Surf tourism is growing in every country with quality waves, rich gastronomy, sun, quality waves and peaceful people.
Several studies have been published proving that surfing and wave riding sports boost local and regional economies. Ask the best surf cities in the world what they've been doing to attract tourism during the four seasons.
Steven Santos, a Portuguese MSc in Marketing student at ISCTE, is preparing a complete study on surf tourism. Santos has created an online survey that will help get relevant data for his final thesis. All surfers are invited to participate and give their opinion.
What is the importance of safety, crowd, quality of meals and accommodation, public access to beaches and reputation of the local surf spots? At the same time, Steven Santos asks surfer which type of wave they prefer: long, high or tubular waves.
Also, the length of the surf trip, the existence of cultural events in the surf destination and the source of the recommendations made before you travel are analyzed variables.
In the end, the research will help identify the preferences of surf tourists and will underline the most important factors for their satisfaction, during a surf trip. Finally, Santos also wants to understand how satisfaction leads to word-of-mouth and has an impact on loyalty, in the surf community.
Collected data will be used to draft recommendations on package tours, for academic and research purposes only. The survey is completely anonymous and you will not be identified or contacted again. However, if you would like to receive the findings of Steven Santos' thesis, please send him an email.