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The power of local communities in the destination image formation process
Bel Llodrà Riera. Fundació Balear d'Innovació i Tecnologia.SpainMaría Pilar Martínez Ruiz. Universidad Castilla-La Mancha. Spain
Ana Isabel Jiménez Zarco. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. SpainIN3. Internet Interdisciplinary Institute
5th International Colloquium on Place Brand Management4-5 September 2015, Aosta, Italy.
Main objectives of the research
To analyse how cognitive, affective and unique images are formed.
To analyse perceptions about the destination of tourists who know residents.
Taking into account the influence of Internet and User Generated Content (UGC) on image formation.
The destination image formationThis research...
… is important for the economy of the region
Global Image
Motivations
Information sources
Unique Image
Affective Image
Cognitive Image
Recommendation Intention
Visit Intention
(Beerli y Martin, 2004)
(Qu et al., 2011)
The destination image formation with the Internet
ICT have brought a new communication paradigm:
DMO, suppliers, travellers and residents can publish information about a tourist destination very easy
Social Media and Web 2.0. have facilitated the publication of content about a tourist destination
Content published by unofficial sources is consulted by potential travellers
Previous approaches (I)
DMO and stakeholders contribute explicitly to managing destination images (Miralbell et al., 2010)
Local residents also can have important impacts on destination perceptions (Schroeder, 1996; Bornhorst, Ritchie, & Sheehan, 2010; Martínez, Penelas-Cortés, & Rodríguez, 2012)
Information sources influence the image perception of a tourist destination (Beerli and Martin, 2004).
Previous approaches (II)
Potential tourists use Internet (Buhalis and Law, 2008).
The cognitive, affective and unique dimensions of the image influence a repeat visit and intention to recommend the destination (Qu et al., 2011).
Web platforms as information sources affect how brand image has traditionally been managed (Christodoulides et al., 2011).
Webs to obtain and publish travel content
Webs, chats and forums (Gelb and Sundaram, 2002).
Search engines (Buhalis, 2003).
Blogs (Pan et al., 2007).
Online reviews (Litvin et al., 2008; Papathanassis and Knolle, 2011).
Virtual travel communities (Casaló et al., 2010).
Social media and social networks (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010; Huertas, 2012).
Framework: The Web and social media as information sources
Internet is one of the main sources of tourist information (e. g. Buhalis, 1998; Wu et al., 2008).
The destination image perception is influenced by the online searches (Biswas, 2004).
TGC contributes to create the destination brand (Munar, 2011).
Motivations are a dynamic concept and can vary according to the person or market segment (Kozak, 2002) and influence image destination (Beeli and Martin, 2004).
Proposition
We propose to analyse whether the value assigned to various attributes that form images of tourist
destinations differ between tourists who know residents and those who do not know them.
We specifically analyse the role of the Internet in the process of building an image; it acts primarily as a source of information that disseminates, transfers,
and communicates content and a relationships channel between tourists and residents.
Hypotheses
The destination image of local community could influence organic and induced images of non residents (Schroeder, 1996):
H1 The utility of some information sources and Web Platforms varies when tourists know residents
H2 Some motivations vary when tourists know residents
H3 Some attributes of cognitive, affective and unique images are better valued when tourists know residents
H4 The intention of visit and recommendation is higher when tourists know residents
Constructs
Information sources and Web platforms constructs (14 + 19 = 33 items). E.g.: OMD, travel guides, films, books, friends,... Search engines, web of suppliers, social networks, blogs,...
Motivations construct (32 items). E.g.: relaxation, discovery, enjoying, learning, gastronomy, proximity, nature, cultural activities, shopping...
Cognitive image construct (11 items) and quality (9 items): E.g.: sun and sea, sports, infrastructures, friendly local people,...
Affective image construct (37 items): E.g.: pleasant, interesting, pretty, friendly, original, charming, quiet,...
Unique image construct (14 items): E.g.:Hiking through stone paths, experiencing the work of famous artists,...
Research: Technical details
Universe International and national tourists and residents in Mallorca
Sample unit People over 18 who use Internet
Information collecting method Online questionnaire
Sample error 4,21%
Level of reliability 95,00%
Sample procedure Probabilistic method
Sample design The information was collected via a Web using an online questionnaire. The link was sent by e-mail and was published in social media.
Number surveyed 541 valid surveys out of 543
Period of information collection 19 March to 2 May, 2013
Sample
%
RESIDENCE
Mallorca 23,8
España (outside Mallorca) 34,4
Outside España 41,8
KNOW RESIDENTSNo 28,7
Yes 71,3
AGE
<= 24 13,3
25 - 44 61,9
45 - 64 20,9
65+ 3,9
GENDERMan 46,0
Woman 54,0
GROSS FAMILYINCOME
From 0 to15.000€ 20,9
From 15.001 to 30.000€ 27,7
From 30.001 to 45.000€ 21,3
From 45.001 to 60.000€ 13,9
More than 60.000€ 16,3
User Generated Content
How often do you publish or share information about tourism and travel on the Internet? (%)
Methodology
Variability of average. ANOVA analysis
Levene's Test: homogeneity of variance or homoscedasticity
Kolmogorov–Smirnov test: testing for normality of the distribution
Kruskal–Wallis Chi-Squared one-way analysis of variance. Non-Parametric Test.
H1: Information sources
Only 5 of 33 items have significant differences.
H2: Motivations
12 of 32 motivations have significant differences
H3: Cognitive Image
11 of 20 attributes of cognitive image have significant differences
H3: Unique Image
12 of 14 attributes of unique image have significant differences
H3: Affective Image
11 of 37 attributes of affective image have significant differences
H4: Global Image and behaviour
Conclusions (I)
The Internet emerged as the most useful source of information about Mallorca, followed by friends and acquaintances.
Websites describing rental accommodations and DMO webs received better scores from visitors who did not know any local residents
knowing someone who lives in Mallorca increases the importance assigned to certain visit motivations, such as the weather, enjoying nature and outdoor activities, proximity, and travel for personal or business reasons.
Conclusions (II)
The segment that expresses the most value for natural areas consists of people from outside the island who know some residents.
With regard to the island’s unique image, knowing residents increased the average scores on all these variables.
Mallorca seems slightly more pleasant, nice, and relaxing if tourists know some residents, as well as less gloomy, ugly, and unpleasant; however, it appears more exciting if they do not know anyone.
Conclusions (III)
Residents thus generally improve the emotional image, possibly because visitors who know residents may tend to transfer their affection for the resident to the affective image of the island.
Finally, knowing residents influences assessments of the general image of Mallorca, as well as intentions to visit for the first time and to revisit.
Tourists who know residents of a destination develop better perceptions of that destination’s image.
Recommendations
Local and national DMOs should attempt to engage residents in disseminating information about tourist attractions, which can expand the information available to tourists.
Implying residents as communication channels with tourists can help the destination attract more visitors.
Challenges: Internet is an ideal channel for dissemination
From mass communication to relational communication
From copyright to copyleft and creative commons
Implicate all destination stakeholders, inclusive local communities, in the communication plan
