Experience on country brand website and the formation of tourist des-tination image: a study in Iceland

Abstract

The research aims to verify if the experience with country brands website influences the image and attractiveness of a touristic destination in the consumers’ minds as also in their intention to visit the destination. A pre-test/post-test pre-experimental study with a 30 undergraduate students sample in a university of São Paulo was conducted. The treatment consisted of exposing the subjects to the Iceland official touristic site. The dependent variables were the touristic attractiveness perception and the intention to visit Iceland. The evaluation of the browsing experience was measured using scales of online consumer behavior literature. The two hypotheses were: (1) that positive online experience positively influences the destination image formation and (2) positively influences the intention of visit, were supported by statistical means comparison tests before and after treatment. The content analysis of the open question, performed after treatment, showed the effect that the knowledge acquired by pleasurable navigation have in shaping the image and increasing the intention of visiting a touristic destination.

Keywords

• Imagem de destino turístico. Experiência online. Website oficial de marca-país. Islândia.