Main Article Content
Abstract
The study focuses on the tourism sector in Indonesia, particularly in the emerging city of Batu Tourism City in East Java Province. This city has a notable tourist attraction called the Museum Angkut Movie Star Studio, which features a transportation equipment museum. The research aims to assess the impact of two factors, namely tourism products and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), on visitors' decision-making process, with the destination image acting as a mediating factor. The study employs explanatory research methods to establish connections between different variables. The sample consists of 120 respondents who were visitors to the Museum Angkut. These respondents actively accessed, read, and sought information about the museum through online forums on various social media platforms. The data analysis was conducted through path analysis using SPSS tools. The findings suggest several significant outcomes. Firstly, both tourism products and electronic word of mouth have a positive and noteworthy influence on shaping the image of the tourist destination. Secondly, while tourism products positively affect visitors' decisions, this effect is not statistically significant. On the other hand, electronic word of mouth significantly positively impacts visitors' decisions. Additionally, the image of the tourist destination strongly and positively influences visitors' decisions. Moreover, tourism products do not directly affect visitors' decisions when the tourist destination's image is considered an intervening variable. Lastly, electronic word of mouth has a positive and substantial effect on visitors' decisions when the tourist destination's image is considered as an intervening variable.