Motivational and Attraction Factors of Tourists in the Central Region of Portugal.

Tourism is the fastest growing sector in the world, leading to the creation of businesses, infrastructures, employment and revenue. The central region of Portugal combines ideal conditions to be a tourist destination in motivational and attractive terms, due to the great diversity of resources that it offers its visitors: climate, landscapes, monuments, museums, gastronomy, beaches, caves and different religious, cultural, sports and leisure activities. Despite the tragedy of the fires that devastated the central region of Portugal, the year 2017 was the best year ever for tourism in this region, in terms of overnight stays, guests and generated income. The current research attempts to: a) analyse the relationship between the motivational (push) and the attraction (pull) factors of the tourists that visit the central region of Portugal; b) identify which of the motivational factors most contribute to attract tourists and c) know the tourists' opinion about places/experiences that could lead to tourist routes in this region. A quantitative survey instrument; i.e. a questionnaire was used to collect the data. The questionnaire was divided into three parts. The first part of the questionnaire deals with the motivational factors, the second part refers to the attraction factors and the third part analyses the places/experiences to be incorporated in tourist routes of the central region of Portugal and the tourist profile. The sample is made up of 235 tourists who visited the central region of Portugal from March 15th to August 31st, 2018. A descriptive, multivariate and statistical inference was used to analyse the data. The results show that there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between "push" factors and "pull" factors for tourists that visit the central region of Portugal. Escape and Self-renew and Interpersonal Relationships and Experiences are the dimensions that contribute most to the "pull" factors. The results have theoretical and managerial implications, contributing to the knowledge of tourism and to improve tourism decision-making in the central region of Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]