Comportamiento del turista culturalun análisis desde la perspectiva del marketing experiencial

Zusammenfassung

JUSTIFICATION: The tourism sector is one of the primary sources of memorable experiences because, by its very nature, tourism generates knowledge, fun, feelings, and emotions among individuals. These experiences influence tourist behavioral intention, which can deliver benefits for destinations. Furthermore, analyzing tourist behavior can help destinations to devise strategies and actions that improve the visitor experience. Within this analysis of consumer behavior, spatio-temporal behavior is of particular relevance. AIM: The aim of this thesis is to analyze how the spatio-temporal sequence of a visit to a cultural destination is configured and how this configuration influences the tourist experience. The main antecedent of both these variables is tourist motive for visiting the destination in question. The study also analyzes the impact of a) tourism product quality and b) the possibility of sharing experiences via social media on the tourist experience. Finally, the consequences of the tourist experience for the destination are studied in terms of destination image and tourist intention to sustain loyal behaviors (revisit and recommendation intention). METHODOLOGY: A sample of 299 tourists is used, recruited at the beginning of their visit to a cultural destination (Granada). A preliminary survey is conducted, and subsequently the tourists are each given a mobile phone that they must carry with them throughout their stay. The device is programmed to record the different zones of the city they visit, the length of the visit to each zone, and the order in which the zones are visited. At the end of their stay, the sample participants are contacted again to collect data measuring the overall experience and its consequences. RESULTS: Two broad segments of tourists were identified, based on their spatio-temporal behavior at the destination: one that chose to visit more zones of the city with a relatively high concentration of cultural attractions, and one that preferred stay mainly in the area where the hotel is located. Within the former segment, three sub-segments were identified, all of which generated a superior (more positive) tourist experience, compared to the segment that stayed in the hotel zone. The tourist experience can also be explained in terms of the different motives for undertaking tourism—particularly intellectual and social. Furthermore, the tourist’s motives for the visit shape their typical behavior once at the destination in terms of visit cultural orientation and number of zones visited. Other variables, such as the expected tourism product quality or the use of social networks to obtain or share information during the stay, also positively influenced the experience of the cultural tourist. IMPLICATIONS: This doctoral thesis has implications for the fields of management and academia and for society as a whole. Among other contributions, it offers guidelines for improving the cultural tourist’s experience via the effective configuration of visit routes at the destination. In social terms, offering tourist activities that are sustainable (by not overloading the capacity of destinations, routes, or attractions) and seeking to generate memorable experiences for tourists should be objectives shared by all professionals in the tourism sector, and the results of this research can contribute to these aims. Finally, despite the obvious relevance of the route followed by the tourist in generating their experience, there are very few extant studies dealing with this relationship, primarily due to the methodological difficulties involved, and no studies offering the degree of detail provided in this thesis. In this case, the study takes into account not only the different zones of the city visited but also the sequence in which they are visited and the time taken to complete the visit to each zone.