Frågeställning: Hur kan DMOs arbeta för att förstå turisternas förväntningar inför en destinationsupplevelse? Syfte: Syftet med undersökningen är att skapa en förståelse för turisternas förväntningar, både hur de skapas och hur de kan påverka turistens uppfattade destinationsupplevelse. Vi vill även kunna förklara hur turister kan delas in i olika målgrupper baserat utifrån vad de efterfrågar av en destinationsupplevelse. Slutligen syftar undersökningen till att kunna förklara för DMOs hur de kan arbeta med hänsyn till turisternas förväntningar i framtida destinationsutveckling. Metod: Uppsatsen har haft en deduktiv ansats med både ett sambandsbaserat och beskrivande syfte. Undersökningen innefattar både kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder. Datainsamlingen genomfördes via fokusgrupp, enkät och dagböcker. Resultat: För att förstå hur turistens förväntningar bildas bör en DMO dela in turisterna i målgrupper baserade på vilken destinationsupplevelse de söker. Olika segment bildar sina förväntningar på olika sätt vilket gör det viktigt att differentiera sin kommunikation till turisten för att kunna påverka förväntningarna. Begränsningar: Undersökningen av DMOs är på regional nivå, vilket begränsar undersökningen till att inte uttala sig om DMOs på nationell eller lokal nivå. Turisterna vi har undersökt är fritidsturister som är bosatta i Sverige, vilket gör att undersökningen inte är gällande för affärsresenärer eller turister som är bosatta utanför Sverige. Teoretiskt och praktiskt bidrag: Det teoretiska bidraget består av att vi har kunnat konstatera att Parasuramans et al. (1985) gapmodell är applicerbar på en destination, med vissa anpassningar till turismlitteraturen. I slutsatsen presenteras den teoretiska modell som illustrerar gapen för en destination. Det praktiska bidraget består av rekommendationer som en DMO kan följa för att steg för steg överbygga gapen. / Research question: How may a DMO be organized to enable an understanding of tourist expectations before the destination experience? Purpose: The purpose with this study is to create an understanding of tourist expectations, including how they are conducted and how the expectations may influence the perceived experience of the destination. The aim of this study is also to explain how tourists may be diverted into segments by what a tourist demands of a destination experience. This thesis will end in recommendations according to how a DMO could be organized to gain a greater knowledge of tourism expectations that will be useful for future innovation at the destination. Methods: The research approach of this thesis is deductive, with both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The data collection consisted of a focus group, a survey and personal notebooks. Results: To be able to understand how a tourist creates expectations of a destination a DMO must segment their tourists into different segments, depending on what kind of experience they are looking to find at the destination. Expectations are created in different ways by different segments. This increases the importance for DMOs to differentiate their marketing communications to the tourist and thereby influence their expectations. Limitations: The thesis is not applicable for national or local DMOs, since the data is collected from regional DMOs. It is neither applicable for business travellers nor tourists that live outside of Sweden, seeing that the population and sample of tourists lives in Sweden and are leisure travellers. Theoretical and practical contribution: The conclusion of this thesis makes us confident that Parasuraman et al. (1985) gap model may be applied at the complexity of a destination, with certain adjustments from the tourism literature. The conclusion made us able to create a theoretical model. The practical contribution of this thesis is the recommendations that will enable a DMO to step-by-step overcome the complexity of a destination.

Problematisation: Credible information on social media affects potential tourists when chosing where they will travel. Thus, the competition for the attention of potential tourists makes the credibility aspect important to explore further. Perceived credibility in social media online could be more questioned than offline sources since user generated Websites usually do not go through a review. Additionally, the understanding of online credibility is still limited, when it comes to UGC. There has not been much research emphasising the perceived credibility on user generated content. Furthermore, there seems to be a disagreement about perceived credibility existing in social media, which makes it an interesting topic. Purpose: The aim of this paper is to investigate which dimensions are positively influencing perceived credibility online and if the information on TripAdvisor was seen as credible. The purpose is also to explore if there is a relationship between perceived credibility and the dimensions user generated content, authority, communication, updates and design. The purpose of this dissertation is also to add knowledge about how potential tourists perceive credibility when they view a Website designed for tourists. Methodology: This study used a paper-based questionnaire, answered by students at Kristianstad University. Limitations: This dissertation has two main limitations. Firstly, it only examines one social media, TripAdvisor. Secondly, participants in the sample were only chosen from Kristianstad University and under certain circumstances, which made the sample limited. Conclusion: The result showed that there was a positive relationship between user-generated content, authority, communication, updates and design and perceived credibility. However, the dimension advertisement was rejected. Thus, five of six hypotheses were not rejected and had a statistical significance (P= < 0.01). Only hypothesis four, advertisements, did not have statistical significance and was rejected. The total perceived credibility for TripAdvisor’s Website, in this dissertation, was that it was seen as fairly credible.

