A netnographic study to understand the determinants of experiential tourism destinations

Considering the Social Identity Theory in an experiential tourism destination and using a netnoghaphic perspective, this paper (i) analyses the main topics associated with an experiential tourism destination and (ii) studies the relationships among destination determinants (i.e., destination attachment, hedonic emotions, spiritual experiences, and information, satisfaction, and loyalty). Camino de Santiago 518 effective post titles published on TripAdvisor were scrapped and analysed using a netnographic and correspondence analyses. Results show that there are three main topics associated with an experiential destination: (1) experiences and emotions, (2) information about Camino de Santiago, and (3) destination-brand recommendations. There is a main cluster where destination loyalty, destination identity, hedonic emotions, and negative experiences/aspects are close to the 5-score. A second cluster focused on information comments is not associated with other variables or scores. This article adds value to previous work because (1) it adopts a netnographic point of view, (2) it uses social media and user-generated content in the tourism industry, and (3) it provides strategies for experiential marketing in the tourism industry.