ESTUDO DO COMPORTAMENTO E PERFIL DO CONSUMIDOR EM CONTEXTOS ESPECÍFICOS DE TURISMO: O TURISMO DE GOLFE NO NORTE DE PORTUGAL

Sports events are able to promote the sustainable development of a place and at the same time promote the country where they are held and these are also suitable to generate a large economic income (Huang, Lin, Chang and Chen, 2017). Golf is a major activity in the world and between 1985 and 2000 the number of players increased from 35 to 56 million, and the countries with the largest population and the greatest habit of practicing this sport were the ones that had the greatest growth (Correia e Martins, 2004). Portugal, due to its location and weather conditions, has become an important golf destination in Europe. There are now 82 golf courses spread all over the country, and in the Algarve is where the great majority of these fields are located (Portuguese Golf Federation, 2017). Golf in the north of Portugal is a complement to the tourist offer, but it is important to mentioning the diversity of golf courses in the region. There are mountain courses (Amarante and Ponte de Lima), fields built next to the beach (Miramar and Estela) and in thermal zones (Vidago field) (Ribeiro, 2006). The main objective of this dissertation was to understand the profile of the consumer of golf in the North of Portugal as well to know their behavior. For this, a conceptual model was elaborated that allowed to study a set of hypotheses that were tested based on the data collected through the questionnaire surveys applied in the North of Portugal. The questionnaires were applied in paper form in the club house of three golf courses of the region, obtaining a total of 119 valid answers. The results of the empirical analysis prove that the players in the North are mainly men of Portuguese nationality, adults between the ages of 35 and 44, holders of degree, employees and with relatively high salaries, between € 1000 and € 2500 and more than 4000 €. Regarding to consumer behavior, it was possible to verify that the destination image, quality and satisfaction have a strong impact on the post-purchase behavior of golf consumers in the Northern region of Portugal (return and recommend), and it was also possible to verify that players intend to return as well as recommend the destination