TOURIST INFORMATION RESEARCH PROCESS: INFLUENCE ON THE TRIP PLANNING AND DECISION MAKING AT DESTINATION

Investigations on information research process have traditionally focused on the tourist's plans before arriving to destination. This research examines the information search process in tourism, distinguishing different periods in the tourist decision process. The results indicate that the sources of information, and the search intensity performed by the tourist to plan the trip, differ from the search and sources used at destination. In addition to that, different targets are presented, in connection to the information sources and the search intensity in the different stages of the decision process. Finally, as a part of the conclusions, some tourism management implications are presented, according to the obtained results.