New trends in information search and their influence on destination loyalty: Digital destinations and relationship marketing

Abstract

Increasingly destination management organizations are engaging with consumers through digital media, communicating with them in a long-term relationship. Numerous studies have shown that social media influence the intentions of travellers to visit one destination over another. However, the literature has paid little attention to the relationship between information-seeking behaviour and the development of destination loyalty. In that sense, this study analyses how tourists are consulting more digital information and using several different information sources, which influences the time tourists are sharing at a few destinations, becoming more loyal to multiple destinations at the same time (horizontal loyalty). However, this topic has not yet been stressed in the tourism context. This study therefore attempts to show that: (a) the difference in behaviour when it comes to the use of several information sources, depending on tourists' profiles (nationality and socio-demographic characteristics), and (b) although there are no significant differences regarding the use of the different social media in terms of destination-loyal and horizontal-loyal tourists, the impact of the different sources of information on loyalty (behavioural and attitudinal) is different. Social media has a greater impact on attitudinal loyalty. To achieve those goals, a wide survey with 6964 questionnaires was developed, considering tourists from 17 European countries. Those results are useful in making decisions concerning digital development strategies and loyalty programs to tourist destinations.