Perceptions of tourist comments through the semantic network of a cultural tourism attraction in Para'iba, Brazil

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In this context, competitiveness in tourism is multidimensional (Barbosa, Oliveira & Rezende, 2010), and can be understood as the initiative to develop public policies for tourist destinations (Gooroochurn & Sugiyarto, 2005);

Measuring the quality of services has multiple possibilities due to the divergence of the models, methods and tools used for this purpose, sometimes being generalist (Mondo, Talini & Fiates, 2016). To fill this gap, Mondo (2014) built the TOURQUAL model, an evaluation protocol based on a theoretical model for measuring service quality at tourist attractions. The model has six categories for analyzing quality in tourists’ perception, which are: (1). access; (2). environment; (3). safety; (4). experience; (5). technical quality; and (6). human element.

In this context, the question is: What is a tourists' perception of the quality of services offered in an indigenous community on the Brazilian coast? Thus, this study's general objective is to analyze tourists' perception of the quality of the services provided in a cultural tourism attraction in Paraiba, on the Brazilian coast.

Considering this research question, the TOURQUAL Model was applied, so that the perception of tourists in a cultural attraction located in Joao Pessoa-PB could be analyzed, being able to offer theoretical contributions, as it is a type of tourism that has never been evaluated using TOURQUAL. and for being able to provide important information for the management and planning of the studied tourist destination.

The object of this study is a pioneer attraction, which receives tourists who want to experience cultural immersion in the Poti-guara ethnicity. Located in a typically indigenous region, the attraction consists of 32 villages of the Potiguara ethnic group and through the numerous activities offered in the locality, income is generated for the receiving community. The studied attraction is managed by a Potiguara Native, responsible for managing the accommodations and his inn, as well as being the guide in the defined itineraries.

Considering the object of study and the pioneering nature of the research using the TOURQUAL Model in a cultural tourist destination, from a theoretical point of view, the research has the potential to contribute to the application of the Model in a destination that is not yet overly structured, and may indicate necessary adaptations for this reality and, from a practical point of view, the research has the potential to offer concrete subsidies for decision making and improvement of services offered in that locality.

Theoretical Grounds

There is great concern of service providers and tourism activity managers to invest in quality and, there are broad and current discussions about the quality of services in literature, the first contributions date from 1985, with studies by Parasumaran, Zeithaml and Berry, that define the quality of a service as a formal attitude linked to customer satisfaction, being, therefore, the perception related to the expectations of those who consume the service (Mondo, 2014).

Although there are models for evaluating the quality of services, as shown in Figure 1, there is a model that has been gaining prominence in the tourism literature, as it was developed specifically for the sector, after a dense study in the area.

Fig. 1 - Service Evaluation Models

Source: Authors' elaboration (2021)

There are numerous Service Evaluation Models, the most applied being highlighted in this section, through Table 1. About SERV-QUAL, it uses the service quality from the GAP between the expected quality level and the level received by the client. Originated from studies in the field of marketing, it is the most popular model, being the most used, presenting five dimensions: (1) reliability, (2) agility, (3) assurance, (4) empathy, (5) tangibles, which are subdivided into 22 indicators.

Despite its popularity, SERVQUAL is often criticized due to the non-generality of its dimensions (Zeithaml and Berry (1988) and Teas (1993), place the greatest criticism, on the ambiguity of the term expectation, enough analysis will weaken the Model.

The SERVPERF Model arises to correct the deficiencies in SERVQUAL. Developed by Cronin and Taylor in 1992, it is based solely on the performance factor and although it has continued to use the 22 SERVQUAL indicators, it evaluates the service solely from the perspective of performance, disregarding expectations. Due to the excessive concern with the methodology of the scales and for having been used only in developed countries, SERVQUAL is criticized.

In turn, the Gronroos Model, created in 1994, considers that there are three dimensions of service quality: technical, functional, and corporate image. Technical quality refers to what the customer receives at the time-of-service delivery; functional with the way the service is offered; and the corporate image as the result of how consumers perceive the company. The few criticisms against this model refer to the lack of indicators and measurement scales.

The Kano Model is a two-way model as it considers two aspects: an objective - this involves the fulfillment or lack of fulfillment of a quality attribute; and a subjective one - this involves the perception of dissatisfaction or satisfaction of a customer. In this Model, quality attributes are defined in five dimensions: (1) attractive; (2) one-dimensional; (3) specification of how it should be; (4) indifferent; (5) inverted, resulting in five types of quality: (1) attractive quality - the customer will be satisfied if this attribute is present, differentiating it from the competitor; (2) unidimensional quality: the higher the degree of satisfaction, the higher the degree of service forthe attribute and vice versa; (3) specification of what quality should be - basic criterion and if it is absent, the customer will be immensely dissatisfied; (4) indifferent quality - an attribute whose presence or absence causes no satisfaction or dissatisfaction; (5) reverse quality - an attribute whose presence causes dissatisfaction and whose absence results in satisfaction.

