EVENTS AS A DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY FOR TOURIST DESTINATIONS: THE CASE OF ALLGARVE

The Algarve is a region located in the South of Portugal and is mostly known for its sun and sea product. In order to strengthen the Algarve's competitiveness, the Allgarve program was launched in 2007. We intend to analyze the importance of events as a differentiation factor of tourist destinations. Questions like loyalty, satisfaction, and perception about the event's program are the main subjects analyzed. This study uses data from a questionnaire applied to 224 individuals who attended "street artist events" and pop music concerts in the 2011 edition of the Allgarve program. Two main techniques were applied: OVERALS and k-means. Despite its flaws, positive conclusions were reached, and after its five editions, the program was finally able to be linked to the region's image, distinguishing it in a wide range of cultural events and entertainment.