La influencia de las webs oficiales de turismo en la imagen de las provincias andaluzas

Resum

One of the main functions of touristic promotion is projecting a desirable image of the destination. This is why an image of the touristic destination is an indispensable tool to compete in an increasingly international and sophisticated market. Recently, one of the most popular tools that offers information to tourists is the Internet, which according to recent studies is ranked as the first among the means used by travelers to decide on a destination. The government and particularly tourist boards or provincial agencies with similar functions, use official touristic destination websites as the main tool to stimulate the desire to visit the sponsored destination. The success in fulfilling its role in promoting and shaping the image of the touristic destination of Andalusia�s provinces mainly depends on the way the information is transmitted over the Internet. This study aims to understand the characteristics and the influence that official tour ist websites have on the perception of the image of Andalusia�s provincial destinations. The main objective of this study is to test how the access to these websites can influence the evaluation of the destination. Analyzing the differences between the original image and the induced image of the destination, it is possible to infer an influence from the touristic information provided by the websites.