PROCEEDINGS OF THE EATSA CONFERENCE 2020

What Do the Japanase Think About Portugal? An Analysis of
the Tourism Destination Image
Zélia Breda a , Lucília Cardoso a , Cláudia Arakaki a
a University of Aveiro, Portugal
Abstract
This work aims to study the image of Portugal as a tourism destination from the point of view of the
Japanese who have travelled to Portugal and those who have not yet visited the country, in order to
understand how tour operators can approach this market and increase the number of Japanese tourists in
Portugal. Through a questionnaire survey it was possible to realize that there is still a lack of information
about Portugal as a tourism destination in Japan. The image of those who did not visit yet Portugal is good,
although many still imagine that it is a dangerous country and they will not be able to communicate with
the local population in English. Those who have visited have highly praised the gastronomy and believe that
this can be used as a marketing strategy. Those who did not visit, but wish to travel to Portugal, confirm
that they expect to taste the local gastronomy, as they know that some of the Japanese food have an influence
of the Portuguese cuisine. With the increasing worldwide popularity of Portugal as a tourism destination,
the number of Japanese tourists has also increased, and is expected to grow even more with the planned
direct flights, as the the lack of a direct air connection was pointed out as the biggest negative point in
visiting Portugal. It is important to know how to deal with Japanese tourists so that they feel motivated to
visit Portugal, or repeat the visit, the first step being to understand what is the image of the Japanese in
relation to Portugal as a tourism destination and to adopt the necessary measures.
Research focus: The image of the destination has a great impact on the tourist's decision when it comes to
choosing the place to visit. Although Portugal was one of the first European countries to have contact with
Japan, having the two countries a special historical relationship, it is not a popular tourism destination for
the Japanese people, especially if compared to other European countries, such as France, Spain and
Germany. Therefore, it is important to understand what image Portugal has as a tourism destination in
Japan.
Keyword: Japan, Portugal, tourism, destination image
Corresponding author:
Zélia Breda
University of Aveiro
DEGEIT, Campus Universitário de Santiago
3810-193 Aveiro
Portugal
zelia@ua.pt
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