Rezende morrisonismailjvm brazil

Journal of Vacation Marketing Volume 9 Number 3

Dazed and confused? An exploratory study of
the image of Brazil as a travel destination

Aline M. Rezende-Parker, Alastair M. MorrisonÃ and Joseph A. Ismail
Received (in revised form): 5th August, 2002
Anonymously refereed paper
Ã Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, West Lafayette,
IN 47907-1266, USA
Tel: +1 765 494 7905; Fax: +1 765 494 0327; E-mail: alastair@cfs.purdue.edu

Aline M. Rezende-Parker is a former masters atmosphere/exoticness’ were the two most impor-
degree student in the Department of Hospitality tant images of Brazil among the respondents. The
and Tourism Management, Purdue University, results also indicated that respondents were unable
USA. to differentiate Brazil from Hispanic countries.

Alastair M. Morrison is Professor of Marketing/
Tourism in the Department of Hospitality and BRAZIL AS A TRAVEL DESTINATION
Tourism Management, Purdue University, USA. Despite its imposing territorial proportions,
growing economic importance and countless
Joseph A. Ismail is an assistant professor in attractions, Brazil still is not well known by
tourism economics in the Department of Hospital- US residents. The proximity to Hispanic
ity and Tourism Management, Purdue University, countries in South America and the increas-
USA.
ing popularity of ‘Latin music and culture’
that reﬂects very little about Brazil help to
blur further US residents’ images of Brazil.
ABSTRACT For Brazil’s tourism industry, it is very
KEYWORDS: destination image, destination important to understand and improve the
selection, factor and cluster analysis, Brazil image that US residents have of the country
as a travel destination. American tourists
The tourism industry in Brazil has been growing spend the most while visiting Brazil among
sharply in the past few years. Among its visitors, all international visitors. They are also among
US citizens are one of the most important and those who stay the longest (11.8 days on
attractive markets for the Brazilian tourism indus- average) and thus represent an important and
try. It is believed, however, that most Americans growing market for Brazil.1 Also, as Reilly2
still know little about Brazil and what it has to emphasises, ‘An accurate assessment of pro-
offer. This study had three objectives: determine the duct image is a prerequisite to designing an
images that American citizens interested in travel effective marketing strategy’, and this helps a
and tourism have of Brazil as a travel destination, country to offer what its visitors are really
determine if they differentiate Brazil from neigh- expecting or create more realistic expecta-
bouring Hispanic countries and group them accord- tions if necessary. But little research has been
ing to similar images of Brazil. Online discussion conducted to ﬁnd out more about American
groups on travel and tourism were used to obtain a visitors and what they think of Brazil as a Journal of Vacation Marketing
sample of this population. The results indicated place to visit. Partially this is because of the Vol. 9 No. 3, 2003, pp. 243–259,
& Henry Stewart Publications,
that ‘natural attractions/interest’ and ‘vacation disinterest, until a few years ago, of the 1356-7667

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An exploratory study of the image of Brazil as a travel destination

Brazilian government and private sector in component, named cognitive. The cognitive
promoting Brazilian tourism abroad, and component is defined as an evaluation of
partially it is due to the lack of Brazilian known attributes of the product or the un-
academic and research institutions related to derstanding of the product in an intellectual
tourism and travel as an economic activity. way.9 Studies using the cognitive dimension
Therefore, the three main objectives of this to measure image were conducted by
study were defined as: Schneider and Sonmez,10 who measured
tourist images of Jordan; Bignon et al.,11 who
— determine the image that American citi-
measured the French image of the USA as a
zens interested in travel and tourism have
destination country; and Dimanche and
of Brazil as a travel destination;
Moody,12 who studied the image that Amer-
— determine if Americans can differentiate
ican travel intermediaries had of New Or-
Brazil from neighbouring Hispanic coun-
leans as a tourism destination.
tries;
Baloglu and Bringberg,13 however, in
— identify groups of Americans who hold
agreement with other scholars, recognised an
similar images of Brazil.
affective dimension as a second component
of tourist image structure. The affective
component is conceptualised as the feelings
DESTINATION IMAGE AND that an individual has about an object or
SELECTION place.
Destination image and its components There is also a third stream who believe
It is accepted among tourism scholars that the structure of destination image consists of
image is a crucial component in the process three components. Gartner14 is part of this
of destination selection.3 As Baloglu and group and has suggested that the three com-
Bringberg4 stated, ‘image differentiates tour- ponents of image are affective, cognitive and
ist destinations from each other and is an conative. According to him, the conative
integral and influential part of the traveler’s image component ‘is analogous to behavior
decision process’. The definition of image because it is the action component. After all
and its components, however, varies among internal and external information is pro-
scholars and there is still no consensus. After cessed a decision is reached’. Baloglu and
an extended review of the literature on the McCleary15 suggested that the three compo-
tourism image concept, Ko and Park5 found nents were cognitive, affective and an overall
that there are usually three major emphases image formed by an interaction between the
among researchers on the definition of desti- cognitive and affective components.
nation image. Some researchers, such as Echtner and Ritchie16 presented a unique
Crompton,6 emphasise the composite struc- three-dimensional model which separated
ture of the image construct, defining it as the image into two components (attribute-based
sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that a and holistic) (Figure 1). Each component
person has of a destination. Others use attitu- had items that could have functional or
dinal components such as cognition and psychological characteristics, and each char-
affect to access the concept of image.7 A acteristic could reflect common or unique
third group sees it as an overall impression of features of the destination. In this sense, a
an object, as, for example, Milman and three-dimensional diagram would be the
Pizam,8 who defined destination image as best way to illustrate the components of
the visual or mental impression of a place, a destination image. As Figure 1 shows, the
product or an experience held by the general diagram has three scales. The first conti-
public. nuum, attribute-holistic, is based on the idea
Another aspect is what the components of that image is composed of specific attributes
tourism image are, and again there are differ- (such as good restaurants, expensiveness, re-
ent views. Some authors have suggested that ceptiveness of the people) and mental pic-
image structure is made up of one single tures (holistic) such as people dancing on the

