Armação dos Búzios / RJ: a imagem do destino turístico

In Brazil, due to its extensive coastline and number of beaches, sun and beach tourism stands out as one of its main segments. In this context, the municipality of Armação dos Búzios, Rio de Janeiro, stands out as a well-established destination in this segment, which motivated this investigation and the central question of this study: what are the main factors that shape the image of Armação dos Búzios as a tourist destination, according to the perception of its visitors? Therefore, this article aimed to analyze the image of the tourist destination Armação dos Búzios, Rio de Janeiro, from the perspective of its visitors. It is a case study that used an online questionnaire as a data collection instrument, with questions based on Pereira's (2019) Multidimensional Scale of Destination Image. The demographic characteristics of the respondents, their motivations for choosing the destination, and their evaluation of their perception of the visit were investigated. The results indicate positive points of the city of Armação dos Búzios as a tourist destination, such as cost-benefit, accessibility, safety, quality of attractions, and cuisine. However, the research also points to the need for strategic actions to combat the seasonality inherent to sun and beach tourist destinations, aiming to strengthen the image of Armação dos Búzios as a viable year-round destination and not just in summer.This study contributes not only to the understanding of the image of the city of Armação dos Búzios, but the results obtained here provide insights for the development of strategies that can enhance the tourist experience