Archeological Tourist Destination Image Formation: Influence of Information Sources on the Cognitive, Affective and Unique Image

Abstract

A destination’s image is a critical factor in tourists’ perceptions and evaluations of said destination. This paper analyzes the formation of the tourist destination image of Segóbriga Archeological Park, a cultural destination located in the province of Cuenca (Spain) that holds great heritage value. To this end, the paper adopted a multidimensional approach and used PLS-SEM to analyze the destination image, taking into account not only its cognitive and affective components, but also the unique image component. The latter has received less attention in the literature and is a novel factor among cultural destinations. The results show that this component is essential to the overall image of an archeological destination, but is not influenced by information sources.