Third International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to develop and empirically validate a model that allows us to explain how the different sources of secondary information that tourist can be exposed to before visiting a tourist destination influence the gap in image (pre- and post-visit). For this, we have proposed a classification of secondary information sources according to their greater or lesser information content and whether the tourist actively searches for or is passively exposed to the information contained within these sources. Furthermore, in the model of the image gap, we have also taken into account the perceived quality of such secondary information sources. The research has been carried out using a sample of 411 tourists in Tenerife, which represents one of the most important tourist destinations in Spain. The results reflect that the greater the number of secondary information sources with high information content and the less active the search, the greater the gap in the cognitive image. In contrast, sources of low information content and passive exposure generate a greater gap in the cognitive image. Moreover, the perceived level of quality of sources of information which are actively searched for negatively influences the cognitive image gap, while the perceived level of quality of sources to which tourists are passively exposed positively influences the cognitive image gap.