An analysis of the shopping behaviour of international tourists: The case of Porto

Abstract

Shopping tourism, usually known as souvenir shopping, has been recognized as a crucial element in the tourist experience. This importance is noticed for its economic and social impacts in tourism destinations. However, this topic is neglected by the scientific community. The main purpose of this paper is to present a portray of tourist' shopping behaviour in Porto. In order to achieve this goal, an overview of the main approaches and findings by the literature is presented, which underpin the research model. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire survey applied to 278 tourists. The empirical findings reinforce the conclusion of previous studies by confirming that variables, such as shopping motive, age, income, household size, accommodation type, length of stay and travel activities, help us to forecast the tourist shopping behaviour.