Las imágenes en la promoción de los destinos de turismo religioso: el caso de Montserrat = The role of images in the promotion of religious tourism destination: the case of Montserrat

In religious tourism, the quality of the visitor experience depends on several factors. The nature of the visitor’s experience at the holy site is very complex because it is intangible and includes elements such as atmosphere and the spiritual merit of the visit, among others. As several authors hav...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Aulet Serrallonga, Sílvia, Vidal Casellas, Dolors
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2017
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10256/14964
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10256/14964
http://www.raco.cat/index.php/communication/article/view/329792/420406
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Turisme religiós
Religious tourism
Publicitat -- Turisme
Advertising -- Tourist trade
Description
Summary:In religious tourism, the quality of the visitor experience depends on several factors. The nature of the visitor’s experience at the holy site is very complex because it is intangible and includes elements such as atmosphere and the spiritual merit of the visit, among others. As several authors have argued, visitor experience and satisfaction are directly related to the images visitors are exposed to prior to the visit. The image visitors have of a destination will condition not only their expectations but also their behaviour at the site. This image is configured via very different sources, including universal images, destination advertising, literature, television and film, magazines, blogs and websites, social networks, word of mouth and many more. Although sources are not always controllable, as we can see from the above list, it is important to know what image (visual or otherwise) is being conveyed of the destination we are managing so as to be able to influence it (if we wish to modify or reinforce it) and to know visitors’ expectations. In this study, we aim to analyse the image of Montserrat, the most important religious tourist destination in Catalonia, in order to ascertain whether emitted images match received images in the case of religious tourism or whether there is a discordance that may lead to disappointing visitor experiences due to the destination not living up to expectations