DOMESTIC LEISURE TOURISM DESTINATION CHOICE AND WHO DO WE TRUST: THE CASE OF BULGARIA
DOMESTIC LEISURE TOURISM DESTINATION CHOICE AND WHO DO WE TRUST: THE CASE OF BULGARIA

Summary/Abstract: Destination marketing and branding are key factors that considerably influence the destinationchoices for both domestic and international visitors. Understanding the dynamics of how tourists selectwhich destination to visit is crucial for destination planners, tourism organizations, and businesses. This isparticularly so in the context of domestic tourism, in which it is imperative to study the factors thatinfluence consumer choices and more specifically, the factors that influence domestic destination choices.This paper explores the influence of different information sources when choosing a destination in thecontext of the domestic tourism market in Bulgaria. The study is based on the data collected from anational representative survey (N = 1,003) which utilizes a two-staged random sample stratified bydistricts and the residence place type. The findings suggest that the most influential information sourcefor destination choice for domestic visitors is the opinions/suggestions of friends and relatives. This is thecase for all age groups, regardless of their gender, marital status, number of children, education levels,income, or place of residence. The findings of the study provide valuable insights into the existentliterature on domestic tourism and destination marketing. Although particularly focused on the uniquedynamics of domestic tourism in Bulgaria, the findings of the study can be useful to tourism stakeholdersat destinations with a developed domestic market, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe

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