| Resumo: |
The present research sought to find how cosmopolitanism influences the formation of destination image in consumer’s mind. To accomplish this objective, foreign people, who know São Paulo, were questioned. This destination was chosen by its national and international importance, due to its structure, economy, size, population and by its intense cultural and business life. This work reviewed the state of the art on cosmopolitanism, in order to understand this construct and how it is presented and manifested. One characteristic of the cosmopolitan personality is the desire to know other cultures, besides his native one. This leads to an intention to travel through different regions, countries, to deepen in other societies and try to blend into it. Thus, one has particular characteristics, which influence the way one lives and consume products. The destination image is a construct used in studies about tourism and by marketing professionals that want to develop a certain place as a trip destination. To understand how cosmopolitanism influences the destination image, two approaches were used, in order to accomplish better results (triangulation). Interviews were carried out with professionals from the destination marketing organization of São Paulo, as well as personal interviews with foreign tourists that were analyzed using content analysis method, followed by a survey with 205 foreigners. Data was analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistics, such as ANOVA and structural equation modeling. The result showed that cosmopolitanism and income influences the affective aspect in the destination image formation. It also showed that the stay purpose influenced the cognitive aspect, and that the length of stay influenced both aspects of the destination image. |
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