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Rezende-Parker, Morrison and Ismail

The components of destination image Figure 1

FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

COMMON

ATTRIBUTES HOLISTIC

UNIQUE

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Source: Echtner and Ritchie, 1993

beach or couples having dinner in a romantic torical sites, fishing activities, etc) were rated
setting. using a Likert scale that ranged from one to
The functional-psychological continuum five, and mean scores were used as inputs for
divides perception of image into measurable multi-dimensional scaling. Chaudhary19
characteristics (such as beaches, shopping studied the image of India as a travel destina-
facilities, national parks) and more intangible tion using a list of India’s attributes devel-
or psychological characteristics (such as fame, oped from reports and articles about India in
mood, friendliness, etc), while the third con- the media and also from a small survey of
tinuum identifies unique attractions of the tourists, who were asked to describe India in
destination (such as the pyramids of Egypt or their own words.
the Eiffel Tower in France) and common Depending on the researcher’s conceptual
attractions (mountains, beaches and natural definitions and understanding of the struc-
life). ture of image, however, measurement
methodologies and techniques vary. Reilly,20
for example, studying the affective compo-
Measuring destination image nent of image, employed an unstructured
Most image studies dealing with tourism approach. This method is an alternative
have used attribute lists to measure the cog- technique that uses open-ended questions
nitive component of destination image.17 and allows respondents to describe impres-
Gartner 18 used this structured approach to sions of the product more freely. As he
the measurement of the image of four desti- further explains:
nations in terms of recreation activities and
attractions. Several items (perceptions of his- ‘Here, the purpose is not so much to

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reveal hidden or unconscious motivational according to their convenience. It was not
states but rather to allow the respondents possible to estimate exactly how many sub-
to describe the target stimulus in terms that scribers received and read the message. A
are salient to the respondents, rather than total of 246 responses were received. As a
responding to the researcher’s pre-deter- general rule, for factor analysis the sample
mined image dimensions.’ should be four or five times as many obser-
vations as there are variables to be analysed.23
Echtner and Ritchie,21 however, Thus, for this study a sample of at least 190
suggested that in order to capture all the respondents was expected and surpassed.
components of destination image (attribute- Following the procedures suggested by
based/holistic, functional/psychological, com- Echtner and Ritchie,24 a combination of
mon/unique), a combination of structured structured and unstructured methodologies
and unstructured methodologies should be was applied to develop the questionnaire.
used. In their study they demonstrated that The questionnaire was divided into three
the response to open-ended questions better parts. The first part presented three open-
captured the holistic (affective), psychologi- ended questions borrowed from Echtner and
cal and unique characteristics of a destina- Ritchie’s study on destination image and
tion; while scale items developed over intended to capture the more affective or
several stages (content analysis, focus groups, holistic components of image. The second
literature review, etc) more effectively meas- part comprised a set of 39 statements or
ured the common, attribute-based compo- image attributes of Brazil. Three of those
nents. This model was used by Murphy22 to statements were about Brazilian culture, cos-
determine backpackers’ images of Australia tumes, music and dance, and were included
as a holiday destination. Some of the unique in order to address the second objective of
elements of Australia, for example, were this study (the perceived differences between
found to be kangaroos, the Great Barrier Brazil and neighbouring Hispanic countries).
Reef, the outback, Aboriginal culture and Respondents were asked to rate their per-
Ayers Rock/Uluru. This Echtner and ceptions of the 39 Brazil attributes on a five-
Ritchie model was also adopted in this study. point Likert scale from one, for strongly
The authors acknowledge that several other disagree, to five, for strongly agree. Three
research studies have been completed on methods were used to generate the list of
destination image and its measurement, and attributes: a content analysis of package tours
that the preceding review has encompassed to Brazil, a review of the literature on desti-
only a selected number of these previous nation image measurement and a focus
works. group. The content analysis of package tours
to Brazil was used to find out more about
the Brazilian tourism products that were
being sold in the USA by tour operators and
METHODOLOGY travel agencies. The information identified
Population and sample included the most popular destinations, main
The population of this study was American activities and attractions featured, trip
citizens interested in travel and tourism. To characteristics (trip length, transportation
sample this population, online discussion modes, types of accommodation and type of
groups on travel and tourism were used. A tour) and the photographic images used to
total of 37 online discussion groups were depict Brazil as a destination. The focus
contacted and messages were posted to their group was held at a large Midwestern uni-
subscribers. The total number of subscribers versity. The participants were asked to
to the lists was 9,183. Not all subscribers articulate their images, feelings and percep-
received the message in their mailboxes, tions of Brazil, and their comments were
however, since there is an option available used to produce a more accurate list of
for subscribers to read just posted messages attributes.

