The online destination image of the protected area Bicaz Gorges-Hășmaș National Park
Keywords:
online destination image, user-generated content, tourists’ perception, conceptual mapsAbstract
[EN] The purpose of this paper is to analyse the online destination image of the protected area Bicaz Gorges-Hasmas National Park. Four objectives have been formulated, as it follows: (1) analyzing tourists’ visiting behaviour at the destination, (2) evaluating tourists’ appreciation of the different attractions inside the destination and implicitly comparing these attractions, (3) identifying the most emblematic elements of the online image for the analysed attractions and (4) identifying the issues that exist at the destination as perceived by tourists. The analysis of user-generated content from TripAdvisor and Google Maps platforms led to the folowing results for the study area: the National Park is characterised by high seasonality, with the peak season during the summer months; there is a certain uniformity regarding the geographical origin of the tourists who visited different locations inside the National Park; there is a generally positive opinion regarding the destination, which is perceived as ”beautiful”, ”wonderful”, and even ”spectacular”; the issues related to the road infrastucture or to crowdedness (especially around Red Lake) represent the main negative comments of tourists regarding the destination. The results of this analysis can be of practical use in terms of developing future marketing campaigns and for designing strategic plans for solving the identified issues at the destination.
[FR] Le but de cet article est d'analyser l'image de destination en ligne de l'aire protégée du parc national de Cheile-Bicazului Hasmas. Quatre objectifs ont été formulés, comme suit : (1) analyser le comportement des touristes dans la destination, (2) évaluer l'appréciation des touristes des différentes attractions à l'intérieur de la destination et implicitement comparer ces attractions, (3) identifier les éléments les plus emblématiques de l'image en ligne pour les attractions analysées et (4) identifier les problèmes qui existent à la destination tels qu'ils sont perçus par les touristes. L'analyse du contenu généré par les utilisateurs des TripAdvisor et Google Maps a conduit aux résultats suivants pour la zone d'étude: le parc national se caractérise par une forte saisonnalité, avec la haute saison pendant les mois d'été; il existe une certaine uniformité quant à l'origine géographique des touristes qui ont visité différents endroits à l'intérieur du parc national; il y a une opinion généralement positive sur la destination, perçue comme « belle », « merveilleuse », voire « spectaculaire »; les problèmes liés àl'infrastructure routière ou à la surpopulation (notamment autour de Red Lake) représentent les principaux commentaires négatifs des touristes à l'égard de la destination. Les résultats de cette analyse peuvent être utiles en termes de développement de futures campagnes de marketing et de conception de plans stratégiques pour résoudre les problèmes identifiés à destination.
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