Assessing pre-travel online destination experience values of destination websites: scale development and validation

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Destination websites, provided by destination marketing/management organisations (DMOs), are central environmental drivers of tourist experiences in the pre-travel phase. DMOs increasingly apply experiential marketing on their websites to support positive online destination experiences (ODEs) and attract tourists. Despite the ongoing scientific debate on technology-driven tourist experiences, research into pre-travel ODEs is still nascent and theoretical knowledge on the nature of ODEs is limited. Particularly, an appropriate measurement tool to evaluate the pre-travel experience value of destination websites is missing. In this paper, we propose a reliable, valid, and parsimonious measure for assessing pre-travel ODEs on destination websites, building on two prior studies. In a quasi field experiment, German millennials (n = 1820) evaluated the ODEs of different real destination websites using an online questionnaire. The ODE scale was developed using principal component analysis based on half of the cases; the other half was used to validate the scale via confirmatory composite analysis. In result, the overall ODE is reflected by two interrelated dimensions: hedonic and utilitarian experiences. Websites with a high level of experiential design yield significantly higher ODE values, supporting the construct validity. Results contribute to the theoretical understanding of the technology-driven tourist experience in the anticipatory phase. Moreover, the developed scale yields a methodological knowledge gain and will help destination managers to evaluate, purposefully review and improve their website designs and contents.

Original languageEnglish
JournalInformation Technology and Tourism
Volume24
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)457-484
Number of pages28
ISSN1098-3058
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 07.12.2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

    Research areas

  • Destination website, Experiential marketing, Online destination experience, Pre-travel phase, Scale development, Scale validation
  • Management studies
  • Tourism studies

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Introduction: Habitual Action, Automaticity, and Control
  2. Turbulente Ränder
  3. Competition in fragmented markets
  4. Where Tasks, Technology, and Textbooks Meet: An Exploratory Analysis of English Language Teachers’ Perceived Affordances of an Intelligent Language Tutoring System
  5. Beyond Structural Adjustment
  6. Explaining Investment Dynamics: Empirical Evidence from German New Ventures
  7. Developing a model of financing for brownfield redevelopment
  8. Leveraging Big Data and Analytics for Auditing
  9. 3D characterization of beta-phases in AZ91D by synchrotron-radiation based microtomography
  10. Disentangling trade-offs and synergies around ecosystem services with the influence network framework
  11. Stakeholder and citizen involvement for Water Framework Directive implementation in Spain
  12. Multi-Professional Support
  13. Work availability types and well-being in Germany–a latent class analysis among a nationally representative sample
  14. Gamification and sustainable behaviour
  15. Impact of different methods of heathland management on the nutrient balance and vegetation dynamics
  16. Small-scale soil patterns drive sharp boundaries between succulent "dwarf" biomes (or habitats) in the arid Succulent Karoo, South Africa
  17. Kinder als Manager
  18. Influence of Effective Two- and Three-Particle Interactions on Atomic Fine Structure in Mixed Configurations (5d +6s)N
  19. New validated liquid chromatographic and chemometrics-assisted UV spectroscopic methods for the determination of two multicomponent cough mixtures in syrup.
  20. Eco product lifecycle management
  21. Bolt load retention and creep response of AS41 alloyed with 0.15% Ca
  22. Mapping social values of ecosystem services: What is behind the map?
  23. Sustainability performance measurement – a framework for context-specific applications
  24. Tetrabutylammonium prolinate-based ionic liquids
  25. Performance Saga: Interview 07
  26. Preventing Depression in Adults With Subthreshold Depression
  27. Singularities and Superintelligence
  28. A web- And mobile-based intervention for comorbid, recurrent depression in patients with chronic back pain on sick leave (get.back)
  29. Integrating sense of place into participatory landscape planning: merging mapping surveys and geodesign workshops
  30. How does economic integration influence employment and wages in border regions?
  31. Surveying the FAIRness of Annotation Tools: Difficult to find, difficult to reuse
  32. The effect of complacency potential on human operators’ monitoring behavior in aviation
  33. INFLEXIBLE COMMODITY PRICES AS A RESULT OF PROFIT MAXIMIZATION - REPLY TO A COMMENT BY MAUSSNER,A.
  34. How Participatory Should Environmental Governance Be?
  35. Comment on "Recent origin and cultural reversion of a hunter-gatherer group

Press / Media

  1. Wer ist schuld?