Perceptions of visitors and local business owners on reasons for visiting the Furniture Hub in Gravatá, Pernambuco

Abstract

The research aimed at investigating the Furniture Center of Gravata (FCG), in Pernambuco, as a tourist attraction, considering the perceptions of two groups of subjects: visitors and local businesspeople. Thus, we sought to identify the main reasons that lead people to visit the Center, its capacity for customer loyalty and, also, recurring problems and possibilities for improvements. Therefore, a series of semi-structured interviews and direct observations were carried out with the subjects. The data and information collected were transcribed; then, coded and categorized through basic qualitative analysis. In summary, the results indicated that the main motivations for visiting the Center refer to the desire to get to know the attraction and/or to shop. Furthermore, people tend to return relatively frequently, so FCG has the capacity to retain visitors. Finally, among the problems and possibilities for improvements, infrastructural deficiencies were highlighted, with emphasis on those linked to accessibility aspects.