Literature within the tourism discipline emphasized the importance of destination image due to its effect on both supply and demand sides of marketing. Gunn’s seven-stage model illustrated the process and evolution of image formation of a destination has been used as a guiding model in the study. The purpose of this study is to explore the coherence and the difference between pre-conceived images and post-images of China holding by the North American tourists. Purposive sampling was adapted to reach the target participants who fit the study criteria. Qualitative data were collected from eight interviews with participants from Canada and America. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were conducted during October and November 2011. Essences were developed from the analysis of the interview data by conducting initial coding and focused coding. Findings of the study were concluded into three parts: before visiting China; actual travel experiences; and after visiting China. Consistent with Gunn (1972)’s seven-stage theory, findings of the study showed a clear change between pre-conceived images and post-images holding by participants. Images involved from simple, vague, mythical, and stereotypical to comprehensive, realistic, and holistic. Moreover, advantages and problems of the international tourism in China emerged with the progress of data analysis. The findings reflected the perceptions of China in the eyes of North American tourists; consequently, it could contribute to the future tourism practitioners who aim to promote China to be a desirable international tourism destination.

In this thesis a discursive examination of backpacker attitudes towards and use of a New Zealand tourism website, based on their own accounts of their experiences of using the web for travel, offers a contribution to existing knowledge about human computer interaction. The study enhances current understandings of the processes through which backpackers interact with travel websites by including the social and personal context of their experience. Analysing interview data on user attitudes and behaviour, it argues the importance of taking into account the use-context of human computer interactions. Placing participants’ interaction with the newzealand.com website within themes of imagination, emotional engagement, and authenticity in experience allows an exploration of such context. It demonstrates that backpackers’ engagement with websites is shaped not only by their material circumstances but by their attitudes to travel in general, their assumptions and feelings about New Zealand as a place, and as a site for their own experiences. The research applies usability techniques and methods to observe and inquire into tourists’ experiential interaction with a destination website. The emotional, affective, reflective and behavioural aspects of tourists’ decision making processes are studied in order to show how websites, as a medium of communication, evoke users’ travel imaginings. In this way the study contributes to research into tourists’ web-related motivation and behaviour. In addition, by applying discursive, performative, and experiential lenses drawn from travel research to human-computer interaction, it augments current research techniques for studying the social effects of virtual technology and web related human behaviour. The thesis explores themes of representation of place and self in relation to backpacker experiences and frames them in terms of authenticity and trust. It argues that in navigating places, backpackers seek authentic experiences and that this notion of authenticity is mediated by their encounters with other travellers, locals, tourism providers, as well as books, television and the Internet. Websites as travel information sources shape how backpackers think about their tourist experiences; to do this effectively, what the site presents must resonate with the backpacker’s views on how they think those experiences should be.

Thesis (M.T.P. 1979) from the Department of Architecture, University of Adelaide.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-106). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.

This work deals with the analysis of destination marketing of Visegrad countries, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. The analysis assumes an outline of the issues of tourism with emphasis on destination, destination management and marketing concept of a tourist destination. The practical part contains an analysis of the current routing destination marketing in each country at national level. At work we are dealing with selected tools of marketing concepts countries, based on the official marketing plan of the national tourist center of nation states. The last section is dedicated to the mutual project of these countries called European Quartet, which is aimed to promote Visegrad countries in overseas countries and overseas markets. In personal way of marketing communication we are focused on four selected markets, the USA, Russia, Japan and China, which have the most significant impact on visit rate.

