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- The importance-satisfaction matrix as a strategic tool for termas de chaves thermal spa priority improvementsPublication . Vaz, Márcia; Fernandes, Paula O.; Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Alves, Maria José; Costa, Vânia; Nunes, AlcinaHealth and wellness tourism has gained increased interest from the public, which searches for spaces that assure health and wellness maintenance. Proof of this is the example of Termas de Chaves thermal spa, which has gradually grown demand for its products and services. In this context, this study aims to identify and analyse the attributes offered by the thermal spa since it is essential to know the customer's preferences and satisfaction. To this end, di- mensions related to the determinants of importance that influence the respondents' satisfaction were evaluated. A questionnaire survey was applied on-site from 09 August to 20 December 2021, obtaining a total sample of 225 par- ticipants. After data collection, the importance-satisfaction matrix was applied for exploratory, descriptive analysis. The results show that customers give high overall importance and satisfaction to the attributes under study. More -over, it was possible to identify that the factor "availability and assistance provided by human resources" presents high importance but low satisfaction. Such a conclusion indicates that it will be necessary to adapt improvement strategies to increase customer satisfaction.
- The use of the EUROHIS-QOL-8 to assess the perception of quality of life at termas de ChavesPublication . Vaz, Márcia; Loureiro, Isabel Sofia; Alves, Maria José; Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Costa, Vânia; Fernandes, Paula Odete; Nunes, AlcinaQuality of life is a person's perception of life in the context they belong in. It compresses multiple dimensions that need to be assessed. The EUROHIS-QOL-8 scale is an instrument that measures the subjective well-being of individuals and the impact of different health issues. It is a brief tool to measure the quality of life that includes eight items. The higher the results shown in this scale, the better the quality of life of individuals. The EUROHIS-QOL-8 has been proven to have good internal consistency and an excellent index for measuring the quality of life. It has been validated and reliable in many different contexts of application. This paper uses EUROHIS-QOL-8 to evaluate thermalists' perception of quality of life before and after attending a thermal spa. It intends to identify if there are differences between the state of quality of life before and after using thermal spa services. For this purpose, a self-administrated questionnaire was applied to the Termas de Chaves' users during the 2021 thermal season, i.e., between 09 August and 20 December. A convenience method of non-probability sampling allowed to obtain a sample of 213 thermal users. The data were analysed through statistical techniques of exploratory descriptive and inferential analysis. The results showed statistically significant differences in customers' perception of quality of life before and after 14 days of treatment. In addition, the study of five sociodemographic variables showed that the categories: female, up to 35 years old, single, without academic qualifications, and housekeeper were the most benefited from the thermal treatments. Regarding the analysis of pathologies, the participants guided by their family doctor to attend the Chaves thermal springs for respiratory problems showed the most significant improvement. The paper's results dissemination becomes an added value for verifying the benefits of thermal spas on the individuals' quality of life. It also allows for better development of thermal spa products to improve the quality of life perceived by individuals.
- Health and wellness activities: contemporary market of thermalismPublication . Rodrigues, Cristina; Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Costa, Vânia; Alves, Maria José; Vaz, Márcia; Fernandes, Paula Odete; Nunes, AlcinaThe health and well-being market has suffered many evolutions in recent years, the differences occurring mainly in your holistic vision, demand profile and supply structuring. This article aims to present theoretical reflections on the scientific advances in this area over the last years. The study presents a literature review, published in the last years, on two intrinsically related themes: “Health and Well-being” and “Thermalism.” It then analyses the profile of consumers/practitioners. The methodology incorporates a mixed approach: a bibliometric and content analysis of the existing literature. It is also intended to identify the main trends and transformations that have occurred in the health and well-being market. Additionally, it intends to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge in this field of research. The main conclusions are related to the increase in publications in this area with different subjects, highlighting its growing interest and relevance in society. It is observed an increasingly holistic understanding of health and well-being and its impacts on people's quality of life and a change in the consumer profile, which is increasingly young and healthy with different motivations.
