Abstract:

This study aims to validate the multidimensional concept of a tourist destination by correlating the tourist's relationship with the lived experience. It is intended to evaluate the experience lived in the Peneda-Gerês National Park through five tourist sensorial dimensions: i. perception; ii. feeling of place; iii. destination image; iv. equity and v. loyalty to destination. For this purpose, an online survey was carried out with a sample population of 265 non-residents in the Peneda-Gerês National Park territory. A multivariate analysis was perfomed to the collected data; it made it possible to validate the experience lived in the Peneda-Gerês National Park through the 5 sensory factors considered in the research. Results proove that some demographic variables have an important weight in the experience lived by the tourist and, consequently, in the image of the Peneda-Gerês National Park. This work allowed us to validate the importance of the five explanatory sensory factors in the construction of the image of a tourist destination, as well as to identify which are the most relevant aspects that will allow us to systematize a set of endogenous factors associated with a tourist destination through the experience lived by the tourist.