ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to diagnose the business tourism segment in the city of Porto and to propose a set of strategic measures to boost its development and convert the territory into a preferred business tourism destination. The opinions of 28 local stakeholders were collected through a Delphi technique. Results show that experts consider business tourism very important for Porto, as they see it as a (i) strategic tourist product, (ii) complimentary product for leisure tourism and (iii) facilitator of entrepreneurship and business network and a booster of local and regional economy. A number of improvements were proposed to help build the brand of Porto as a business tourism destination of note: (i) more offer of large venues, (ii) collaborative cooperation between businesses to consolidate the sector, (iii) increase the supply of animation, (iv) a strong marketing strategy and building a cohesive brand and (v) increase accessibilities, connectivity and facilities. Findings have important policy implications for Porto’s policymakers in understanding market dynamics and planning their business tourism strategies. Moreover, findings have a broader interest as they offer constructive insights into strategies to develop business tourism worldwide and thus provide important implications for managers, policymakers and service providers.

摘要

本研究的目的是诊断波尔图市的商务旅游细分市场，并提出一套战略措施以促进其发展并将该地区转变为首选的商务旅游目的地。通过德尔菲技术收集了 28 个当地利益相关者的意见。结果表明，专家认为商务旅游对波尔图非常重要，因为他们认为它是 (i) 战略旅游产品，(ii) 休闲旅游的免费产品，以及 (iii) 创业和商业网络的促进者以及地方和区域的助推器经济。提出了多项改进措施，以帮助将波尔图打造为值得关注的商务旅游目的地品牌：(i) 提供更多大型场地，(ii) 企业之间的合作以巩固该行业，(iii) 增加动画供应, (iv) 强有力的营销策略和建立一个有凝聚力的品牌，以及 (v) 增加可达性、连通性和设施。调查结果对波尔图的决策者了解市场动态和规划其商务旅游战略具有重要的政策意义。此外，研究结果具有更广泛的意义，因为它们提供了对全球商业旅游发展战略的建设性见解，从而对管理者、决策者和服务提供者产生了重要影响。