The purpose is to identify and explore the tourism consumption of corporate events through team building activities, providing answers and solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises. This research presents a mixed methodology through the qualitative study of the behaviour of companies towards their consumption and the quantitative exploration of the benefits and satisfaction created by corporate events, supported by the analysis of the market offer of team building activities. The results obtained and the associated discussion form and answer the critical questions of the research, designed as a theoretical platform for future research dedicated to the theme, has opened the way to the relevance of market segmentation and the importance of linking the concepts of tourism and team building. From the discussion of the potential of the team building product as a tourism product, it was concluded that, from a holistic point of view, tourism benefits from the consumption of these products and offers answers to the demand of this market.
Top1. Introduction
Tourism is one of the fastest-growing economic sectors and a promoter for economic growth and development, with a significant impact on employment, job creation, investment, infrastructure development and social inclusion (WTO, 2021, p. 21). Under the dominance of the marketing paradigm, in recent decades, several authors have advocated the need to segment the tourism market, directing the increase in tourism consumption according to the motivations of each one (Levitt, 1982; Pires et al., 2011; Smith, 1995; Fereira et al., 2022). As a result, tourism becomes a combination of products encompassing several partnerships with various industries. Thus, from the marketing perspective, tourism market segmentation allows the creation of several niches that classify the visitor according to their travel motivation (Cracolici et al., 2006; Ferreira and Sousa, 2020; Novais et al., 2018; Valls et al., 2006).
As a result of this fragmentation, the market consolidates the tourism supply to meet external demand to promote the emergence of new products that solve the emerging tourism demand (Díaz-Pérez and Bethencourt-Cejas, 2016; Dolnicar et al., 2018; Lin et al., 2019). Currently, tourism is seen as a driver of satisfaction and positive experiences for visitors of internal and external origin, bringing benefits to businesses and the well-being of employees, as well as to the communities where these activities are developed (Barcan, 2018; Ferreira, 2022; Ferreira et al., 2022; Miguel et al., 2014).
However, it is unreal that tourism benefits only its stakeholders in a business context. In another view, tourism provides satisfaction and experiences to other industries, which see the tourism market as a service provider (Boléo, 2019). Increasingly, the internal marketing of companies views the tourism offer as a way to foster the satisfaction of their employees, using tourism products as motivators and solidification connections between them, pursuing to meet their personal and professional needs (Andrade, 2011; Cummings and Worley, 2009). To this end, various stakeholders provide events in reply to this demand, adapting tourism products with the so-called “team building activities”, moulding them to the achievement of the motivational objectives outlined by the human resources management (HRM) of each company (Boléo, 2019). In turn, the use of these activities has become an implicit need in the daily lives of companies, which, given the increased competitiveness and difficulty in the business world, consider it crucial that their employees are motivated and dedicated to achieving the company's objectives (Bogdanov and Zazykin, 2003; Duffy and McEuen, 2010; Marques and Santos, 2017).
Companies progressively seek credibility and trust with their employees, which permanently implies having a quality performance of excellence (Balta, 2018). Furthermore, the industry has already realised that organising events with a vital tourism component introduces diversification elements and immersion factors in the local community that enrich the participants' experience and make them different from all the others (Frye et al., 2019; Lings and Greenley, 2010).