The diploma thesis addresses the problem of destination marketing on multinational level - the existence of "destination Europe" in particular. It is divided in to parts concerning destination marketing management, branding, activities of the EU and the ETC in the area of destination marketing and the perception of Europe as a brand by foreign visitors. The last chapters sum up the current state and draft a way these institutions should be heading for higher effect. The main used methods are SWOT, PEST and SEO analysis and a survey amongst foreign visitors. The most important findings include a fact that these visitors in certain cases do perceive Europe as a single destination regardless the low efficiency and impact of ETC's activities.

The authors have during the spring semester 2011 studied the subject destination development during a political crisis, focusing on Tunisia. At the beginning of 2011 the country was in an uncertain political situation when the revolution of the Tunisian people occurred. This created massive demonstrations on the streets, and resulted in the current government's resignation. More effects of the revolution has been seen in a drastic decline of inbound tourists in the country, which in turn affected the country's population and economy. From this point on Tunisia as a destination needs to recover to once again become attractive to tourists. Further revolutions in neighboring countries such as Libya, have contributed to the tourists' reluctance to travel to Tunisia. From this point of view, the tourist operators stand in front of a challenge in how they best can highlight the destination, and the positive impacts the revolution has contributed with. The purpose of this paper is from a destination development perspective examine how organizations in Sweden work to regain tourists to Tunisia after a period of decline. To answer this purpose, the authors use of these following questions: How have the revolution of the people in the spring of 2011 affected the tourism industry in Tunisia? How do the various tourist operators in Sweden relate to the revolution of the people in Tunisia 2011? Could it be that this revolution in spite of demonstrations and unrest contributes to something positive for the tourism industry in Tunisia? The methodology used in this paper is qualitative in nature, where a number of respondents in Sweden were interviewed to seek answers to selected questions. A constructivist approach was applied in which reality is seen as constantly changing and is created by ongoing processes that change over time. Destination Development, image and recovery are the key concepts covered in the theoretical framework. Destinations may occur at various stages in its life cycle. This is to portray how a destination can evolve to stagnation and at worst die out. Tunisia is in a phase of decline after the revolution in which people are waiting for tourists to return to the country. The results of the survey show that the revolution in 2011 has affected the tourism industry in that it has contributed to a decline of inbound tourists. The country´s image has been affected and there is now a challenge for organizations in Sweden to improve this image to regain tourists from Sweden to Tunisia. The vision for Tunisia as a destination is that despite the great social changes create a stable and democratic society, and highlight the revolutionary message of a new, more open Tunisia, which in turn creates attractiveness for the tourism industry.

The driving force of the tourism industry is represented by the attractions at destination. Travelers have no reason to visit destinations that have nothing to offer. Tourism research has demonstrated that attraction studies are necessary in the understanding of the elements that encourage people to travel. Achieving the goal of measuring destination attractiveness requires the understanding of its components and their relationships. There are two ways of examining attractiveness: by studying the attractions or by exploring the attractiveness perceptions of those who are attracted by them. As competition among tourism destinations increases and tourist funding decreases, it is of vital importance to understand how the inventory of existing attractions at destination relates to the perceptions that travelers have of those attractions. Tourism literature provides only a limited number of studies addressing destination attractiveness. Those studies focus exclusively on the measurement aspect of attractiveness and ignore the analysis of its components. The purpose of this study was to generate a new measurement tool for destination attractiveness and to examine the relationship between its elements. The principles of regional analysis, tourism planning, and tourism attraction research provided the foundation for a measurement and hypothesis testing model. This model is based on the assumption that tourism is a system, which is a function of supply and demand interaction. Four attraction dimensions - tourism services and facilities, cultural/historical, rural lodging, and outdoor recreation - were found to represent the attractiveness portfolio of the destination. According to the findings, no correlations were found between demand and supply importance of the four dimensions. Among demand representatives, market segments perceive and value attractions in different ways. The study explored the attractiveness evaluation of eight tourist regions and discovered correlations between demand and supply indicators. Additionally, it was established that the overall regional measures of demand and supply destination attractiveness explain the economic benefits of tourism in the same region. Among the contributions of this study is the development of a model that allows the simultaneous empirical assessment of demand and supply indicators of destination attractiveness. The findings of this study provided important implications for the development of robust tourism plans, promotional strategies, and resource allocation policies. / Ph. D.