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The third part of the survey sought demo- nents analysis with varimax rotation was
graphic information, and included questions performed, and factor loadings smaller than
regarding respondent interest in visiting Bra- 0.3 were removed from the analysis.
zil in the future. To achieve the third objective of this
study, cluster analysis was prepared on the
resulting factors to determine groups of
Data collection Americans with similar images of Brazil.
The survey was posted on the internet dur- A combination of hierarchical and non-
ing the period from November 2001 to hierarchical procedures was used. Ward’s
February 2002. To contact the subjects, hierarchical clustering procedure was used a
LISTSERVs (online discussion groups) were priori and the results suggested a four-factor
used. Online discussion groups related to solution. Next, a K-mean analysis was run
travel and tourism were identified through on the major clusters to confirm and define
search engines and directories (including cluster membership. In addition, analysis of
Yahoo! and Google). Subscription e-mails variance (ANOVA) was used to determine if
were sent to the owners of the lists. When the clusters were significantly different from
the subscription was accepted, a message was each other. Chi-square tests were run to
either directly posted or sent to the modera- determine if there were significant differ-
tors/owners, which they forwarded to sub- ences among the four clusters in demo-
scribers once approved. Responses were graphic characteristics and the proportion of
submitted online and automatically sent to visitors and non-visitors to Brazil.
an electronic file. One follow-up posting
was made to the more active discussion
groups.
RESULTS OF THE EXPLORATORY
STUDY
Data analysis Demographic characteristics of
The data were entered in the SPSS 10.1 respondents
software package and the analysis started The majority of the respondents to the sur-
with a grouping and counting of the words vey were aged 18 to 34 years (54.7 per cent)
used by the respondents to answer the three and male (54.4 per cent). Some 45.1 per cent
open-ended questions. This process gener- of the respondents were married and 37.6
ated tables with frequencies and percentages per cent were single (15.1 per cent were
based on the number of people who an- divorced/separated and 2.2 per cent were
swered the questions. More than one de- widowed). Most of the respondents (81.4
scription/word per person was allowed. per cent) had some college experience; 73.9
Later, the most frequent answers were com- per cent had earned college degrees and 13.7
bined with the answers to the attribute-based per cent had postgraduate degrees. Similar
questions to compose the diagram of the proportions for low and median incomes
components of destination image elaborated (44.4 per cent) were found.
by Echtner and Ritchie25 (Figure 1). Next
was the analysis of the 39 attributes to con-
dense the information contained in the ori- Interest in visiting Brazil
ginal variables into a smaller set of new Overall, most respondents were interested in
dimensions or constructs. Before proceeding visiting Brazil: 43.3 per cent said they were
with the analysis, tests of correlations, in- ‘very interested,’ 37.8 per cent said that they
cluding a Kaiser’s measurement of sampling were ‘interested’ and 10.0 per cent were ‘not
adequacy (MSA ¼ 0.83) and a Bartlett’s test interested’. This does not mean, however,
of sphericity (chi-square ¼ 2,834, df ¼ 74, that a high percentage of all Americans are
p , 0.01), were used to verify the appropri- interested in visiting Brazil. Possibly it was
ateness of factor analysis. A principal compo- because the sample was composed of people

Page 247


interested in travel and tourism and thus

244

243

241
No.
more interested in knowing about foreign

Note: These items were reverse coded for analysis. Items were measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly
cultures and destinations than other people.
The proportion of visitors to Brazil in the

Total
mean
3.24

3.38

3.53
survey was 35 per cent, while the non-
visitors comprised 65 per cent.
A significant difference at p , 0.01 was

161

159

159
No.
found among the answers of visitors and
non-visitors (chi-square ¼ 17.27, df ¼ 3) re-

Non-visitor
garding respondent interest in visiting Brazil.
Previous visitors were more interested in

mean
3.00

3.16

3.25
returning to Brazil than non-visitors were in
going to Brazil for a first visit.

No.
83

84

82
Images of Brazil
Overall, positive images (means above 4)

Visitor
were found for nine statements: many places

mean
3.71

3.81

4.07
of interest to visit (4.3); several natural parks
and much wildlife (4.3); good place for

Table 1: Comparative statements: visitors, non-visitors and all respondents
going to the beach (4.3); variety of music
and dance (4.4); natural and scenic beauty

The culture, art and customs of Brazilians are not very similar to those of other South and
Music and dance in Brazil are not similar to those of other South and Central American
(4.5); friendliness of the people (4.1); good
nightlife (4.3); adventure (4.0); and several
opportunities to increase knowledge about
another culture (4.3).
Negative images of Brazil (means of less
than 3) were found for five statements: se-

Brazilian food is not spicy and is different from some Mexican food.Ã
curity of public transportation (2.9); crowd-
edness of the cities (2.3); local standards of
cleanliness and hygiene (2.8); beggars (2.5);
and language barriers (2.9) (‘many people
speak English in Brazil’).
Significant differences between visitors
and non-visitors were found for 24 items of
the 39 attribute-based scales. Compared to
non-visitors, visitors had a more positive
image of Brazil in all aspects. For the state-
ment ‘most people visit Brazil because of the
Ã Significantly different at p , 0.01