Finally, the TOURQUAL Model, created in 2014 by Mondo, consists of an evaluation protocol, based on a measurement of the quality of services, based on the assumption of the existence of theoretical gaps in quality studies, more specifically in the tourism sector, which makes it a pioneer and innovator for tourism studies.

For the construction of the model, Mondo (2014) carried out two bibliometric surveys, with the objective of identifying the evaluation models that had already been discussed in literature. From this survey, the author identified 36 evaluation models, classifying them by criteria of scope, dimension, indicator, scale, and form of presentation, culminating in a total of 211 indicators. After this first step, the author carried out a qualitative analysis, formulating the preliminary model with 35 indicators that were considered extremely important for the tourism sector. In the second stage, a collection of 6801 comments from tourists was carried out on a tourism website and, using computer software, all data could be evaluated and compared with the models found in the preliminary model, where 12 indicators were excluded, 23 maintained and 3 created.

Nationally, the great reference is Mondo, creator of the TOURQUAL Model, developed exclusively to meet the specificities of tourism services, which is based on the six categories mentioned above. Therefore, the theoretical basis and support of the research in the Model is justified by the relevance, support, validation of the TOURQUAL Model -Cronbach's Alpha of 0.895 (Mondo, 2012) and recognition to cite the award in the SP Challenge of Innovation in Tourism in the year 2021.

Methodological Procedures

The research was carried out in a cultural tourism destination, located in the city of Baia da Traigao, on the coast of Joao Pessoa, capital of the State of Paraiba. The city has about ten thousand residents, seven thousands of which are indigenous. The object of study is an inn, notably peculiar, since the accommodations are solely and exclusively carried out with the objective of Cultural Immersion in the Potiguara ethnicity. The inn was created about five years ago by a local indigenous citizen and is based on the culture of the native people of the region. The owner, host and guide are responsible for scheduling accommodation, receiving tourists, and leading them to all the activities offered.

The qualitative data collection was carried out through the collection of comments on the TripAdvisor website, from tourists who have already stayed at the Pousada studied. 113 comments made between 2015 and 2020 on the TripAdvisor website were selected. The qualitative data obtained through TripAdvisor reviews were subjected to content analysis, a set of communication analysis techniques through systematic, quantitative, or qualitative procedures, which allow inferences regarding the analyzed content (Bardin, 1977; Bardin 2010)). In content analysis, nuclei of meaning are sought, significant for the message to be analyzed. Thus, in this study, the registration units correspond to the component indicators of the TOURQUAL Model, by Mondo (2014).

The treatment and analysis of comments followed the indications of Bradin (2020) through the following steps: (1) pre-analysis; (2) material exploration; (3) treatment of results, inference, and interpretation. Bardin explains that in the first phase, the corpus is constituted through the organization of the content to be analyzed. In the exploration phase, the corpus coding techniques should be explored, through a detailed examination of the content so that the material can be categorized (coding); identification of recording units (text passages to be encoded). Finally, in the third phase, the results are processed, and the coded data is condensed, which results in inferential interpretations.

Data analysis was performed using the ATLAS it software version 7.5.4. using coding mechanisms from the categorization of text content. The coding stage followed two cycles as per the recommendations of Saldana 2013. In the first coding cycle, the descriptive coding method was used to identify words or short phrases in the text corpus referring to the TOURQUAL categories. In the second cycle, the coding standard was used to review the codesand identify redundancies, standardize labels, and streamline the structure of the coding model.

For the research, all six analysis categories of the TOURQUAL Model were considered: access, environment, technical quality, human element, experience, and safety, since all indicators of these categories relate to the nature of the activities carried out in the place where the search takes place. However, the need to add environmental indicators was perceived, since this element is usually part of the objective of cultural tourism, so the category of sustainable development was added.

Analysis and Discussion of Results

Access category

The access category refers to the indicators with which tourists have their first contact with the attraction / inn, including indicators of: 1. accessibility and location; 2. access to restrooms; 3. waiting for service; 4. ease of purchase; 5. hours of operation.

