Percepción de calidad, impacto sociocultural, imagen de destino e intenciones futuras del turista participante en un evento náutico sostenible

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the factor structure of a scale of tourism perception in a small-scale event, as well as to evaluate the possible differences in perception between national and foreign tourists participating in a nautical event. The sample was composed of 115 participating tourists, 69.6% were foreign tourists and 30.4% national tourists. An adaptation of two questionnaires on quality in sports events and tourism impact in sports events was used, composed of 16 items on four factors (perceived quality, socio-cultural perception, destination image and future intentions). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis and a t-test for independent samples were carried out. The results of this study presented a valid and reliable tool to measure the tourism perception of a small-scale sport event. The socio-cultural perception was the dimension best evaluated by the tourists. Foreign tourists had a better perception than the national tourist in terms of sociocultural perception, destination image and future intentions. These findings allow sports event organizers to segment their target audience and develop different strategies according to the characteristics of their stakeholders.