Image, satisfaction, and continued usage intention in wine tourism through digital content marketing

Abstract

In the last decade, the rapid development of technology has increased the importance of the digital presence of service providers in wine tourism. The use of new digital technologies can help wine regions and service providers to improve the visitor experience and enhance the destination image. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of digital content marketing (DCM) in wine tourism and explore the importance of its dimensions on wine tourists’ perceived image, satisfaction and behavioural intentions. The paper is based on desk and field research. An analysis of previous research was conducted and a survey was formed based on the previous research. The empirical study was conducted with a sample of 241 Croatian respondents, who have visited wine cellars and wine events in Istria in the last 5 years. Hypothesis testing was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The research results showed that usefulness, entertainment and quality of digital content had a statistically significant influence on perceived image, while entertainment and quality of digital content were significant predictors of overall satisfaction of wine tourists. Furthermore, a positive influence of perceived image and overall satisfaction with digital content on intention to continue using it was found. The study contributes to the understanding of wine tourists’ behaviour in the digital environment and leads to implications that can be used for the development of digital marketing strategies to improve the wine tourism offer and to better respond to the contemporary demands of wine tourists.