Carnival in Rio’, visitors showed a tendency
to disagree (2.9) while non-visitors were
Central America countries.Ã

more likely to agree (3.3).
Regarding the comparative statements
(Table 1), the overall results showed that
Americans were not able to differentiate
Brazil from Hispanic countries. The means
for the three comparative questions were 3.2
countries.Ã

for the statement on music and dance; 3.3
Statements

for culture, art and costumes; and 3.5 for the
agree).

statement on Brazilian food. The number 3
on the scale stood for ‘neither agree or

Page 248


disagree.’ This showed that respondents River/rainforest (40.8 per cent), Carnival
seemed not fully to understand Brazil’s dif- (20.8 per cent) and Rio de Janeiro (19.1 per
ferences. A closer look to the results, how- cent). Among the answers, one negative
ever, revealed that visitors were more certain characteristic, insecurity, was mentioned by
of the differences between Brazil and Hispa- 10.6 per cent of the respondents.
nic countries. Visitors’ mean responses to the The second question asked the respon-
three items were significantly higher than dents to describe the mood or atmosphere
non-visitors, showing that they seemed to that they would expect to experience in
differentiate Brazil better than non-visitors. Brazil. Fun/partying/festive/celebrating was
the most popular answer (27.0 per cent),
followed by friendly and relaxed/relaxing/
Subjective statements about Brazil laid back/loose (both 22.3 per cent). Again
Table 2 presents a summary of the answers there was a concern for safety, reflected by
provided by the respondents to the three 9.8 per cent of the respondents who ex-
open-ended questions. For the first question, pected a frightening/dangerous/scary atmo-
respondents were asked to provide the sphere in Brazil.
images or characteristics that came to their The third question was ‘Please list any
minds when they thought of Brazil as a travel distinctive or unique attractions that you can
destination. The most frequent answers to think are in Brazil.’ Of those who answered
this question were beaches/beautiful beaches this question, 57.5 per cent mentioned Ama-
(42.1 per cent), Amazon jungle/Amazon zon jungle/Amazon River/rainforest as a

Table 2: Most frequent answers to open-ended questions
Images evoked when thinking of Brazil as a vacation destination (n ¼ 235)
• Beaches/beautiful beaches (42.1 per cent)
• Amazon jungle/Amazon River/rainforest (40.8 per cent)
• Carnival (20.8 per cent)
• Rio de Janeiro (19.1 per cent)
• Climate (hot/warm/humid/tropical) (18.3 per cent)
• Natural features (mountains/open spaces/beautiful scenery) (14.0 per cent)
• Wonderful music/dancing people/samba (14.0 per cent)
• Nature/biodiversity/flora/fauna (13.0 per cent)
• Great food/good food/examples of Brazilian food (13.2 per cent)
• Insecurity (crime/violence/high crime rates) (10.6 per cent)
Descriptions of the atmosphere or mood expected while visiting Brazil (n ¼ 233)
• Fun/partying/festive/celebrating (27.0 per cent)
• Friendly (22.3 per cent)
• Relaxed/relaxing/laid back/loose (22.3 per cent)
• Hospitable/accommodating/welcoming/warm (12.8 per cent)
• Frightening/dangerous/scary (9.8 per cent)
Distinct or unique attractions in Brazil (n ¼ 214)
• Amazon jungle/Amazon River/rainforest (57.5 per cent)
• Rio de Janeiro (31.3 per cent)
• Christ the Redeemer/Corcovado (26.2 per cent)
• Waterfalls/Iguacu Falls (22.4 per cent)
¸
• Beaches (21.0 per cent)
• Carnival (14.9 per cent)
• Sugar Loaf Mountain (14.0 per cent)
• Sao Paulo (7.0 per cent)

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unique attraction in Brazil. The second most the respondents pictured Brazil in their
cited answer was Rio de Janeiro (31.3 per minds in terms of its unique attractions and
cent), followed by Christ the Redeemer/ holistic images as, for instance, people relax-
Corcovado (26.2 per cent), which is an ing on beautiful beaches, having fun and
attraction located in Rio de Janeiro. Three celebrating the Carnival or contemplating
other answers associated with Rio de Janeiro the beauty of the rainforest.
were provided but presented separately since
the same respondent could have mentioned
them simultaneously: Sugar Loaf Mountain Results of factor analysis
(14.0 per cent), Copacabana Beach (6.5 per Factor analysis was applied to determine the
cent) and Ipanema Beach (6.0 per cent). underlying dimensions of Brazil’s image that
Iguacu Falls was mentioned by 22.4 per cent
¸ later were used to group respondents with
of the respondents. similar images of Brazil. Eleven factors with
The most frequent answers to the three eigenvalues greater than one emerged from
open-ended questions, as well as the attrib- the first analysis and the variance explained
ute-based statements with a mean of 4.0 or was 62.1 per cent. The Cronbach’s alpha
higher, were placed on Echtner and coefficients of the last five factors were low
Ritchie’s 26 three-dimensional model of desti- (0.55, 0.55, 0.5, 0.4 and 0.2), however, and
nation image (Figures 2, 3 and 4). Figure 2 the overall alpha was 0.75. To improve this
presents the attribute-holistic and functional- result, an analysis of the correlations between
psychological components of Brazil’s image; each attribute statement and the total score
Figure 3 provides the functional-psychologi- from the scale was conducted to find attri-
cal and common-unique components; and butes that did not correlate well with the
Figure 4 illustrates the common-unique and overall score from the scale. One attribute,
attribute-holistic component. The placement ‘Beaches are Brazil’s main attraction’, had a
of the items within the diagram was subjec- low correlation (-0.0927) and was removed
tive, but still it gives a clearer idea of how from further analysis. Then the changes in

