This research examines the use of information sources in tourism, distinguishing different periods in the tourist decision process, focusing on the information search process performed by the tourists at destination. The results show that the number and type of information sources used, as well as the search intensity and the decision making at destination, differ from the one made before arriving to the holiday destination. Based on the results, as a part of the conclusions, some managerial implications guidelines are showed in relation to the use of information sources at the tourist destinations.

This research presents a literature review of the construct “symbolic consumption” in the tourism arena. Literature establishes two different perspectives of analysis: from the view of what (materialism) and from the view of who (congruence consumer identity – object of consumption); the research analysis study in depth the different areas of investigation inside the mentioned perspectives. After that, a review of the construct “experience consumption” is presented, and we ask ourselves, how can consumption of symbols and experience consumption converge? By analyzing the different approaches, it is concluded that Social Networking is an essential tool in order to project into society the consumption of experiences. Finally, a theoretical model is presented, which includes both, the analyzed perspectives and the conclusions of the research.