The influence of key determinants on consumers’ choice in tourism destination

Abstract

This study aims at developing a model that explains the effect of different stimuli types (ST) (i.e. online reviews and advertising) on a tourist’s intention to visit (ITV) a new destination. Two separate studies were conducted to establish and validate the model that consists of stimulus mediators (SM): destination trust (DT) and interest (DI). 113 surveys were obtained in study 1 which focused on the effect of the different stimuli types. Study 2 used the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to explore how advertising could persuade consumers to make purchasing decisions and how tourists could be persuaded to visit attraction sites. 146 surveys were obtained in study 2. Structured equation model (SEM) technique was adopted in the data analysis. The result of the first study showed that advertising has a stronger effect than positive online reviews. The second study showed that peripheral route of elaborate likelihood model has a stronger effect than central route in the context of tourism. That is, peripheral route that could generate a strong spontaneous impact by providing a vivid portrait of what a tourist would experience through an image cue.