Figure 2 The attribute/holistic and functional/psychological components of Brazil’s image


Interesting places to visit (4.36)
Natural parks and wildlife (4.33) People on beautiful beaches (42.1%)
Beaches (4.33) Jungle, rivers and rainforest environment (40.8%)
Natural scenic beauty (4.55) Celebration of Carnival (20.8%)
Nightlife (4.33)
Variety of dance and music (4.42)

ATTRIBUTES HOLISTIC

Friendly people (4.13)
Adventure (4.02) Festive and partying environment (27.0%)
Opportunity to increase knowledge (4.37) with friendly people (22.3%) and
also relaxing and laid back (22.3%)


Page 250


The common-unique and functional/psychological components of Brazil’s image Figure 3


Interesting places to visit(4.36)
Natural parks and wildlife (4.33) Amazon jungle and Amazon River (57.5%)
Beaches (4.33) Rio de Janeiro (31.3%)
Natural scenic beauty (4.55) Christ Redeemer/Corcovado (26.2%)
Nightlife (4.33) Iguaçu Falls/waterfalls (22.4%)
Variety of dance and music (4.42)

COMMON UNIQUE

Adventure (4.02) Festive and partying environment (27.0%)
Opportunity to increase knowledge (4.37) with friendly people (22.3%) and
also relaxing and laid back (22.3%)


The attribute/holistic and common/unique component of Brazil’s image Figure 4

COMMON

Interesting places to visit (4.36)
Natural parks and wildlife (4.33) Beautiful beaches (42.2%) with
Beaches (4.33) friendly and festive people (22.3%)
Natural scenic beauty (4.55)
Nightlife (4.33)
Adventure (4.02)
Opportunity to increase knowledge (4.37)

ATTRIBUTES HOLISTIC

Variety of music and dance (4.42)
Rio de Janeiro (31.3%) Adventure (4.02) and contemplation of the rainforest
Christ Redeemer/Corcovado (26.2%) and its flora and fauna (40.8%)
Carnival (20.8%)

UNIQUE

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Cronbach’s alpha after removing particular places to see and things to do (shopping) in
attributes were evaluated and one more Brazil, and that the country has enough
statement, ‘Most people visit Brazil because interesting attractions to be visited by itself
of the Carnival in Rio’, was also removed and not just while touring neighbouring
from the analysis due to its great influence in countries. This factor had the highest eigen-
lowering the reliability coefficient. After value (7.76) and explained 10.36 per cent of
these procedures, the factor analysis was the variance.
repeated and ten factors emerged in a new The second factor, ‘safety and comfort’,
solution. To retain an attribute statement, a included statements on relaxation, friendli-
cut-off point of 0.3 for factor loadings was ness and safety. This factor had an eigenvalue
established, and all the attributes satisfied this of 2.67 and explained 8.64 per cent of the
criterion. variance. Factor three grouped the three
The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were statements determining whether or not re-
again measured and two factors were respondents differentiated Brazil from other
moved due to poor reliability (0.2 and 0.4). South and Central American countries.
The factor analysis was repeated for a third Named ‘cultural comparisons’, the factor in-
time and the final solution had eight factors cluded statements involving art, costumes,
and 33 items, which explained 57.7 per cent food, music etc. It had an eigenvalue of 2.12
of the variance. The overall Cronbach’s al- and explained 7.44 per cent of the variance.
pha coefficient showed a high level of relia- ‘Facilities and information’ was the fourth
bility at 0.89 (Table 3). Table 4 shows the factor and included six attribute statements
factor solutions with their means, percen- related to travel and tourist facilities, such as
tages of variance explained, eigenvalues and restaurants, hotels, guides and availability of
loadings. Factor scores were computed by tourist information. Its eigenvalue was 1.57
taking the averages for the attribute state- and the variance explained was 7.02 per
ments within each factor. cent.
The first factor extracted was composed of Factor five was named ‘vacation atmo-
six attribute statements and was named ‘nat- sphere/exoticness’, had an eigenvalue of
ural attractions/interest’, based on the two 1.39 and explained 6.58 per cent of the vari-
statements concerning natural parks, wildlife ance. ‘Economic and social conditions’ was
and natural scenic beauty, and one statement the label attached to the sixth factor, which
regarding historic attractions. The other included five attribute statements regarding
three statements were related since they political stability, beggars, transportation
emphasised the idea that there are many conditions, crowdedness of the cities and

Table 3: Final results of factor and reliability analysis
Number of Reliability coefficients
Factors items (alpha)
1 Natural attractions/interest 6 0.74
2 Safety and comfort 5 0.72
3 Cultural comparisons 3 0.78
4 Facilities and information 5 0.62
5 Vacation atmosphere/exoticness 4 0.62
6 Economic and social conditions 5 0.63
7 Transportation 2 0.50
8 Adventure/learning 3 0.52
Total 33 0.89
% of variance explained 57.72

