The Formation of a Tourist Destination's Image via Information Sources: The Moderating Effect of Culture
Authors: Frías, D.M., Rodríguez, M.A., Alberto Castañeda, J., Sabiote, C.M. and Buhalis, D.
Journal: International Journal of Tourism Research
Volume: 14
Issue: 5
Pages: 437-450
eISSN: 1522-1970
ISSN: 1099-2340
DOI: 10.1002/jtr.870
Abstract:The present study aims to outline the growing importance of culture in the field of tourism. More specifically, it highlights culture as a moderating variable in pre-visit tourist destination image formation, through the information sources utilized by the tourist in the selection of a holiday destination (that is, travel agencies alone vs. travel agencies together with the Internet). For this purpose primary research used a multicultural sample of 371 tourists from different European countries. The results show that the formation of a destination's pre-visit image amongst tourists, based on the information sources they use, is moderated by the level of uncertainty-avoidance of their national cultures. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Source: Scopus
Preferred by: Dimitrios Buhalis