Rural-cultural excursion conceptualization: A local tourism marketing management model based on tourist destination image measurement

Excursions to small, rural villages rich with historical heritage and architectural harmony are popular in Spain and other similar countries. This study presents a conceptualization and definition of this sort of tourism in rural-cultural destinations. In addition, it introduces a combination of variables that define the image of the destination, the characteristics of these types of trips, and characteristics of the rural-cultural tourist. One of the main results of this qualitative and quantitative empirical research is that it identifies a set of variables that span the cognitive and affective components of tourism. These cognitive–affective components mainly address the towns' historical and cultural heritage, the cleanliness and peaceful atmosphere of the location, and the treatment and service the visitor receives. These components show a high internal consistency and they highly correlate with the overall image of the travel destination. The profile of the typical tourist is an educated adult who is very loyal to these locations, has experience in these types of trips, uses the opinions of relatives and friends as the main source of information, and is mainly motivated by a desire to disconnect, relax, and visit new places. The results of this study suggest two things. First, the development of a reliable scale with which to quantitatively assess the image of this type of destination could be used as a management tool. Second, the development of an image formation model of a rural-cultural destination would also incorporate the in situ emotional response.