The effect of Architectural Representation in Cyberspace in the Formation of the Destination Image

Purpose: Our aim was to understand the tourists' mental image of traditional accommodations in cyberspace, and to explain the role of place representation in these cyberspace and design a model for it. Methodology: This research is an interpretive type and is based on grounded theory. We collected the research data through in-depth semi-structured interviews with ۳۲ tourists, experienced tour guides, content production experts, and managers of traditional residences and field observations. We applied Corbin and Strauss's innovative grounded theory to analyze the data and present the final theory. Based on this method, we drew the research findings through open, centralized, and selective coding and presented them in a paradigm model consisting of three dimensions: conditions, strategies, and consequences. Findings: The findings include nine sub-categories: cyberspace, place-based representation, and cultural tourism, the geographical base of destination, managerial factors, tourist, place evaluation, interaction and exchange, and promotion of architectural tourism. The cyberspaceted experience of place is the main category of this research that includes sub-categories. A conceptual model was designed to explain the relationships between categories. Originality: This study is one of the primary research in architectural tourism, which investigates the effect of traditional accommodations representation in cyberspace on the tourist destination image. Recognition of the effective architectural components in the representation of the buildings was rendered by explaining the formation of tourists' mental image of the traditional accommodations of Iran in cyberspace. Based on this study, tourism professionals and architects can understand tourists' perceptions and needs of traditional accommodations in cyberspace.

کلیدواژه ها:

Destination Image ، Cyberspaceted experience of place ، Architectural Representation ، Cyberspace ، Marketing