- User's profile of thermal establishments: a literature reviewPublication . Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Rodrigues, Cristina; Costa, Vânia; Alves, Maria José; Fernandes, Paula Odete; Vaz, Márcia; Nunes, AlcinaContemporary society has an increasingly broad and holistic perspective on health and wellness. It is scientifically proven that thermalism perfectly combines these two aspects. It provides a better quality of life and a complete state of well-being, physically and psychologically. Several studies have been carried out over the years, reflecting a paradigm shift in the conception of thermalism establishments. For this reason, the sector's stakeholders need to be prepared and have the necessary knowledge to respond to the different needs, characteristics, and motivations of both usual and new thermal users to define better action strategies. In this context, the research's main objective is to present a literature review and content analysis on the thermalism topic, through the most recognised databases, exploring the offer, identifying its users’ profiles and pointing out some trends for the market. As a result of the analyses, the growing interest and relevance of thermalism in scientific production stand out, particularly in tourism, as a social science. There are several studies that present a direct link between thermalism and tourism activity. It is notorious that thermal activity has both a recreational and medicinal dimension, all over the world. Literature analysis has also revealed the power of thermal waters for the treatment of a wide range of diseases and health issues, related to different medical specialities. Although the more traditional thermalism is still very present, the most recent studies portray some gradual changes on the demand and supply side, with a constant adjustment of both. Particularly in the user profile, there is evidence of a rejuvenated, healthier and heterogeneous demand, with different motivations to frequent the thermal spas. On the supply side, it can be seen that these establishments are seeking to reinvent themselves in order to complement their basic offer related to medical dimension, also focusing on the leisure, to enrich the experience of their regular users and attract others. Regarding the expected trends, they are mainly related to 1) Increased demand for prevention, leisure and well-being dimension; 2) Changes in the user profile; and 3) High potential for tourism activity.
- The relationship of rural tourism with sustainable tourism and outdoor activities: a bibliometric analysisPublication . Ferreira, Jessica; Silvério, Ana Cristina; Vaz, Márcia; Fernandes, Paula OdeteA bibliometric study is a method used to evaluate the productivity of scientific results in quantitative terms. Bibliometricians apply mathematical and statistical methods to quantify scholarly communications. Using the Bibliometrix program, a database compiled from SCOPUS and Web of science was studied to study the different scientific and literary behaviours of rural tourism development, tourism sustainability, and outdoor activities. In the main database steps, 161 articles were analysed, of which 61 were SCOPUS articles, and 100 were Web of Science articles. As per this database, the relationship between rural tourism with sustainable tourism and outdoor activities, through a bibliometric analysis, looks to study the annual scientific production, the research impact, the authors, and articles most relevant to the themes of research trends over the years. Several interesting and important conclusions were obtained from these results for developing the themes. The results of this study indicate that sustainable tourism and rural tourism have extreme relevance to the studies carried out. Hence, rural tourism and outdoor activities are increasingly sustaining a relationship of partnership, much due to the influences of COVID-19.
- A bibliometric analysis of guilt in tourism: the influence of gastronomy on olive growingPublication . Ferreira, Jessica; Scalabrini, E. C. B.; Silvério, Ana Cristina; Vaz, Márcia; Fernandes, Paula OdeteGastronomicdevelopmentcausedmanydestinationstofocusonfood as a central element of their tourism products. Studies highlight that tourism devel- opment in rural areas will depend on various political, economic, and environmen- tal factors, which is why tourism activities such as oleotourism and gastronomic tourism are essential. To understand the relationship between gastronomy and olive growing from a tourism perspective, this study aims to explore scientific production through a bibliometric analysis. These bibliometric analysis goals are to develop a search equation based on the terms “Gastronomy” and “Olive Oil”, to understand the topics’ development. Specifically, analysing the evolution of pro- duction and citation, it was understood that oleotourism is prominent and relevant in the database trend map. The authors with the highest relevance have worked on topics such as the effect of spice infusion in olive oil, and Italy and Spain are very relevant in this field of research.
- The contribution of oleotourism to the destination quality: a preliminary analysis of Terras Trás-os-Montes RegionPublication . Ferreira, Jessica; Silvério, Ana Cristina; Vaz, Márcia; Fernandes, Paula OdeteSome contributions to the topic provide evidence of the links between tourism and other industries, such as the olive oil sector. In the scientific research in tourism over the last ten years, there have been different opportunities, such as new tourism trends related to olive oil. The oleic process and production seen as a product can be considered a tool for tourism marketing. To understand which is the contribution of the oleotourism for the quality of the Terras Trás-os-Montes tourism destination, this study uses the research method of data collection and semi-structured interviews to know, on the one hand, the tourism destination of the Terras Trás-os- Montes region of Portugal, and on the other hand, the olive population that looks for sustainable development in tourism. As initial findings emphasize the significant impact of tourism on the destination’s development and the advantages reaped by the olive sector from these tourist activities. The sustainable practices and the contri- bution of tourism demand are sources of highlights extracted from this study. Future studies should follow this line of research and seek to increase the sample collected to present more reliable and concise results.
