Erasmus Students’ Experiences as Cultural Visitors: Lessons in Destination Management

Andreea Marin-Pantelescu, Laurențiu Tăchiciu, Ionica Oncioiu and Mihaela Ștefan-Hint
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Andreea Marin-Pantelescu: Faculty of Business and Tourism, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania
Laurențiu Tăchiciu: Faculty of Business and Tourism, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania
Ionica Oncioiu: Faculty of Finance-Banking, Accounting and Business Administration, Titu Maiorescu University, 040051 Bucharest, Romania
Mihaela Ștefan-Hint: Faculty of Economic Sciences, 1 Decembrie 1918 University, 510009 Alba-Iulia, Romania

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-26

Abstract: Destination management is an important instrument in promoting tourism as a factor of economic development. Its usefulness in planning and developing infrastructures and services especially dedicated to tourism, such as holidays, sports, or balneal resorts, is well established. In the context of increasing the mobility of people at a national and international level, the flows of visitors whose trips are related to jobs, business, studies, conferences have constantly increased, and—as a result—the importance of large cities among tourist destinations is increasing. The management of destinations must also contribute in such cases to the creation of a greater attractiveness for potential visitors, the facilitation of their activities, and the production of culturally enriched and pleasant experiences. There is still a need to better understand how big cities are perceived as a destination by visitors, especially when it comes to longer stays. As a result, this paper proposes an approach to explore the visitors’ perception of their own experiences with the destination city. The subjects of the study are Erasmus students, while the destinations considered are university cities where the mobility programs were carried out. The aim of the research carried out by the focus-group method was to identify the elements that contributed to the coagulation of the experience associated with a certain destination city, in the sense of a more favorable or less favorable image of the destination in question. The results highlight that where visitors interact for a longer period of time and at deeper levels with the host community, they share the conditions of local life. The more pleasant these conditions are for the residents, the more open and welcoming they are to foreigners, and the more appreciated one’s personal experience of that city is.

Keywords: destination management; cultural tourism; Erasmus students; local community; authenticity; adaptation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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