Journal of Tourism & Hospitality
Open Access

Abstract

A Destination Performance Analysis through the Comparison of Tourists and Stakeholders Perceptions: The Case of Curaao

Kelly J. Semrad, Ph.D. and Manuel Rivera, Ph.D.

The case study investigates the destination attributes that are necessary for a small island destination to possess in order to develop a sustainable competitive advantage in the Caribbean. The study then compares the perspectives of various tourism stakeholders to determine whether different stakeholder groups may have varying views regarding the small island destination attributes that are of greatest importance to tourists. The study uses an importance-performance assessment to determine the specific destination attributes that are important to tourists who arrive at a small island destination. An ANOVA is then used to determine if there are statistical differences across the tourism stakeholders’ groups regarding the attributes they feel tourists would rate as most important. The results for this case study reveal that destination managers should not heavily focus on culture and heritage as a primary destination attribute, but should focus on guaranteeing safety, transportation on the island, and on providing high quality restaurants for tourists. The findings also indicate that there are potential discrepancies amongst the stakeholders’ evaluation of important destination attributes and the performance of those attributes - the result of which could be a misalignment between tourists’ needs and destination offerings.