Erasmus-driven destination experience and students’ ambassadorship behaviour: A multi-stakeholder perspective

Abstract

This work aims to a) analyze the tourist experience of Erasmus students in terms of place attachment and b) explore their potential to act as destination brand ambassadors of a hosting destination. It builds on previous literature of international students as tourists, with a wider scope as more publics are involved and both current and future behaviours are explored. Through a qualitative approach run in Valencia (Spain) with three techniques (focus groups, open-ended questions, and personal in-depth interview) we gather information from four stakeholders (current and former Erasmus students, academic coordinators, and students’ tourism managers). By using verbal content analysis, this varied information was coded to answer five research questions. The results revealed accordance among stakeholders around four interconnected dimensions: academic, social, cultural, and personal or psychological. Insights on cognitive and affective place attachment are found, and on both behavioural (returning) and attitudinal (recommending) loyalty. Results from a multi-stakeholder perspective offers insights on the potential of Erasmus students for spreading substantial positive word-of-mouth to more publics than just other students. Building up on the theory of university alumni as a repeat visitor, this paper brings subjective impressions that can help tourist managers to consider Erasmus students as brand ambassadors as they show attitudinal and behavioural loyalty.