Explaining the gap in the image of tourist destinations through the content of and exposure to secondary sources of information

Abstract

This work focuses on studying how secondary information sources that tourists have encountered before visiting a destination influence the gap in the image formed pre and post visit. For this purpose, (1) 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 them, was proposed; and (2) a model explaining how different types of information sources and their perceived quality influence the image gap was empirically validated. The results show that the greater the number of high-content information sources consulted through active searching, the lower the gap in the cognitive image. In contrast, low-content information sources consumed through passive exposure generated a greater gap in the cognitive image. Furthermore, the degree to which these secondary information sources, actively sought, were perceived to be of quality negatively influenced the gap in the cognitive image, whereas the level of perceived quality of those sources to which tourists are passively exposed positively influenced the gap in the cognitive image.