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Table 4: Percentages of variance explained, eigenvalues, and loadings of factors
Item Factor Variation Eigenvalue Loading
Factor 1: Natural attractions/interest (4.11) 10.36 7.76
2 There are several natural parks to visit and much wildlife to see (4.33) 0.78
1 There are many places of interest to visit in Brazil (4.36) 0.70
38 Brazil is not only worth visiting while touring neighbouring countriesÃ (3.97) 0.64
9 Brazil offers much in terms of natural scenic beauty (4.55) 0.61
3 Brazil has many historic sites and museumsÃ (3.83) 0.53
11 Brazil is a good place for shopping (3.65) 0.41
Factor 2: Safety and comfort (3.48) 8.64 2.67
35 Brazil is a good place to take children (3.48) 0.58
33 Brazil is a restful and relaxing place to visit (3.68) 0.65
32 Brazilian people are friendly (4.13) 0.61
27 In general, Brazil is a safe place to visit (3.35) 0.59
6 The Amazon is not a dangerous place to visit (3.27) 0.65
Factor 3: Cultural comparisons (3.38) 7.44 2.12
8 Music and dance in Brazil are similar to those of other South and Central America 0.87
countriesÃ (3.24)
10 The culture, art and customs of Brazilians are very similar to those of other South and
Central America countriesÃ (3.38) 0.88
31 Brazilian food is spicy and similar to some Mexican foodÃ (3.53) 0.65
Factor 4: Facilities and information (3.50)
12 Good tourist information is readily available for Brazil (3.24) 7.02 1.57 0.72
13 Tours with guides are available in BrazilÃ (3.85) 0.61
18 Good-quality restaurants are easy to ﬁnd in Brazil (3.80) 0.32
26 Travelling to Brazil is convenient and easy (3.07) 0.34
36 Good-quality hotels are easy to ﬁnd in Brazil (3.56) 0.38
(continued overleaf )

Page 253

Table 4: (continued)
Item Factor Variation Eigenvalue Loading
Factor 5: Vacation atmosphere/exoticness (4.12) 6.58 1.39
4 Brazil is a good place for going to the beach (4.33) 0.67
10 Brazil has good nightlife (4.33) 0.55
22 Brazil is an exotic destination (3.99) 0.62

14 There are many sports and recreational opportunities in Brazil (3.84) 0.43
Factor 6: Economic and social conditions (2.74) 6.54 1.35
23 Local standards of cleanliness and hygiene are high in Brazil (2.87) 0.40
25 There is not a lot of political instability in BrazilÃ (3.02) 0.70
24 There are not many beggars in Brazil Ã (2.52) 0.73
21 Brazilian cities are not crowdedÃ (2.34) 0.58
17 Public transportation is safe in BrazilÃ (2.95) 0.37
Factor 7: Transportation (3.12) 5.99 1.27
16 Transportation in Brazil is inexpensiveÃ (3.16) 0.74
15 Transportation within Brazil is convenient (3.09) 0.60
Factor 8: Adventure/learning (3.94) 5.11 1.04
34 There are several opportunities within Brazil to increase my knowledge about another 0.45
culture (4.36)
37 Brazil is a destination that people dream of visiting (3.46) 0.55
28 A holiday in Brazil is a real adventure (4.01) 0.70
Ã These items were reverse coded for analysis


standards of cleanliness. Its eigenvalue and

Note: Values are means based on a five-point Likert scale. Means with a different superscript (a, b and c) are significantly different from each other, based
percentage of variance explained were 1.35

on Scheffe Tests at p , 0.05. For example, for transportation, Cluster III is significantly different from Clusters I, II and IV. Clusters II and IV are not
and 6.54 per cent respectively. Factor seven

,0.0001
,0.0001
,0.0001
,0.0001
,0.0001
,0.0001
,0.0001
,0.0001
was called ‘transportation’, and had two asso-
ciated attribute statements and an eigenvalue

level
Sig.
of 1.27. Factor eight was called ‘adventure/
learning’ and had an eigenvalue of 1.04. The
last two factors explained together 11.1 per
cent of the variance.
The factors with the highest average

F-ratio

7.11

8.00
55.88

38.55
14.94
10.50
10.07
23.97
attribute mean scores were ‘natural
attractions/interest’ (4.11) and ‘vacation
atmosphere/exoticness’ (4.12). The factor
with the lowest mean score was ‘economic
and social conditions’ at 2.74.

Cluster IV
n ¼ 53
3.38b
3.15a
2.94a

3.6b

3.0b
3.2a

3.5a
2.6
Identification of clusters
Cluster analysis was applied to identify and
classify respondents according to similar
images of Brazil based on the eight dimen-
Cluster III
Table 5: Means of image factors among the four groups of respondents

sions found in the factor analysis. Table 5
n ¼ 48

4.03b
3.28b

2.52b
3.31c
4.16a

3.81a
shows the four clusters found through this
4.3a
3.4a

analysis. The respondents in Cluster I were

significantly different. Cluster I is significantly different from Clusters II, III and IV.
characterised as possessing generally positive
images of Brazil as a vacation destination.
This cluster had the highest mean score for
Cluster II

the ‘safety and comfort’ factor at 3.97, which
n ¼ 93

3.20b
4.22b
3.56a

3.67a

2.91a

was significantly different statistically from
4.4a

3.1a

4.3a

the other three clusters. Cluster I also had
the highest scores for ‘cultural comparisons’
(4.18), ‘facilities and information’ (3.88) and
‘vacation atmosphere/exoticness’ (4.53).
Cluster I

