How Country Image Affects Intention to Visit a Destination: Evidence from Russian Tourists Visiting Switzerland
Abstract
The paper examines how country image affects the intention to visit a destination by means of a quantitative study conducted in Russia. It specifically explores the mediating influence of psychological destination image, functional destination image, and attitude towards the destination between country image and visiting intention. Data for the research were collected from a survey involving 919 respondents in Russia who had gone on a vacation, at least, once in the past 12 months. A series of mediation models indicated that through psychological destination image, functional destination image, and attitude towards the destination, country image mediates the intention to visit. The results imply that the holistic brand image of a destination has a strong influence on international tourists’ intention to visit. Therefore, marketers should integrate country image in destination marketing messages.
References
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[3] Alvarez, M. D., and Campo, S. 2014. The influence of political conflicts on country image and intention to visit: A study of Israel's image. Tourism Management 40 (Supplement C): 70-78. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2013.05.009.
[4] Asanova, I.M., Trofimova, R.V., and Semukhina, E.V. 2015. The factors contributing to the development of domestic and inbound tourism in Russia. Scientific and methodical electronic journal, 33: 131-135.
[5] Assael, H. 1984. Consumer behavior and marketing action: Kent Pub. Co.
[6] Barnett, G.A, and Meihua, L. 2003. Issues in intercultural communication research. Cross-cultural and intercultural communication: 259-273.
[7] Bianchi, C., and Milberg, S. 2016. Investigating non-visitors’ intentions to travel to a long-haul holiday destination. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 23(4). DOI: 10.1177/1356766716653646
[8] Brand, Future. 2014. Country Brand Index
[9] Brezovec, A., Brezovec, T., and Jančič, Z. 2004. The interdependence of a country's general and tourism images: Institute for Tourism Zagreb, p. 115 - 129.
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[12] Echtner, C. M, and Ritchie, JR. 2003. The meaning and measurement of destination image:[Reprint of original article published in v. 2, no. 2, 1991: 2-12.]. Journal of tourism studies 14 (1): 37-48.
[13] Echtner, C. M., and Ritchie J.R.. 1993. The Measurement of Destination Image: An Empirical Assessment. Journal of Travel Research, 31 (4):3-13. DOI: 10.1177/004728759303100402.
[14] Arslanova, G.H. 2016. The Role of the Tourism Industry in the Region's Economy. Russian Entrepreneurship, 17 (8):1061-1070.
[15] Gunn, C. 1972. Vacationscape. Designing Tourist Regions. Edited by Taylor and Francis/University of Texas. Washington DC.
[16] Guyon. 2003. "Brand America." Fortune:179.
[17] Jenkins, O. H. 1999. Understanding and measuring tourist destination images. The International Journal of Tourism Research 1 (1):1-15.
[18] Kotler, P., Haider, D., and Rein, I. 1993. There's no place like our place! The marketing of cities, regions, and nations. The Futurist, 27 (6):14.
[19] Long-Yi, L., and Ching-Yuh, L. 2010. The influence of corporate image, relationship marketing, and trust on purchase intention: the moderating effects of word-of-mouth. Tourism Review of AIEST - International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism 65 (3):16-34. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/16605371011083503
[20] Marino, E. 2007. The strategic dimension of destination image. An analysis of the French Riviera image from the Italian tourists' perceptions. In Discussion Paper: University of Naples “Federico II” - Faculty of Economics.
[21] Mckercher, B., and Lau, G. 2008. Movement patterns of tourists within a destination. Tourism Geographies, 10 (3): 355-374.
[22] Nadeau, J., Heslop, L., O’Reilly, N., and Luk, P. 2008. Destination in a country image context. Annals of Tourism Research, 35 (1): 84-106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2007.06.012.
[23] Nevzat, D., and Toksabay, E. 2016. "Turkish tourism and economy struggle due to bombings, Russia chill." Reuters, March 23, 2016. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-tourism/turkish-tourism-and-economy-struggle-due-to-bombings-russia-chill-idUSKCN0WP2BY
[24] Pearce, P.L. 1988. The Ulysses factor. New York: Springer-Verlag.