As it is extracted from the code 194 "complicated access", the fact that the Pousada is located at a certain distance from the BR 101 highway can make it difficult for tourists to access the Pousada faster, which can have an influence on the negative evaluation of tourists. However, the location of the inn is the reason for positive evaluations by other tourists, which justify the fact that is in a reserved place, in front of the beach, far from the concentrations/agglomer-ations of the city of Baia da Trai^ao. The other indicators of the category of Access were not identified in the comments. The low rating can be explained from the comments that the inn has difficult access, as shown in Figure 2.

Environment category

The environment category is related to the ambience of the place visited, namely: lighting, decoration, temperature, acoustics, and comfort perceived by visitors. The category included indicators for: 1. Temperature and acoustics; 2. Comfort. In the analysis of the comments extracted from the TripAdvisor website, the Environment category was mentioned once through the Temperature/acous-tics indicator and 44 times through the Com-fort/Tranquility indicator, as shown in Figure 3.

Considering that the Environment category refers to the atmosphere where the customer receives the service and that, in this case, as it is a place that offers cultural tourism activities, the tourist deals directly with the environment and spaces where the activities are developed. In the survey, forty-four comments referred to this category, which is a reason to highlight it, being corroborated by the Ministry of Tourism (2010), where tourism products need to show comfort, creativity, overcome limits and provide pleasant experiences.

Figure 2 -Semantic Network-Access category Source: Extracted from ATLAS t.i.

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Figure 3 - Semantic Network - Environment category

Human element category

The human element category is related to human aspects in service delivery processes. The indicators belonging to this category are: 1. Presentation of the service; 2. Attention from the guide; 3. Service; 4. Trust in the guide; Regarding the comments extracted from the website, of the 05 indicators of the Human Element category, only 03 were mentioned: knowledge of the guide, service, and attention according to Figure 4, having the Human Element network, 17 coded comments.

Considering that the Human Element category reflects all interactions between people during the provision of the tourist service, although the comments were positive, the amount was lower than other categories -to mention environment, reveals that this category doesn't have the greatest prominence and significance for tourists. Thus, a point for reflection is indicated, since serving well is to be attentive to the processes and to all the factors included in customer service (Kotler, 2000). In tourism, this concern must be even greater, as interactions are multiple and dynamic, where the perception of the service offered to tourists is built during each moment of their experience (Da Silva et al., 2018).

Experience category

The Experience category concerns the level of emotions provided and felt by the tourist. This category is comprised by the Learning, Entertainment, Evasion and Aesthetics indicators. The Experience category was the category with the highest number of comments coded and categorized as Experience, as shown in Figure 5.

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Figure 5 - Semantic Network - Experience category Source: Extracted from ATLAS t.i.

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The vastness of options available in the locality can be used in a planned way by the host, making tourists spend more time staying at the Pousada, enjoy a greater number of activities and, consequently, generate more income for the locality.

Security category

The Security category concerns physical, mental, and financial security, perceived by tourists, being linked to the zeal and care of the destination for its tourists (Mondo, 2014). The category has only one indicator, Safety, being reported in only two lines in the comments, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 -Semantic Network -Security category Source: Extracted from ATLAS t.i.

The concern with security in tourist destinations has been much discussed, as tourism is affected by criminal practices, which tend to drive away visitors who seek safe environments as destinations, as reinforced by Soares Junior (2007). In the case of the object of study because it is geographically located in a place far from the city, the importance of this category is reinforced, even with this specificity, tourists felt physically, financially and mentally safe - due to the nature of the immersion experience.

Technical Quality category

The category of Technical Quality is related to the quality that the consumer receives during the consumption of the service, it is the real moment of the interaction between the tourist and the people who provide the service. This category is comprised by the following indicators: 1. Prices; 2. Weather; 3. Maintenance; 4. Signage; 5. Technology; 6. Cleaning; 7. Variety of activities; 8. Carrying capacity.

The category presented six indicators that were mentioned in the comments, namely: prices, technology, carrying capacity, climate, cleanliness, and variety of activities, as shown in Figure 7.

Also due to customs and the distance from technological devices, the Pousada does not have many options, as mentioned in n. 63 "take cash, as there are few places that accept cards and there are no ATMs in the city". Considering the interests in tourism development in the region, it is necessary that technologies, especially financial transactions, be offered to tourists.

Figure 7 - Semantic Network - Technical Quality category Source: Extracted from ATLAS Li.

Sustainable Development category

The last category analyzed is Sustainable Development, it is not part of the TOURQUAL Model, but was suggested for inclusion in this research, due to the nature of the object of study. Cultural tourism is a type of tourism that has been discussed from a relational point of view with the sustainable development, mainly because tourism is an excellent tool for economic and social development, through culture itself, an element allied to tourism (De Oliveira; Mederios, Terra & Quel-has, 2012). The relationship between tourism and culture must be carefully aligned with the receiving community, as this is the channel that has the capacity to offer satisfactory conditions to sustainably maintain and preserve the cultural legacy that needs to be safeguarded (De Oliveira;

Quelhas, 2012).

