Third International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

Despite its importance both to the tourism industry and to destination culture, there are few studies that focus on the museum product. Although museums in recent years have given much more serious consideration to attracting tourists, there is very little understanding of what visitors expect a museum to offer and what makes them satisfied with the experience. Understanding the image formation process as it relates to museums is a key factor for the competitiveness of a destination. This study seeks to provide a deeper understanding of this product. This study introduces the cultural perspective of the destination and then develops a measurement model of the museum image formation process. The model also examines visitor motivations and information sources as conditioning variables. Finally, it studies the effect of visitor image on satisfaction with the museum visitation experience. The results of this study are helpful to improve the marketing actions developed by the destination, integrating the cultural product in the destination management. Managerial implications are discussed.