This cluster, however, had negative images
n ¼ 20

3.97b
4.18b
4.31a

3.88a
4.53a

2.48a
4.03a

for two of the factors, ‘transportation’ (2.48,
2.78

significantly lower than the others) and ‘eco-
nomic and social conditions’ (2.78).
The respondents in Cluster I clearly differ-
entiated Brazil from other South and Central
American countries (4.18). They were male
Vacation atmosphere/exoticness

in the majority (57.89 per cent), 35 to 49
Economic and social conditions

years old (50 per cent) and married (58.8 per
Natural attractions/interest

cent). This cluster had the smallest portion of
Facilities and information

single people (17.6 per cent) and the largest
Cultural comparisons

portion of divorced people (23.5 per cent)
Adventure/learning
Safety and comfort
Dimensions ( factors)

(Table 6). Some 60 per cent of Cluster I’s
Transportation

respondents had median incomes ($40,000–
79,000), and 80 per cent had college degrees.
´

Most importantly, it had more respondents
that had been to Brazil than any other cluster
(65 per cent).

Page 255


Table 6: Characteristics of clusters
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4
(n ¼ 20) (n ¼ 93) (n ¼ 48) (n ¼ 53)
Characteristics % % % %
GenderÃ
Male 57.89 59.14 69.57 34.62
Female 42.11 40.86 30.43 65.38
Chi-square ¼ 13.390, df ¼ 3, p ¼ 0.004
Age
18–19 5.0 9.7 22.9 19.6
20–24 25.0 19.57 20.83 17.65
25–34 15.0 27.2 8.3 15.7
35–44 25.0 14.13 20.83 5.8
45–49 25.0 10.8 14.5 19.6
50–54 5.0 13.0 8.3 15.7
55–64 – 5.43 4.1 5.8
65 and over
Marital status
Married 58.8 43.0 41.8 48.0
Widowed – 1.1 2.3 2.0
Divorced 23.5 13.9 11.6 18.0
Separated – 1.1 2.3 –
Single 17.6 40.7 41.8 32.0
Education
Left high school – 5.4 2.1 3.7
High school 15.0 16.3 16.6 13.2
Some college 5.0 9.7 8.3 5.6
Associates degree 40.0 34.7 27.1 35.8
Bachelors degree 30.0 22.8 25.0 26.4
Masters degree 10.0 10.8 20.8 11.3
Doctoral degree – – – 3.7
Income
Low (less than $39,000) 25.0 48.9 42.2 46.9
Median ($40,000–79,000) 60.0 41.1 51.1 38.8
High ($80,000 and more) 15.0 6.7 6.7 8.2
Unwilling to answer – 3.3 – 6.1
Visit BrazilÃ
Yes 65.0 27.2 54.2 13.2
No 35.0 72.8 45.8 86.8
Chi-square ¼ 29.631, df ¼ 3 , p ¼ 0.000
Ã Signiﬁcant at alpha ¼ 0.01 by chi-square analysis

Clusters II and III were intermediate cluster II (72.8 per cent) had never been to
ters in terms of positive to negative images. Brazil, 59 per cent were male and 68 per
Cluster II had the highest means for ‘natural cent had college degrees.
attractions/interest’ (4.4) and ‘adventure/ Cluster III had negative images of Brazil
learning’ (4.22). These respondents had neu- for ‘economic and social conditions’ (2.52),
tral images of ‘safety and comfort’ (3.56), and neutral images for ‘safety and comfort’
‘cultural comparisons’ (3.1), ‘facilities and (3.4), ‘facilities and information’ (3.28),
information’ (3.67) and ‘transportation’ ‘transportation’ (3.31) and ‘adventure/learn-
(3.2). The majority of the members of Clus- ing’ (3.81). This cluster demonstrated posi-

