Obtaining Data Values from Tourist Preferences

Armindo Frias, Erza Raskova, Álvaro Costa and João Cabral
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Armindo Frias: Advance/CSG, ISEG-Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal & CINAV, Escola Naval, Instituto Universitário Militar, Base Naval de Lisboa, 2810-001 Almada, Portugal
Erza Raskova: CITTA—Research Centre for Territory, Transports and Environment & FEUP-Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Álvaro Costa: CITTA—Research Centre for Territory, Transports and Environment & FEUP-Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
João Cabral: CIMA-Research Centre in Mathematics and Applications & Azores University, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: Satisfied customers are the main sustainability factor for the viability of any activity, and tourism has increasing relevance to the global economy and the economic development of many regions. In order to create better matches between tourist demands and preferences and the local supply, an understanding of tourists as decision makers is necessary. The aim of this work is to introduce a mathematical model that explains the decision-making process of tourists, other consumers, and tourism business managers. We used a mathematical model, taking into consideration the preferences of individuals and their strengths during the exploration and use of tourism resources. The integration of preferences into an IT tool provided extra support to the decisions of tourists and allowed better choices to be made in the execution of travel plans. In addition, the model can be used by resource managers. Understanding how tourists make decisions in each different situation can improve the allocation of available resources to satisfy their expectations. The proposed model is also adaptable to situations where it is necessary to decide among different options with a high degree of complexity.

Keywords: complex networks; consumer satisfaction; decision-making; fuzzy mathematics; sustainable tourism; tourist preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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