MEASURING TOURIST PERSONALITY AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE PRACTICE OF INSTITUTIONAL AND SOCIAL TOURISM MARKETING AGENTS IN BRAZIL

ABSTRACT:

In view of the tourism potential of Brazil, the research question of this study was to determine which personality traits, based on tourist personality measurement scales, are present in the description of Brazilian tourist destinations. The aim of this study, therefore, is to compare what was established in the literature, and its application for communication with the tourism consumer in Brazil. Three research areas were established: i) institutional; (ii) commercial; and iii) social. The methodology included a survey based on international databases, to list the existing measurement instruments and the personality traits used. The cities to be investigated were selected based on the Trip Advisor ranking 2017. The data collected were analyzed using content analysis, and the software program WebQda was used to organize and classify the data. The results point to the importance of destination personality as a tool for disseminating/promoting tourist destinations. However, this tool is still underutilized in Brazil. In addition, there are ambiguities between the traits found and the dimensions of the international personality scales of destination, indicating a need for further studies on the subject.

KEYWORDS:
destination personality; tourism; experience; pre-purchase; brand