People’s perception of incoherent information in distribution channels on travel destinations
Author
Szostak, Agnieszka Anna
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2013
Abstract
Turismeindustrien udsætter rejsende for mange, ofte uoverensstemmende informationskilder om destinationer. Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan mennesker opfatter inkohærens på tværs af distributionskanaler, og hvordan sådan uoverensstemmelse spiller sammen med turismens immaterielle karakter, oplevet risiko og tillid. Med afsæt i teorier om perception, kommunikation, destinationsbilleder og repræsentationers cirkulation udforsker studiet, hvordan tidligere viden, egne erfaringer og eksterne stimuli former individuelle fortolkninger, og hvordan aktører som marketingsfolk, andre turister og destinationer påvirker disse processer. Undersøgelsen bygger på kvalitative fokusgruppeinterviews med femten deltagere fra seks europæiske lande i alderen 23–34 år. Resultaterne viser, at når information virker usikker eller upålidelig, vægter folk egne erfaringer samt venner og familiers meninger højest og anvender eksterne distributionskanaler som sekundære kilder. Uoverensstemmelser mellem kanaler virker generelt mindre afskrækkende for rejsebeslutninger end et totalt fravær af information. Deltagerne foretrækker at danne deres egen forståelse frem for blindt at støtte sig til reklamer og andre eksterne materialer. Afhandlingen peger på muligheder for videre forskning og understreger betydningen af at overvåge og koordinere destinationskommunikation i takt med at rejsendes behov og forventninger udvikler sig.
The tourism industry exposes travelers to many, often inconsistent, sources of information about destinations. This thesis examines how people perceive incoherence across distribution channels and how such inconsistency interacts with the intangibility of tourism, perceived risk, and trust. Guided by theories of perception, communication, destination image, and the circulation of representations, the study explores how past knowledge, prior experiences, and external stimuli shape individual interpretations, and how actors such as marketers, other tourists, and destinations influence these processes. The research uses qualitative focus group interviews with fifteen participants from six European countries, aged 23–34. Findings indicate that when faced with uncertainty or information that seems unreliable, people prioritize their own experience and the opinions of friends and relatives, using external distribution channels as secondary sources. Incoherence between channels is generally less discouraging to travel than a complete lack of information. Participants prefer to construct their own understanding rather than depend blindly on advertisements and other external materials. The thesis outlines avenues for further investigation and underscores the importance of monitoring and coordinating destination communications as travelers’ needs and expectations evolve.
[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]
Keywords
Documents