Despite the importance of the gastronomic experience for tourists' satisfaction/dissatisfaction, and hence for the competitiveness of tourist destinations, studies focusing on tourists' satisfaction with their gastronomic experience are virtually non‐existent. More importantly, researchers have not yet produced evidence to support a factor structure of gastronomy satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to investigate the presence of a single second‐order factor by developing and empirically validating a second‐order factor analysis model for measuring satisfaction of gastronomic tourists in Portugal. As theorized, satisfaction comprised distinct first‐order factors and a single second‐order factor. The results suggest that gastronomy satisfaction in a tourism setting is a multidimensional construct comprising three factors: ‘gastronomy’, ‘price and quality’ and ‘atmosphere’. Among these three first‐order factors, ‘gastronomy’ was the most important determinant of tourist satisfaction, followed by ‘price and quality’ and ‘atmosphere’.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to understand tourists' acceptance of innovative information technologies by examining the factors influencing the intention to use mobile electronic tourist guides (METG). Design/methodology/approach -This paper developed and tested a model for examining tourists' acceptance of METG based upon Davis' technology acceptance model (TAM). The model considered three antecedents of intention: knowledge, usefulness and attitude. The relationships between them and between these and intention were explored using structural equation modeling. Findings -The findings revealed that tourists' behavioural intentions towards using METG could be raised through attitude by ensuring greater levels of perceived usefulness. Usefulness, in turn, is highly influenced by the tourists' level of knowledge regarding METG. In addition, there was also a direct significant path between knowledge and behavioural intention, suggesting that good levels of knowledge of the technology are a pre-condition for greater usage of METG. Research limitations/implications -This paper suggests that the predictive ability of the TAM in the context of innovations at their early stages of diffusion, that is, when potential adopters know little about them, can be enhanced by incorporating knowledge as an explanatory variable. Future studies could use the full version of the TAM by including other measures of knowledge beyond awareness knowledge, such as how-to knowledge, as suggested by Rogers. Originality/value -This paper adapts the TAM to study the acceptance of technology-based information technologies at their early stages of development. The findings of this study contribute to enhancing our understanding of what influences tourists' acceptance of METG. They can be used to inform local and national strategies aimed at developing Portugal's (and other countries') credentials as digital destinations.

More than 10 years on since the launch of the Internet, there are clear differential levels of adoption of the Internet for purchasing leisure travel across countries. In some countries, such as Portugal, only a minority of travel purchasing is conducted over the Internet. This paper aims to contribute to a greater understanding of adoption of purchasing over the Internet by evaluating the determinants of intention to adopt the Internet for purchasing leisure travel. A number of variables are used to assess which factors influence intention, including the attributes of purchasing over the Internet (relative advantage and complexity), involvement, and the stage in thee-commerce adoption path. Kruskal-Wallis and logistic regression were employed and the results indicated that relative advantage, involvement and stage in thee-commerce adoption path were important predictors of the intention to purchase leisure travel over the Internet, while complexity was not.

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The aim of this research is to understand the role played by social media influencers in consumers’ decision-making processes concerning hotels. To achieve this general objective, the following specific aims were defined: (1) to understand the profile of the micro-influencers that share user generated content (UGC) about hotels and the main networks within which they operate; to this end, a study was made by means of interviews to ascertain the profiles of 16 unpaid micro-influencers who share content about Portuguese hotels, and (2) to adopt the information acceptance model (IACM) put forward by Erkan and Evans (2016), to examine the influence of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) in social media on cosumer's behaviour intention in hotel industry, based on the profile of 166 consumers who follow these micro-influencers. Findings suggest that micro-influencers play a significant role in terms of influencing consumer purchase decision-making in the hospitality area; about 79% of surveyed consumers who follow micro-influencers’ content feel their choice is influenced and consider that the contents shared enable consumers to form an idea of what their stay will be like, due to some of the micro-influencers’ characteristics. The adoption of the IACM model demonstrates that the credibility of eWOM information positively affects the usefulness of the information. However, the quality of eWOM information, needs of eWOM information, and attitudes toward eWOM have a medium effect on the usefulness of eWOM information, but also in the attitudes toward eWOM and usefulness of eWOM in the adoption of eWOM information. The followers’ behavioural intentions are strongly explained by their attitudes toward eWOM information and adoption of eWOM information.