A New Measure of the Quality of Tourism Product

Abstract

Tourism product competitiveness depends on innovation and quality levels and on its capacity to reflect the destinations’ identity. For these reasons and inspired by the EC and UNWTO recommendations we developed a tourism quality scale, adapted to the Portuguese reality, which is supported by 5 subscales. This paper focuses on the validation of the tourism product subscale, which was tested among local public stakeholders, specifically Portuguese municipalities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed and three factors supported quality measurement regarding the tourism product: (1) services; (2) resources and attractions; and (3) accessibilities and infrastructures. Results demonstrate there are theoretical and practical implications and the conclusions provide useful insights for future research.