In the comments, the Environmental Preservation indicator was mentioned in five passages, as shown in Figure 8, and it is interesting to note that according to tourists "the hotel industry grew consciously, without harming the environment" - n. 151; "beautiful coastline very well preserved" - n. 175.

The best evaluated category was experience and the category with the lowest evaluation was technical quality, with the greatest need for managerial concern with the indicators included in this category.

The homogeneity of the data and the proximity of the evaluation to the maximum level of satisfaction can be explained by the very specific public that consumes the evaluated services and by the fact that cultural tourism in this place is a pioneer in the State of Paraiba, and there may not be possibilities of comparing it to other inns. Although the inn was compared to others in the region, this is the only one to offer accommodation with cultural immersion.

Final Considerations

The general objective of the study was to analyze the perception of tourists about the quality of services offered in a cultural tourism attraction in Paraiba. Forthis, indicators of the TOURQUAL Model were analyzed to assess the quality perceived by tourists who have already stayed at the inn studied.

The main findings reflect that the type of tourism offered, of cultural immersion in the Potiguara ethnicity, presents itself in a pioneering, innovative and sustainable way, since there are no records of locations with similar characteristics. Although all categories were highly rated, it is worth mentioning Experience and Technical Quality, with the highest and lowest ratings, respectively. Regarding the Experience category, the results reinforce the tourist potential of the destination, supported by the extremely positive evaluation by tourists. Considering that the experience in tourism comprises the level of emotions provided and felt by the tourist, this element configures the main characteristic of the destination studied here: the cultural immersion in the Potiguara ethnicity.

Regarding the Technical Quality category, although the evaluation was the lowest, when compared to the other categories, the average was still satisfactory. However, comments extracted from the site suggest that tourists feel the need for better infrastructure. The reality of an infrastructure below expectations is understood by the local characteristics, since the Natives of the destination have barely changed their original customs, in addition to the fact that the city itself does not have sufficient structure for the potential of the destination studied.

The category of Sustainable Development presents an important contribution, due to the nature of the destination studied. The host, for having training in environmental management, seeks to sensitize visitors about the importance of environmental preservation and the responsibility of each social actor on environmental impacts. The category reinforces the importance of concern with aspects that can cause damage to localities and reinforces the benefits of cultural and environmental tourism that are far from mass tourism.

The pioneering study presents theoretical and practical contributions. Theoretical, as it opens paths in literature, starting from studies to evaluate the quality of service in a destination where tourism is not yet solidified, highlighting the lack of these locations, but highlighting the potential of these destinations. Conducting research in previously unexplored locations offers researchers a greater scope in the discussion of results and findings. Furthermore, the study suggests the inclusion of variables not contained in the TOURQUAL Model, emphasizing that research in tourism and in social phenomena in general, always deserve an evaluation and reassessment of the realities studied. Thus, the proposition of these variables reinforced that although the Model is already validated and widely studied, it can be improved, considering its application, especially in locations where tourism is not yet perfectly developed and planned. In addition, the fact that the methodological choice was between the quantitative and qualitative approaches reinforces that both approaches enrich the research, since the comments complement the numerical evaluations and help to translate aspects that the numbers alone would not bring evidence.

Practical contributions, subsequently through this study, a series of action plans and tourist development plans for the locality can be identified. Here, the extreme need of local public bodies to offer subsidies for local tourist development is reinforced, where almost all the residents are indigenous. Tourism can work in the region as a two-way street, since the activity has the potential to disseminate Baia da Traigao at a national and international level and, on the other hand, tourist activities of this nature helpto preserve the rich cultural heritage of the locality.

The lack of information on the data from tourists who have already stayed at the Pousada was one of the limitations found for data collection. Otherwise, it could be considered that this study could have reached a greater numberof tourists. The tourist profile, being very specific, may have contributed to the data not showing so many variations, which would allow for a richer analysis.

As suggestions for the continuity of the study, since science is always in constant evolution and updating, the development of new studies in other inns or attractions is suggested, to understand the perceptions of tourists who only stay and those who choose to stay in the locality to live a cultural immersion experience. In addition, the application of the model with the category of Sustainable Development is suggested in locations with different tourism and at different levels of development.

The suggestion is also valid for the development of similar research, which involves the evaluation of services from the perspective of other social actors, especially in cases of community-based tourism.