Page 256


tive images for ‘natural attractions/interest’ The results indicated that ‘natural attrac-
(4.3), ‘cultural comparisons’ (4.03) and ‘vations/interest’ and ‘vacation atmosphere/
cation atmosphere/exoticness’ (4.16). Some exoticness’ were the two most prevalent
69 per cent were male, 51 per cent were in images of Brazil held by respondents. The
the median income bracket ($40,000– analysis of the open-ended questions further
79,000) and 54.2 per cent had visited Brazil. clarified this result by revealing that the
Additionally, this was the cluster with the images that came to respondents’ minds
highest portion of respondents in the 18–19 when they thought of Brazil as a place to
age bracket (22.9 per cent). visit were mainly of beautiful beaches and
Cluster IV was characterised as having the rainforest/jungle. The two most popular
more neutral to negative images of Brazil. unique attractions in Brazil were found to be
This cluster had statistically significant lower the Amazon jungle and Rio de Janeiro. Up
means for ‘natural attractions/interest’ (3.38) to now, these two attractions (along with
and ‘vacation atmosphere’ (3.6). It also had Iguacu Falls) have been intensely promoted
¸
the lowest means for ‘safety and comfort’ by the majority of the most important tour
(3.15) ‘cultural comparisons’ (2.94), ‘facilities operators in the USA, as was indicated by
and information’ (3.2), and ‘adventure/ the content analysis of package tours to
learning’ (3.5). This group had the highest Brazil. These are, however, two contrasting
proportion of non-visitors to Brazil (86.8 per images that attract people with very different
cent), and was composed of females in the interests and profiles.
majority (65.3 per cent). Some 77.2 per cent In terms of negative images, the factor
had college degrees, and 46.9 per cent had analysis and the answers to the open-ended
incomes of $39,000 or less. questions indicated that respondents do not
have good perceptions of the economic and
social conditions in Brazil, and they have a
CONCLUSIONS concern for their safety while visiting the
The first objective of this study was to country. Words such as crime, violence,
determine the image that Americans inter- poverty, dangerous and frightening were
ested in travel and tourism have of Brazil as a used by approximately 10 per cent of re-
travel destination. To achieve this, a combi- spondents to express the images and atmo-
nation of structured (attribute-based scale) sphere that they would see and experience in
and unstructured (open-ended questions) Brazil. Therefore, it is very important for
methods of destination image measurement Brazil to address these concerns if it is to
was applied, as suggested by Echtner and improve the images held by prospective and
Ritchie.27 The attribute-based scale was used actual visitors and become more competitive
to measure the common, attribute-based in the international market.
components of image, while the open-ended Regarding the second objective, to deter-
questions were used to measure the unique mine if respondents differentiated Brazil from
and holistic components. neighbouring Hispanic countries, the results
The variables contained in the attribute- were close to the midpoint of the scale. The
based scale (structured approach) were factor answers to the three comparative statements
analysed and summarised into a smaller set of were neutral, indicating that respondents
new composite dimensions. Five of the eight were not able to pinpoint clearly the differ-
factors that emerged from the analysis were ences between Brazil and Hispanic countries.
equivalent to the factors found by Echtner A closer look at the answers of visitors and
and Ritchie28 in their study on the measure- non-visitors, however, showed that visitors
ment of destination image. These results were more certain of the differences than
support their suggestions that this method non-visitors, particularly with regard to Bra-
provides a generalised framework that can be zilian food. Furthermore, the results of the
used to compare and contrast the images of cluster analysis revealed that there was one
most tourist destinations. group of respondents (Cluster I) who clearly

Page 257


differentiated Brazil from Hispanic countries. age and communications strategies that
Past visitors to Brazil composed the majority clearly separate their destinations from near-
of this group. The inconclusive results for the by areas, as well as from the principal com-
overall analysis might be the lack of sufficient petitors.
knowledge of the Brazilian culture among A third area of implications is the dilemma
the majority of respondents. Another possible raised by the findings about Brazil’s image as a
explanation could be the unclear and mislead- vacation destination. Should, for example,
ing images gained from the media or other the marketing approaches be changed for
information sources. people with different images of the country,
The third objective was to group respon- especially for those with negative images?
dents based upon similar images of Brazil. Alternatively, should a ‘one-size-fits-all’ ap-
The cluster analysis did not reveal an empha- proach be employed in which the same image
sis on one or more specific images among is communicated to all potential visitors? The
different groups of respondents; rather, it current movement toward greater destination
indicated that images varied from positive to branding appears to suggest the second strat-
negative among the clusters. Cluster I had an egy. Moreover, trying to promote two or
overall positive image, Clusters II and III had more different images to an overall audience,
intermediate positive to neutral images, such as US travellers, could be confusing and
while Cluster IV had neutral to negative ineffective. If the destination is difficult to
images of Brazil for the eight image factors. picture and categorise in travellers’ minds, as
The ‘natural attractions/interest’ and ‘vaca- appears to be the case for Brazil, then it may
tion atmosphere/exotic’ factors had very not even make it into travellers’ destination
high mean attribute statement scores for selection processes. Destinations might also
three of the four clusters. have a strong appeal to specialised niche
markets, however, including, for example,
the attractiveness of Brazil’s rainforest, rivers
and waterfalls to nature-based tourists. In this
Marketing implications and future case, marketers need to develop further and
research recommendations expand upon the broader destination image
While this research has definite marketing to match each niche market’s interests and
implications for Brazilian tourism, there are perceptual expectations.
broader implications for destinations in gen- In Brazil’s case, the broader destination
eral. The first of these is that past visitors to a image has not yet been effectively established
destination may not only hold the most posi- in the US market and additional investment
tive images of that destination, but also have in image development seems warranted.
the most accurate understanding of the desti- Specifically, more effort is needed to change
nation’s limitations, such as transportation and improve Americans’ perceptions of Bra-
within Brazil. Testimonials and other forms zil. For example, special attention will have
of endorsements by these past visitors could to be given to the first image cluster, which
prove useful in clarifying potential visitors’ had negative images of transportation and
images of the destination, and in alleviating economic and social conditions. Since this
any misapprehensions among these people. group was composed of past visitors to Brazil
The second implication arises from the find- in the majority, these respondents’ percep-
ing that Americans were generally unable to tions were based upon real experiences and
differentiate Brazil clearly from neighbouring indicate a weakness in the Brazilian tourism
Spanish-speaking countries. This may be in- product that must be addressed by Brazilian
dicative of a general tendency for people to tourism authorities.
assume that neighbouring destinations are It should be acknowledged that this study
alike, unless they have specific information was exploratory in nature, and as such the
to refute this belief. Therefore, it is incum- results need to be verified through further
bent on marketing managers to develop im- empirical research. It is also recognised that

Page 258

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