[25] Pike, S. 2008. Five Limitations of Destination Brand Image Questionnaires. Tourism Recreation Research, 33 (3): 361-363. DOI: 10.1080/02508281.2008.11081561.
[26] Preacher, K. J., and Hayes, A. F. 2008. Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40 (3):879-891. DOI: 10.3758/brm.40.3.879
[27] Salazar, N. B. 2012. Tourism imaginaries: A conceptual approach. Annals of Tourism research, 39 (2): 863-882.
[28] Taigibova, T.T. 2013. State regulation of the development of inbound tourism. Young Scientist.
[29] Titushkina, K.A. 2016. Influence of the image of Belarus on changing inbound tourist flows. Influence of the image of Belarus on changing inbound tourist flows Republic of. Belarus, Gomel, 28-29 April.
[30] Tourism, Federal Agency for. 2017. "ВЫБОРОЧНАЯ СТАТИСТИЧЕСКАЯ ИНФОРМАЦИЯ, РАССЧИТАННАЯ В СООТВЕТСТВИИ С ОФИЦИАЛЬНОЙ СТАТИСТИЧЕСКОЙ МЕТОДОЛОГИЕЙ ОЦЕНКИ ЧИСЛА ВЪЕЗДНЫХ И ВЫЕЗДНЫХ ТУРИСТСКИХ ПОЕЗДОК." Available at: https://www.russiatourism.ru/contents/statistika/statisticheskie-pokazateli-vzaimnykh-poezdok-grazhdan-rossiyskoy-federatsii-i-grazhdan-inostrannykh-gosudarstv/vyborochnaya-statisticheskaya-informatsiya-rasschitannaya-v-sootvetstvii-s-ofitsialnoy-statisticheskoy-metodologiey-otsenki-chisla-vezdnykh-i-vyezdnykh-turistskikh-poezdok/ (in Russian)
[31] UNWTO. 2017. Sustainable Tourism Development. Definition. United Nations World Tourism Organization, accessed 9 May 2017. Available at: http://sdt.unwto.org/content/about-us-5
[32] Zhilenko, V.Y. 2015. Features of formation of the image of the tourist territory on the example of the Belgorod region. Technology of Business and Service 3 (1).
[33] Vazhenina, IS, and Vazhenin, SG. 2010. Imidzh i reputatsiya kak strategicheskie sostavlyayushchie nematerial'nykh aktivov territorii [Image and reputation as a strategic component of intangible assets of a territory]. The Region’s Economy, 3: 95-103.
[34] Wang, Cheng Lu, Dongjin Li, Barnes, B. R., and Jongseok Ahn. 2012. Country image, product image and consumer purchase intention: Evidence from an emerging economy. International Business Review, 21 (6):1041-1051. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2011.11.010
[35] Zhang, Hongmei, Xiaoxiao Fu, Liping A. Cai, and Lin Lu. 2014. Destination image and tourist loyalty: A meta-analysis. Tourism Management 40 (Supplement C): 213-223. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2013.06.006
[36] Zhang, Hongmei, Feifei Xu, Ho Hon Leung, and Liping A. Cai. 2016. The Influence of Destination-Country Image on Prospective Tourists’ Visit Intention: Testing Three Competing Models. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 21 (7): 811-835. DOI: 10.1080/10941665.2015.1075566
[37] Zhang, Jingru, Bihu Wu, Alastair M. Morrison, Chi Tseng, and Ying-Chen Chen. 2016. How Country Image Affects Tourists’ Destination Evaluations: A Moderated Mediation Approach. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research. DOI: 10.1177/1096348016640584
Published
2018-10-15
How to Cite
PONNAPUREDDY, Sindhuri et al.
How Country Image Affects Intention to Visit a Destination: Evidence from Russian Tourists Visiting Switzerland.
Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, [S.l.], v. 9, n. 4, p. 694-706, oct. 2018.
ISSN 2068-7729.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jemt/article/view/2343>. Date accessed: 19 nov. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.14505//jemt.v9.4(28).02.
Section
Article
Copyright© 2024 The Author(s). Published by ASERS Publishing 2024. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of CC-BY 4.0 license.