ONLINE VS OFFLINE: DOES CITY IMAGE MODERATING COMPARISON BETWEEN INFLUENCE PERCEIVED BLOG INFORMATION AND REFERENCE GROUP TOWARD TOURIST VISIT INTENTION?

Angga Pandu Wijaya

Abstract


Abstract: This research aims to investigating the phenomenon of perceived blog information, reference group, image of a city, and tourists’ intention to visit particular places. Perceived blog information is the online source, while the offline one is reference group. This is the first study comparing on online and offline information influence tourists’ intention to visit particular places. Samples are obtained through an electronic questionnaire involving 177 respondents and analyzed by using PLS-SEM. The results reveal that perceived blog information and reference group significantly influence image of the city and the intention to visit tourism destination. Image of the city moderate the relationship between independent and dependent variables partially. The influence of perceived blog information is greater than the reference group. It is indicates that online information is more influential. The stakeholders of tourism sector can utilize blog in increasing the number of visitors.

Keywords: Blog; Reference Group; Visit Intention; City Image


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References


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