Data for this study were collected from German travel consumers at the ITB
Travel Trade Fair in Berlin, Germany. The subsequent study empirically tested
the influences of information source and travel experience on the perception of
Northern Ireland as a safe place. In addition, the influences of information
source and travel experience were tested in relation to the perception of
Northern Ireland as a travel destination. Some sources of information about
Northern Ireland were found to have a positive influence on perceptions, while
one (direct mail) had a negative influence on the perception of Northern Ireland
as a safe place. The only aspect of travel experience that had a significant
influence on the perceptions of travel consumers was whether respondents had
visited Northern Ireland before.
The eventual premise that was examined was the effect that these previous two
perceptions might have on a German travel consumer’s behavioural
intentions toward visiting Northern Ireland in the future. The model developed
by Lennon et al. in 1999 depicts these relationships. The study supported the
influence of the travel consumers’ perceptions of Northern Ireland as
a safe place and as a German travel destination on future behavioural intentions
to visit Northern Ireland.
Titterington, A. J.
and
Lennon, R.
(1996)
‘The potential for the development of sustainable tourism in
Northern Ireland — The challenges facing the Northern Ireland
Tourist Board’
, Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol.
2, pp.
119-134
.
Bord Failte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board have combined their booths
into one ‘All-Ireland’ booth for the past ten years. In
addition, they created a new logo in 1997.
8.
International Tourism Exchange (1999) ITB-Berlin 1999, general information
and brief description on http://www.itb-berlin.com/vers2/topics/details/content1-70.htm
9.
Van Raaij, W. F.
(1986)
‘Consumer research on tourism: Mental and behavioural constructs’
, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 13, pp.
1-9
.
10.
Moutinho, L.
(1987)
‘Consumer behaviour in tourism’
, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 21, No.
10, pp.
5-44
.
11.
van Raaij, W. F.
and
Francken, D. A.
(1984)
‘Vacation decisions, activities and satisfactions’
, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 11, pp.
101-112
.
12.
Josiam, B. M.
and
Hobson, J. S. P.
(1995)
‘Consumer choice in context: The decoy effect in travel and tourism’
, Journal of Travel Research, Summer, Vol.
34, No. 1, pp.
45-50
.
13.
Urry, J.
(1990)
‘The “consumption” of tourism’
, Sociology, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp.
23-35
.
14.
Mazanec, J.
(1982)
‘Practising the causal approach to consumer behavior model
building: An example from tourism research’
, Der Markt, No. 84, pp.
127-133
.
15.
Lennon, R.
,
Weber, M.
and
Henson, J.
(1999)
‘German consumers’ perception of Nothern Ireland as a
tourist destination’
, Travel and Tourism Research Association 1999 European Conference
Proceedings, Dublin, Ireland, October.
16.
Murray, K. B.
(1991)
‘A test of services marketing theory: Consumer information
acquisition activities’
, Journal of Marketing, January, No. 55,
pp.
10-25
.
17.
Ibid.
18.
Hawkins, D. I.
,
Best, R. J.
and
Coney, K. A.
(1998) ‘Consumer Behaviour; Building Marketing
Strategy’,
McGraw Hill, New York
.
19.
Opperman, M.
(1999)
‘Predicting destination choice — A discussion of
destination loyalty’
, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 5, No.
1, pp.
51-65
.
20.
Hawkins et al., ref. 18 above.
21.
Opperman, ref. 19 above.
22.
Soloman, M. R.
,
Surprenant, C. F.
,
Czepial, J. A.
and
Gutman, E.
(1985)
‘A role theory perspective on dyadic interactions: The service encounter’
, Journal of Marketing, Winter, No. 49,
pp.
99-111
.
23.
Peter, J. P.
and
Olson, J. C.
(1996) ‘Consumer Behavior and Marketing
Strategy’, 4th edn,
Richard D. Irwin, Chicago, IL.
24.
Zeithaml, V.
,
Berry L. L.
and
Parasuraman, A.
(1981) ‘How customer evaluation processes differ
between goods and services’, in
Donnelly, J. H.
and
George, W. R.
(eds) ‘Marketing of Services’,
American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL
, pp. 191-199.
25.
Zeithaml, V.
,
Berry, L. L.
and
Parasuraman, A.
(1993)
‘The nature and determinants of customer expectations of service’
, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol.
21, No. 1, pp.
1-12
.
26.
Zeithaml, V.
and
Bitner, M. J.
(1996) ‘Services Marketing’,
McGraw Hill, New York
.
27.
Ibid.
28.
Zeithaml et al., ref. 24 above.
29.
Zeithaml et al., ref. 25 above.
30.
Burnett, S.
and
Moriarity, J.
(1998) ‘Marketing Communications’,
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
.
31.
Murray, ref. 16 above.
32.
ITB was for a total of five days; but only three of these were for consumers,
the other two were set aside for trade visitors.
