The role of information sources in touristic consumers' choice

This paper analyses the main sources of information used by touristic consumers, as well as their importance in the process of destination choice. The research in this article presents a comparison of the use of information sources by two groups of domestic tourists, one visiting a Spanish town in 1998, and the other visiting the same place in 2002. In this research, it is possible to observe different consumer behaviours when searching for the information necessary for their selection of tourist destination and/or product. The main aim here was thus to determine which information sources are used more frequently, and consequently to be able to recommend improvements in promotion plans and strategies.