national plan of tourism to Brazil, which would later be called PNT. However, it’s important to mention that the national plan was created one year earlier than the General Law of Tourism. Therefore, this article intends to verify if the PNT responds to every GLT requirements through qualitative researches on written sources. As a result, it has been found that the national plan of tourism is almost completely adequate to the Law.

Conventional tourism has generated a diversity of impacts, pecially to the receiving communities,... more Conventional tourism has generated a diversity of impacts, pecially to the receiving communities, so aiming to break the current model in vigor, community tourism arises as an alternative. In this manner, the present paper aims to discuss
the possibilities and limits of ecotourism based on the observation of the communitybased tourism experience at Prainha do Canto Verde-CE.

With the purpose of making Pernambuco become a more competitive destination on the local, nationa... more With the purpose of making Pernambuco become a more competitive destination on the local, national and international markets, the Tourism Office of Pernambuco released in 2008 the “Tourism Strategic Plan for Pernambuco 2008-2020, Pernambuco to the World”, which presents the guidelines for the touristic development of the state for the next 12 years. Despite the existence of such strategic management instrument, the absence of an effective and continuous monitoring of its actions is noticed; which brings on the lack of an exact conscience about its execution stage. On those circumstances, the present work aims to perform a diagnostic and a critical analysis of the fulfillment of the Tourism Strategic Plan for Pernambuco, and so provide for the actors involved on the tourism activity a greater comprehension about the performing of the its public managers in the State. To achieve this, a qualitative research consisting on literature review, documental analysis and semi-structured interviews with representatives of the organs indicated as responsible for the execution of the programs was undertaken. The results unroll the synergy between the marketing actions performed by the responsible organs and the objectives of the programs, which points to the Plan’s effectiveness as a marketing Strategy.

Conference Presentations by Arthur B Araújo

Research Day - University of Aveiro, 2017

The present work aimed to structurally address the motivations of slum tourists. To that end, a t... more The present work aimed to structurally address the motivations of slum tourists. To that end, a theoretical model of slum-tourism motivations has been proposed based on insights from an exploratory qualitative study carried out through semi-structured interviews with tourists in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, as well as from previous studies. The model was further tested through Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis based on data collected through a quantitative questionnaire applied to the same research universe. Results show that slum tourism motivations are formed by two dimensions: Learning Motivations and Experiential Motivations. In this sense, the study broadens the knowledge about slum tourism motivations, being the first to structurally address them. Future studies should apply this methodology on other slum-tourism contexts in order to check whether there are structural differences in the model.

Proceedings of 9th International Tourism Congress, 2017

Research Day - University of Aveiro, 2017