Search results

The purpose of this paper is to present the governmental perspective on the effects of the economic crisis on Portugal as a touristic destination.

The main political decisions related to tourism were analysed and related to the sector’s present performance.

Portugal’s public and private entities were able to use the crisis as an opportunity to increase the quality and competitiveness of the tourism sector and, as result, grow more than its main competitors.

This paper concludes that there are still some challenges that the tourism sector faces, like the decline of the internal market and the level of prices, but overall, the sector has been showing signs of resilience that shall allow it to overcome its main issues.

This paper aims to introduce the articles in this issue and explain the pertinence of the strategic question.

A brief context for the strategic question is provided, as well as the issue alignment and a content analysis of the articles selected.

A contextualization for the economic crisis affecting Portugal is presented and its impact on the Tourism Industry discussed. The articles range from a series of research studies on Portuguese Tourism, demonstrating its evolution over the past three years (2011-2013), and various viewpoint/position papers reflecting the perspectives of the main stakeholders of this industry and how they analyze the context of crisis that is affecting the country since 2010.

The articles selected for this issue contribute to shed light on an important phase of Portugal’s history, allowing for an understanding of the impacts of the financial crisis on domestic tourism and sectors such as restaurants and hotels, as well as the government’s perspective on the evolution of the industry over past three years. The information presented and analysed reveals some interesting lessons, namely, that a financial crisis may not affect directly the growth and development of the tourism industry.

The present theme issue analysis the context of financial crisis that Portugal is facing and brings together, for the first time in a single publication, the views of major stakeholders of the Portuguese Tourism Industry.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of the bodying agents (erythritol, sorbitol, xylitol and polydextrose) and their mixtures on the preparation of mixed Brazilian Cerrado fruit preserves (marolo, soursop and sweet passion fruit).

The simplex mixture design was used for product optimization and the preserves evaluated by physical, physicochemical and sensory properties. The research data were analyzed using regression equations on SAS University and exploratory analysis by principal component analysis and parallel factors techniques on Sensomaker software.

The results show that erythritol and polydextrose bodying agents should not be used as pure components because they provoked changes in the properties of the final product and negatively influenced the sensory attributes. While the high concentrations of xylitol and sorbitol provided better sensorial acceptance, being considered, therefore, good substitutes for sucrose.

This research has shown it is feasible to use bodying agents in the preparation of mixed Brazilian Cerrado fruit preserves without added sugar.

The development of mixed preserves could increase population access to the Brazilian Cerrado fruits. In addition, sugar-free preserves are a viable alternative for adding value to the product and satisfy all the consumers.

The combination of properties of two or more fruits and use of bodying agents can improve sensory, physical and physicochemical characteristics of the final product. However, there are technological challenges to evaluate in the preparation of mixed Brazilian Cerrado fruit preserves without added sugar.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an initial step for understanding the sensory perception and purchase intent of Brazilian olive oil consumers. It also investigates the sensory perception and purchase intent for a Brazilian-made olive oil.

The sample, consisting of 115 surveyed consumers, is described demographically. The aspects related to sensory analysis and purchase intent associated with the key attributes indicated by the consumers are then discussed. Finally, consumer segmentation is carried out to characterize the consumers in more detail, in terms of both demographic and predictive variables for olive oil consumption.

Consumers displayed a sensory perception that is coherent with olive oil characteristics, thus being able to distinguish three different olive oils from a compound oil sample. Regarding purchase intent and preference, consumers showed mixed behaviors, which was not entirely convergent with the identified sensory aspects. Therefore, it was possible to segment them into three distinct groups: utilitarian, naïve, and expert consumers.

Brazil is an emergent olive oil market, which can create both research and business opportunities for the country. This preliminary study contributes to the advancement of this research subject in the non-traditional markets for olive oil.

The native species from western Mato Grosso do Sul provide fruits with unique sensory characteristics and high nutrient concentrations. Tropical fruit consumption is increasing due to the growing recognition of the nutritional value. These fruits play important roles through the marketing of their products and nutritionally through their consumption. All fruits are edible and are used in the food industry and well sensory accepted. The purpose of this paper is to verify the physicochemical characteristics, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity in fruits collected in the Cerrado and Pantanal biomes from western Mato Grosso do Sul.

The fruits of baru, bocaiuva, jatobá, jenipapo and pequi were collected. To characterize them, longitudinal diameter, transverse diameter, total soluble solids, acidity, pH, ascorbic acid, total phenolics, antioxidant capacity, total sugar, glucose and macro and micronutrient contents analysis were performed in triplicate.

Jatobá presented the highest values of vitamin C. For phenolics, baru and jatobá stood out; bocaiuva presented the highest results for sugars, while jatobá was superior for glucose. The fruits with the highest antioxidant capacity, DPPH, were pequi and baru, while via ABTS the jatobá was the highest. Baru presented higher levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, zinc and iron. The bocaiuva presented the highest results for potassium and sulfur, the jatobá calcium and manganese. Jenipapo stood out with its boron content. Magnesium presented superior results in the baru, jenipapo and bocaiuva. The results reinforce the diversity of physicochemical characteristics.

The increase of the flow of available information, together with the growth of multicultural influences, the search for wholesome diet and the diversity of flavors and colors make these fruits important regional development tools. Their characteristics encompass national and international exploration potential that arouse consumer interest and contribute to the pursuit of innovations. In addition, the native species mentioned above provide fruits with unique sensory characteristics. Their consumption is increasing in the markets due to the growing recognition of their nutritional value. Therefore, these fruits play important roles, economically, through the marketing of their products and nutritionally through their consumption.