Fonte: Journal of Tourism & Development; v. 2, n. 21/22 (2014); 13-22
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Resumo: The aim of this paper is to understand the importance of word-of-mouth and user generated content for travelers and tourism activity in Portugal, taking the example of TravelTailors, a travel agency offering customized services. Research demonstrates that word-of-mouth influences purchase decisions and that consumers search for information in user generated content websites when they are interested in a product or service. It is intended to identify the sources of information about tourism activities for the Portuguese consumers, assess their trust in the experience and advice of other travelers, relatives and friends, when compared to other sources of information, and discover whether if word-of-outhand user generated content influence their decisions. Scholarly literature and statistics were reviewed, observation and document analysis at TravelTailors were undertaken and a survey to this agency´s Portuguese list of contacts was implemented. Findings reveal a particular relevance of word-of-mouth, both for consumers and the travel agency.
