Abstract
Cultural tourism is a fundamental element for the economic development of some local communities. There are many factors that can influence the success of this type of tourism, but any action or strategy implemented should be closely tied to ensuring tourist satisfaction. This research focuses on a heritage destination of an archaeological nature, and aims to analyse the destination image formation as well as the influence of this image on tourist satisfaction. The results show that the affective component is more relevant than the cognitive in the image of this destination formed by the tourist. The data were collected by means of a closed-ended questionnaire administered to tourists aged 18 and over, and were analysed using P.L.S.-S.E.M. methodology. These analyses provide useful information for the planning of future tourism marketing strategies; to that end, recommendations have been made regarding how to improve the provision of services and the management of these types of heritage sites.
Highlights
The importance of tourism in Spain is reflected in the number of foreign tourist arrivals to this country; according to data collected by the Ministry of Energy and Tourism (2018), this figure surpassed 82 million in 2017, which represents an increase of 8.9% over the previous year
Of the many procedures used by various authors to analyse tourism destination image and tourist satisfaction, the method chosen for this study was structural equation modelling (S.E.M.)
There are two main components in S.E.M. models: one is the measurement model, which interprets the relationships between the constructs and their indicators; and the other is the structural model, which specifies the relationships among said constructs (Henseler, 2017)
Summary
The importance of tourism in Spain is reflected in the number of foreign tourist arrivals to this country; according to data collected by the Ministry of Energy and Tourism (2018), this figure surpassed 82 million in 2017, which represents an increase of 8.9% over the previous year. Destination image is a fundamental factor in travellers’ selection of a destination, since it influences their behavior (Gunn, 1972; Gartner, 1994; Bigne, Sanchez & Sanchez, 2001; Carballo, Aran~a, Leon, & Moreno-Gil, 2015) In this context, ‘image’ can be defined as mental concept formed from a set of impressions (Beerli & Martın, 2004): there is a cognitive element to the image created in the minds of tourists that depends on the quality and quantity of available information. The study will explore how the latter influences tourist satisfaction after the visit This conceptual model seeks to fill a gap in the literature regarding the role played by the image of such a specific destination, namely an archaeological site, as no studies to date have analysed image formation in relation to this type of destination. The site was granted the status of archaeological park in order to promote tourism in the area and thereby boost the local economy
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