Profile, Consumption Expectation and Satisfaction of Weekend Visitors of Historic Village of Paranapiacaba - Santo André, São Paulo State, Brazil

Abstract

This article shows a description and analysis of profile, consumption expectation and levels of satisfaction of tourist weekend demand of Village of Paranapiacaba, a consolidated historical and rail tourism destination. For this reason, field researches were conducted with the application of 321 questionnaires. The results demonstrated that Paranapiacaba attracts visitors of the upper middle class, mainly in municipalities in a radius of up to 119 kilometers away, and half of these are there for the first time. The most of visitors stay only a couple of hours in the historic village, using mainly the food services and tourist attractions, with little or no use of accommodations, as well as other services and infrastructure for tourism. The expectations of visitors are mostly met by current offer, giving a degree predominantly positive of satisfaction. Thus, it is concluded that the Village of Paranapiacaba needs some improvements in the provision of basic services, as well as to better leverage the virtual channels of dissemination, which still are less used as a way that the visitors takes knowledge of the destination. To the enterprises, it is suggested that they try to differentiate in its form of care and products offered, as mentioned by the visitors. Finally, there is a clear need for additional research on destination, in events and in working days with schools, to allow the knowing of all demand, as well as its seasonal patterns of visitation.