THE EFFECT OF IMAGES ON WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR TICKETS TO TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to measure consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for tickets to tourist attractions that they have never previously visited, after viewing images of the tourist attraction on Instagram and other media. It evalutes the possible effects of images on the young peoples’ willingness to pay for tickets, to three tourist attractions in each of the five countries most visited by Brazilians in 2017: the United States, Spain, Argentina, France, and Portugal. The sample included 400 Brazilians who had never travelled abroad before. First, a pilot study was carried out with 60 university students aged between 18 and 35 years who had never traveled abroad, asking them a single question: “What is the minimum and maximum amount you would be willing to pay for each of the tourist attractions presented?” Two weeks later, the same question was applied to 400 university students with the same profile. After answering the question, they were invited to look at some images of the attractions and then answer the same question again. The results showed that for most of the attractions, the “image” enhanced their WTP. However, for 20% of the attractions the opposite effect was seen. The results suggest that image makes an important contribution for the public and private sectors, when used in tourism marketing.

KEYWORDS:
tourist attractions; tickets; willingness-to-pay; advertising