The Tourist Image Formation: theoretical itinerary and a proposed operational model

Abstract

According to many authors the choice of destination is the most important moment for thefunctioning of the whole tourism system, and this most significant component it is the touristimage. So here aims to develop a discussion on the formation of the tourist image, highlighting some of the main contributions arising from scholarly research on the subject. Based on the prominence of the tourist gaze as a decisive factor for the affirmation of tourismat the global frame, we discuss the relationship between the destination image and the tourist behavior (static approach) as well as the formation and transformation of the tourist image itself in time (dynamic approach). However, it is argued that the trend of studies on the"tourist destination image" (TDI) part of the false assumption that the tourist would be areflection of Homo economicus, marked by rationalism, utilitarianism and individualism. Inthis sense it is proposed an alternative model – pluralistic and holistic – which seeks to relatethe various stages of image formation in a multidimensional, systemic and processual approach, simultaneously placing the different social agents involved in the tourism system