Perception on projected image of a touristic destination: Stavanger in the eyes of potential Spanish tourists

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to explore the perceptions that potential visitors have about Stavanger based on official information found online about the destination. The objective of this work is to obtain a broad idea of what is the image perceived by potential Spanish tourists regarding Stavanger. This work has been planned and conducted taking into considerations its usefulness and relevance for both the Tourism industry and the scientific community. On one hand, it generates practical and useful information to the touristic industry; on the other hand, it contributes to the scientific community through the research of tourists’ perceptions and destination’s image, using Marketing, Image and Tourism theories and applying them to the findings. The thesis focuses specifically on Spanish individuals who have not visited the city, and the subjects of the study were interviewed in Spain, between March and May 2016. The interviews conducted included the combination of word elicitation and photo elicitation as tools for obtaining participants’ perceptions on specific assets of the city, and unstructured conversation in order to capture generic impressions about the city of Stavanger based on written and visual information. The findings point out to a consensus on the perception of Stavanger as a natural and cultural destination. Its nature, gastronomical possibilities and history are the most positively commented aspects of the city, while, as a contrast, the title of the city as the European Capital of Petroleum is an asset regarded negatively by the participants in this study. Overall, all participants except one showed predisposition to visit the city. Finally, the discussion of this work is focused, among others, on the pre-existent presence of Norway in participants’ minds, which might have influenced how they perceived Stavanger as a Norwegian city; the lack of previous knowledge of the city and the possible difficulties that it might have when competing with other cities regarding its cultural offer.