Leading tendencies nas TIC do turismo

: a restauração portuguesa no mundo online : o caso MyRestaurant

Abstract

Tourism is one of the most important industries of the World which determines large part of the economical sustainability of the destination countries. Aggregator of numerous activities, it is noticeable a dependent set of sub-sectors that ensures its viability. Among others, the sub-sector of the restaurants industry is worthy of special attention, if in one hand it guarantees the subsistence of the tourist, on the other hand and as the largest representative of the product Gastronomy and Wines, it can be assumed as a relevant issue of distinction for the tourist experience. With the introduction of the new technologies in tourism activities, ICT and Internet, which were and are constantly attentive to changes and motivations that encourages tourism flows, led to the appearance of a new consumer who is more independent, flexible and more experienced. Technological developments, in particular those introduced by Web 2.0, were a starting point of a new communication paradigm for online social relations in which the user in addition to its traditional role as a receiver, assumes an active voice in the dissemination of knowledge, sharing information and experiences. New online tools such as the website, social media and online platforms became the leader in mediating communication of business companies with their customers. Restaurants sector should therefore invest in their retraining and adopt a new and better communicational tool bringing them closer to technological society. Therefore, based on a holistic view of the restaurants industry and gastronomy in tourism, is the aim of this thesis to investigate the main trends in communication technology in this area, in particular through the presentation of a case study – MyRestaurant, while being an online tool to support management (particularly at the communication and information level) of the restaurants industry and Portuguese cuisine.

Date of Award	20 Mar 2015
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Carlos Manuel Martins da Costa (Supervisor) & Nuno Jorge Cardona Fazenda de Almeida (Co-Supervisor)