Klenosky And Gitelson's Conceptual Model

TOURISM MANAGEMENT RESUME E-BOOK TOURISM THEORY 3.9 (KLENOSKY AND GITELSON'S CONCEPTUAL MODEL ON THE TRAVEL AGENT RECOMMENDATION PROCESS) Klenosky and Gitelson's Conceptual Model in Travel Agent Recommendation Process Travel agents are an important factor in providing information and recommendations to tourists regarding various tourist products and destinations. Recommendations about where to go, how to go, what to see and what to avoid are important to the success of many tourism businesses. Therefore, it is critical for marketers to better understand the factors that can influence travel agency recommendations. Klenosky and Gitelson (1998) proposed a model that analyzes travel agents' recommendation processes for tourist destinations. This model presents a four-step process: 1. Knowledge, 2. Perception/Evaluation, 3. Intention, 4. Recommendations. These measures are influenced by three main categories of factors: ● Agent knowledge variable ● Destination variables ● Trip/traveler variables. The model assumes that a travel agent must first be aware that a target exists in order to be able to recommend the target. In the model, knowledge about the existence of a destination is seen as a function of two agent knowledge variables: the level of exposure to information about the destination and direct tourist experience. Openness Information includes sources maintained by marketers (printed materials, broadcast promotional materials, etc.), general media sources (newspapers, magazine articles, etc.), and informal sources (friends, relatives, customers, etc.). Likewise, direct experience with a particular destination may include the agent's past experience as a tourist or even trips sponsored by the destination or tour company, also known as familiarization tours (FAM Tours). The second step in the introduction and evaluation process involves the agent's opinion and recognition of the location and its offerings. These emotions can change, for better or worse, over time, depending on what agents learn from the information they receive and their own experiences with the natural and artificial properties of the destination. Destination Recommendations Destination refers to the possibility of recommending a particular type of travel destination. The model shows that these intentions are primarily influenced by perceptions and evaluations of the travel destination. There is a close relationship between the intention to visit a place and the recommendations made about it. The model assumes that the final choice of recommended travel destinations is influenced by recommended travel destinations that develop over time, according to specific trip/travel variables. These characteristics include the type of trip, place of departure, when the trip will take place, suitable modes of transportation available, as well as the budget and time available for the trip (Figure 46). Certain characteristics of tourists can be attributed to various factors, including demographics, marital status, lifestyle, and personal values. A number of studies have attempted to model the relationship between tourist satisfaction and the likelihood of tourists recommending destinations and products (Hui et al., 2007; Lee et al., 2007). Satisfaction with a tourism product is a fundamental prerequisite for recommending it. The process of obtaining satisfaction involves the first three steps of the Klenosky and Gitelson (1998) model: knowledge, perception/evaluation and intention. Although their model assumes that knowledge can be gained either from information sources or direct experience with a tourist destination (or product), direct positive knowledge has the strongest influence on recommendations. Therefore, it is very common to use FAM tours to allow travel agents to personally experience the services offered by hotels, tourist attractions, cruise ships, restaurants and other tourist products and destinations.