Motivations to visit and image destination of Guimarães: differences between Portuguese and foreign tourists during 2012 Guimarães European Capital of Culture (ECOC)

Guimarães hosted the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) during the year of 2012. This study investigates the differences between Portuguese and foreign tourists regarding the main motivations to visit Guimarães and the retained perceived image of the destination. To achieve that purpose a survey was administered to 390 tourists that visited the city during the cultural event. The results show that tourists who visited Guimarães are relatively young, wealthy, employed and well educated. They are touring around the northern part of the country which includes an itinerary beginning in Porto, and extended to other important neighboring cities such as Braga or Viana do Castelo. The main motivations to visit the city, for both Portuguese and foreign tourists, are its historical heritage and the title of ECOC, the associated cultural events and celebrations that take place during 2012. However, these items were more valued by foreigners than Portuguese tourists. Using a factor analysis the tourists’ perceived attributes of Guimarães were described in four dimensions: “material heritage”, “intangible heritage”, “cultural performance”, and “sport and education”. Although foreigners and nationals perceived the tourism attributes of the city differently, the comparison of the mean scores of the four factors across Portuguese and foreigner tourists reveals that the most valued and least valued factors are common to both groups.

The determinants of international equity investment: Do they differ between institutional and noninstitutional investors?

In this paper we investigate whether the determinants of international equity investment differ between investors with different degrees of sophistication. For this purpose, we analyse and compare the determinants of international equity investment of institutional and noninstitutional investors from 20 OECD countries (US not included) in the period 2001-2009. The results show that there are significant differences in the determinants of international equity investment between institutional and noninstitutional investors. In particular, noninstitutional investors tend to exhibit a more pronounced preference for equities of geographical nearby, contiguous and more transparent countries than institutional investors. The preference for more developed equity markets and the contrarian behaviour are also significantly more pronounced for noninstitutional than for institutional investors. These results support the argument that international equity investment of less sophisticated investors is more affected by information costs and familiarity than that of more sophisticated investors. Moreover, business cycles exert an influence on international equity investment decisions of both institutional and noninstitutional investors.

The role of cultural mega events in the enhancement of city’s image attributes: differences between engaged and attendee participants

In a time of fierce competition between regions, an image serve as a basis to develop a strong sense of community, which fosters trust and cooperation that can be mobilized for regional growth. A positive image and reputation could be used in the promotional activities of the region benefiting all the stakeholders as a whole. Mega cultural events are frequently used to attract tourists and investments to a region, but also to enhance the city’s image. This study adopts a marketing/communication perspective of city’s image, and intends to explain how the image of the city is perceived by their residents. Specifically, we intend to compare the perceptions of residents that effectively participated in the Guimarães European Capital of Culture (ECOC) 2012 (engaged residents), and the residents that only assisted to the event (attendees). Several significant findings are reported and their implications for event managers and public policy administrators presented, along with the limitations of the study.

The determinants of international equity and bond investment

The purpose of this research is fourfold. First, to investigate whether the determinants of international equity investment differ between investors with different degrees of information, experience and sophistication. For this purpose, the determinants of international equity investment of institutional and noninstitutional investors from 20 OECD countries, in the period 2001-2009, were analysed and compared. The results show that there are significant differences in the determinants of international equity investment between institutional and noninstitutional investors. Particularly, noninstitutional investors exhibit a more pronounced preference for equities of geographical nearby, contiguous and more transparent countries than institutional investors, suggesting that the effect of information costs and familiarity on international equity investment is stronger for less informed, experienced and sophisticated investors. Moreover, the preference for more developed equity markets and the contrarian behaviour are more severe for noninstitutional investors. Hence, the heterogeneity of institutional and noninstitutional investors in international equity investment is not negligible and therefore should be taken into account. Second, to investigate whether the determinants of international bond investment differ between investors with different degrees of information, experience and sophistication. For this purpose, the determinants of international bond investment of institutional and noninstitutional investors from 20 OECD countries, in the period 2001-2009, were analysed and compared. The results show that there are few significant differences in the determinants of international bond investment between institutional and noninstitutional investors. Particularly, the preference for bonds of more transparent countries and the return chasing behaviour are more pronounced for noninstitutional investors, whereas the preference for bonds with lower risk diversification potential is more pronounced for institutional investors. Hence, not only the results for international bond investment do not allow to support (or reject) the argument that information costs and familiarity are more important for less informed, experienced and sophisticated investors, but also they are contrary to the idea that financial variables, namely return and risk diversification, are more important for more informed, experienced and sophisticated investors. Third, to investigate whether the determinants of international equity investment differ from the determinants of international bond investment. For this purpose, the determinants of both international equity and bond investment of institutional and noninstitutional investors from 20 OECD countries, in the period 2001-2009, were analysed and compared. The results show that, although the effect of information costs on international equity investment tends to be stronger than on international bond investment, the differences between assets are not usually statistically significant, especially when the influence of financial variables is taken into account. Hence, it is not possible to conclude that international equity investment is much more information intensive than international bond investment, as suggested by Gehrig (1993) and Portes, Rey and Oh (2001), among others. Fourth, to investigate whether the flight to quality phenomenon is also observable in international investment and whether the flight to quality phenomenon is more pronounced for more sophisticated than for less sophisticated investors. For this purpose, a two-factor and three-factor ANOVA models, respectively, were applied to the international equity and bond investment of institutional and noninstitutional investors from 20 OECD countries in the period 2001-2009. The results suggest that the flight to quality phenomenon is also observable in international investment, as a change from business cycle of expansion to recession causes investors to significantly decrease the average weight invested in more risky assets (equities) and increase the average weight invested in less risky assets (bonds). The results also show that the variation on the average weight assigned to each type of asset, due to changes in business cycles, is significantly stronger for institutional investors than for noninstitutional investors, thereby suggesting that the flight to quality phenomenon is more pronounced for more sophisticated than for less sophisticated investors.

Cultural mega-events and the enhancement of a city's image: differences between engaged participants and attendees

A city’s image can serve as the basis upon which to develop a strong sense of community. This, in turn, fosters trust and cooperation which may attract tourists and investment, and drive regional economic growth. One strategy to enhance a city’s image is to host cultural mega-events. This study focuses on Guimarães, one of the European Capitals of Culture of 2012, and adopts a marketing communication perspective to explore issues of city image. The objective of the study reported was to understand whether images of Guimarães improved after it hosted the cultural mega-event. To attain this goal, we compare the perceptions of residents who participated in the event (engaged participants) and attendees. Several significant findings are reported and their implications for event managers and public policy administrators are presented, along with the limitations of the study.