Online travel agencies and the creation of new tourist destinations: a study about Hurb and Olímpia

Abstract

O objetivo deste estudo é entender até que ponto agências online de turismo conseguem ajudar na criação de novos destinos turísticos. A dissertação discorre sobre o caso de Olímpia (SP) , com foco na participação do Hurb no processo de desenvolvimento do destino turístico.

Purpose - The objective of this study is to understand the extent to which online tourism agencies can help in the creation of new destinations. The dissertation is based on the case study of Olímpia (SP) and focuses on Hurb's involvement in the destination development process. Design/Methodology - This dissertation follows a qualitative methodology - an exploratory research - about the influence of Hurb in the development of Olímpia. Six interviews were conducted with executives of Hurb and Olímpia, using a semi-structured script about the influence of Hurb in 5 tourism dimensions. In addition to the interviews, the analysis of primary data from Hurb and Olímpia contributed to the illustration of the research hypotheses. Findings - The interviews conducted show that Hurb played an important role in the development of Olympia as a destination. The platform was the city's main marketing tool, and the demand created by the platform had a direct impact on the city's tourism infrastructure - especially on the construction of new businesses. In addition, the demand created by the Hurb was the beginning of the tourism development process of the destination and had an impact on the economic and social development of the region. Research limitations - The main limitations of the research are related to the limitations of qualitative research - the difficulty of transferring the results to larger populations, linguistic ambiguities and biases in data analysis. In addition, the process of creating a destination was a 10-year process, and details may have been forgotten or not mentioned in the interviews. Practical Implications - The study provided important insights into the importance of distribution channels in new destination creation and confirmed the importance of entrepreneurs in this process. It serves as an example for other regions with latent tourism potential