- Natural parks image: an analysis of tripadvisor reviewsPublication . Scalabrini, E.C.B.; Vaz, Márcia; Teixeira, João Paulo; Rivas Rojo, Carlos Jesus; Murial Alonso, David; Garrote Mestre, Lucía; Fernandes, Paula OdeteNatural parks and protected areas have been a significant subject of tourism studies. Understanding the image that visitants have of these areas is important to the planning process, and the analysis of online reviews is a method- ology used in different investigations. TripAdvisor is the most used review aggre- gator in these studies. In this context, this research aimed to analyse the image of three cross-border natural parks based on TripAdvisor reviews. For this, 321 reviews of the Montesinho Natural Park (Portugal), Douro International Nature Park (Portugal) and Arribes del Duero Natural Park (Spain) were collected and analysed using the machine learning techniques known as Latent Dirichlet Allo- cation. Two dimensions were determined for the Montesinho (scenery and nature), two for Douro International (activities and nature) and three for Arribes del Duero (water-based activities, nature, activities). The dimensions were measured on a 1–5 scale It can be concluded that the three parks present a positive image, with averages higher than 4, being 4.47 points (±0.703) for the evaluation of Mon- tesinho, 4.48 (±0.671) for Douro International and 4.50 (±0.703) for Arrribes del Duero. The common dimension in the three parks was nature, which also presented the best average in the three realities. This study presented as a limitation the use only of TripAdvisor for data collection, suggesting the use of other platforms in future studies.
- Visitors' satisfaction in natural areas: the case of Vinhais biological parkPublication . Alves, Diana Rafaela Rocha; Scalabrini, E.C.B.; Vaz, Márcia; Teixeira, João Paulo; Rivas Rojo, Carlos Jesus; Muriel Alonso, David; Garrote Mestre, Lucía; Fernandes, Paula O.Satisfaction is a widely studied issue in tourism as it provides an understanding of the performance of a tourism destination's offer, highlighting the most important features considered by tourists. The growth in tourism demand in natural areas also makes it an important factor in identifying visitor satisfaction, as sustainable planning of these areas may also rely on knowing the opinion of their visitors. In this context, this study aimed to determine the visitors´ satisfaction with Vinhais Biological Park, located in the northeast of Portugal, during the summer of 2022. A questionnaire consisting of 8 closed-ended questions to identify the socio-demographic profile and overall satisfaction was applied during July and August 2022. Therefore, 251 valid questionnaires were considered for the quantitative data analysis and a final sampling error of 6.13% was assumed. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed to identify the socio-demographic profile and the satisfaction with the resources offered. Four hypotheses were formulated to test the association between socio-demographic profile (age group, gender, nationality, and education level) and overall satisfaction. The χ2 test was used to test the hypotheses assuming a 5% significance level. The main findings showed that the socio-demographic profile of the sample is predominantly male (54.6%), aged between 11 and 40 years (77.6%), of Portuguese nationality (71.3%) and with higher education level (48.6%). Concerning the visit motivation, 61.4% went to the park after visiting the city of Vinhais or the region and nearly half (47%) of the respondents were satisfied. The results of χ2 test revealed no significant association between the socio-demographic profile and overall satisfaction, meaning that none of the hypotheses was supported. Considering the number of visitors received in the park annually, this study's sample can be regarded as a limitation, making the understanding of satisfaction limited to the period of analysis and at a period when the impact of COVID-19 is noticeable. Finally, for future studies, a comparative analysis with other natural parks, both Portuguese and Spanish, is suggested for better monitoring of visitor satisfaction.
- Sustainable tourism as a driving factor for competitiveness in the olive sectorPublication . Silvério, Ana Cristina; Vaz, Márcia; Ferreira, Jessica; Fernandes, Paula OdeteTourism is facing serious difficulties worldwide due to the global pandemic COVID-19, translating considerably into an industry effort to compete in the marketplace. In effect, sustainable tourism is considered to have a symbiotic relationship with competitiveness that will allow organisations to make a difference. This means that the sustainability factors are positively related to the competitiveness indicators. In this context, as the oliviculture sector faces challenges in a changing market in terms of ecological, demographic, and consumption practices changes, it is considered that sustainable tourism will enable the sector to make a difference. For, the environmental and social changes of the stakeholders enhance the promotion of sustainability to meet their needs, which in turn increases the sector's competitive advantage. In this respect, the present study was based on a literature review consolidated in a bibliometric analysis to analyse sustainable tourism as a driver of competitiveness in the oliviculture industry. For this purpose, the Scopus database was used, in which 157 full articles published until September 2021 were obtained. Based on the results, using the Bibliometrix R, it was found that research in this field has emerged in the last 20 years and focuses particularly on the terms “competitiveness”, “ecotourism” and “tourism development”. In addition, the countries with the highest scientific production and citations, the main sources of publication in this field of research, the documents with the most citations as well as the co-citations between authors were analysed. Through bibliometric analysis, it is possible to provide researchers, policy-makers and managers with a current view of the undoubted role that sustainable tourism plays in the competitiveness of the olive sector. Considering the trends, it is therefore expected to contribute bases for future strategies aimed at overcoming obstacles, overcoming challenges, and seizing opportunities for a more competitive sector.