The turbulent events of the world have resulted in a decline in the number of travelers since 2011. Nevertheless, approximately one billion international tourists still travel annually.Tourist activity plays an important role in the global economic activity. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine if a relationship exists between destination images, push and pull motives to travel, and tourists' satisfaction. The target population consisted of noncitizen and nonresident tourists of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) between March 2017 and April 2017. Oliver's expectancy-disconfirmation theory that the individual will act in a particular way because the expectation that a certain outcome follows the act formed the theoretical framework for this study. Data were collected through a self-developed paper survey using existing Likert-scale questions based on prior research to measure the study variables. A convenience sample of 257 noncitizen and nonresident tourists of the BVI resulted in 247 participants with useable responses. Standard multiple regression analysis determined whether there was a relationship between destination image, push and pull motives to travel, and BVI tourists' satisfaction. The results indicated the 2 predictors, destination image and push and pull motives to travel, accounted for approximately 17% of the variation in tourist satisfaction (R2= .166, F(2,244)= 24.233, p<.001). Either destination image and push and pull motives to travelor both predictors had a significant relationship with tourist satisfaction. The implications for positive social change include employment opportunities through various tourism sectors and for the future development of tourism profitability and sustainability benefiting the local community.

<p>Tourism is an important source of economic growth for destinations, which is why the interest for destination branding has grown in recent years. Meanwhile, Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) often struggle to promote their destination successfully. For instance, many stakeholders influence the perception of a destination and therefore it is difficult to create a coherent image. Some destinations have a more successful destination branding, which not only depends on their marketing methods but also the pre-requisites of the city. Hence, destination branding is a complex process where there is no standard solution. Therefore, three different destinations are used as a basis for the thesis; Brussels, Istanbul and Stuttgart. What can be learned from the marketing methods in these destinations? The purpose of this thesis is to examine the current market position of Brussels, Istanbul and Stuttgart as tourist destinations and their marketing strategies and methods used to promote the destinations. We will identify general recommendations on how to improve the destination branding, and propose specific recommendations to selected DMOs in the destinations.</p><p>Through the use of specific descriptive criteria, such as unique selling points (USPs), image and marketing channels, as well as the conducting of interviews with employees in higher administrative positions within the selected DMOs, the thesis aims at providing the reader with a deeper knowledge in the field of destination branding. The Tourist Area Lifecycle Model was used to analyse the destinations to understand their situation today and future possibilities and challenges in marketing the cities as tourist destinations. Moreover, the concepts of comparative and competitive advantages and the integrative model by Ritchie and Croutch was used to discuss the competitiveness of the destinations. The research shows that DMOs face problems, such as the lack of a coherent image, common goals, the coordination of activities between DMOs in different levels and cooperation between different stakeholders. These are areas that need attention from the DMOs in order to achieve successful destination branding and are included in the conclusion, which helps DMOs to improve their marketing methods in order to achieve success in the promotion of their destination.</p>

<p>It has become increasingly common for cities and municipalities to take greater account of the place marketing, and to see the physical location as a brand. An early step in this process is to make the image measurements of the place, in order to develop better marketing strategies. A method often used in tourism research for this type of measurements is Etchner and Ritchie's theoretical framework. The framework is initially designed to measure visitor's image of a tourist destination.</p><p>Almost all previous research in this area is based on the visitor's perspective, but Olofsson and Skredsvik have used this framework to measure a location's image among the residents. They feel that the residents of a place can be seen as ambassadors of the place because they know the site well. To be aware about the image among the residents makes it possible to improve the things that the residents are unhappy with, but also enhance the images of the place which is positive.</p><p>The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether Etchner and Ritchie's framework can be adapted to measure a location's image among its inhabitants, from the viewpoint of Olofsson and Skredsvik's adaptation of this particular framework. In order to generate data to answer the purpose of this paper, an image study among the residents in Botkyrka was carried out according to the method used by Olofsson and Skredsvik.</p><p>In addition to the results from the image study of Botkyrka, the paper has contributed methodological expertise in destination image research. Some of the main conclusions obtained in this paper is that the adaptation of Etchner and Ritchie's framework overall has worked well to measure a location's image among the residents. The original framework is of such a general nature which makes it possible to make adjustments to it, as long as the essential components of the framework remain. Another contribution from this study is that the material collected by this method can be used to statistically test the differences between various groups within the sample.</p> / <p>Det har blivit allt vanligare att städer och kommuner tar större hänsyn till platsmarknadsföring, och att se den fysiska platsen som ett varumärke. Ett tidigt led i denna process är att göra imagemätningar av platsen, för att bättre kunna utforma marknadsföringsstrategier. En metod som ofta används inom turismforskningen för denna typ av mätningar är Etchner och Ritchies teoretiska ramverk. Ramverket är ursprungligen utformat för att mäta besökares bild av en turistdestination.</p><p>Nästan all tidigare forskning på detta område utgår från besökarens perspektiv, men Olofsson och Skredsvik har använt detta ramverk för att mäta en plats image bland de boende. De menar att de boende på en plats kan ses som platsens ambassadörer då de känner till platsen väl. Att känna till platsens image bland de boende gör att man kan förbättra saker som de boende är missnöjda med, men även förstärka de bilder av platsen som är positiva.</p><p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att utvärdera om Etchner och Ritchies ramverk går att anpassa för att mäta en plats image bland dess invånare, vilket gjorts med utgångspunkt från Olofsson och Skredsviks anpassning av detta ramverk. För att generera underlag till att kunna uppnå syftet så har en imagemätning bland de boende i Botkyrka genomförts utifrån den metod som Olofsson och Skredsvik använt i en studie av Vara kommun.</p><p>Förutom de resultat som kommit fram om Botkyrka kommuns image så har uppsatsen bidragit med metodologisk kunskap inom destinationsimageforskningen. Några av de viktigaste slutsatserna som framkommer i detta arbete är att anpassningen av Etchner och Ritchies ramverk överlag har fungerat väl för att mäta en plats image bland de boende. Det ursprungliga ramverket är av så pass generell natur vilket gör att det går att göra anpassningar av det, så länge som de väsentligaste komponenterna av ramverket återstår. Ett annat bidrag som studien kommit fram till är att materialet som samlas in med denna metod går att använda för att statistiskt testa skillnader mellan olika grupper inom urvalet.</p>

Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

It has become increasingly common for cities and municipalities to take greater account of the place marketing, and to see the physical location as a brand. An early step in this process is to make the image measurements of the place, in order to develop better marketing strategies. A method often used in tourism research for this type of measurements is Etchner and Ritchie's theoretical framework. The framework is initially designed to measure visitor's image of a tourist destination. Almost all previous research in this area is based on the visitor's perspective, but Olofsson and Skredsvik have used this framework to measure a location's image among the residents. They feel that the residents of a place can be seen as ambassadors of the place because they know the site well. To be aware about the image among the residents makes it possible to improve the things that the residents are unhappy with, but also enhance the images of the place which is positive. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether Etchner and Ritchie's framework can be adapted to measure a location's image among its inhabitants, from the viewpoint of Olofsson and Skredsvik's adaptation of this particular framework. In order to generate data to answer the purpose of this paper, an image study among the residents in Botkyrka was carried out according to the method used by Olofsson and Skredsvik. In addition to the results from the image study of Botkyrka, the paper has contributed methodological expertise in destination image research. Some of the main conclusions obtained in this paper is that the adaptation of Etchner and Ritchie's framework overall has worked well to measure a location's image among the residents. The original framework is of such a general nature which makes it possible to make adjustments to it, as long as the essential components of the framework remain. Another contribution from this study is that the material collected by this method can be used to statistically test the differences between various groups within the sample. / Det har blivit allt vanligare att städer och kommuner tar större hänsyn till platsmarknadsföring, och att se den fysiska platsen som ett varumärke. Ett tidigt led i denna process är att göra imagemätningar av platsen, för att bättre kunna utforma marknadsföringsstrategier. En metod som ofta används inom turismforskningen för denna typ av mätningar är Etchner och Ritchies teoretiska ramverk. Ramverket är ursprungligen utformat för att mäta besökares bild av en turistdestination. Nästan all tidigare forskning på detta område utgår från besökarens perspektiv, men Olofsson och Skredsvik har använt detta ramverk för att mäta en plats image bland de boende. De menar att de boende på en plats kan ses som platsens ambassadörer då de känner till platsen väl. Att känna till platsens image bland de boende gör att man kan förbättra saker som de boende är missnöjda med, men även förstärka de bilder av platsen som är positiva. Syftet med denna uppsats är att utvärdera om Etchner och Ritchies ramverk går att anpassa för att mäta en plats image bland dess invånare, vilket gjorts med utgångspunkt från Olofsson och Skredsviks anpassning av detta ramverk. För att generera underlag till att kunna uppnå syftet så har en imagemätning bland de boende i Botkyrka genomförts utifrån den metod som Olofsson och Skredsvik använt i en studie av Vara kommun. Förutom de resultat som kommit fram om Botkyrka kommuns image så har uppsatsen bidragit med metodologisk kunskap inom destinationsimageforskningen. Några av de viktigaste slutsatserna som framkommer i detta arbete är att anpassningen av Etchner och Ritchies ramverk överlag har fungerat väl för att mäta en plats image bland de boende. Det ursprungliga ramverket är av så pass generell natur vilket gör att det går att göra anpassningar av det, så länge som de väsentligaste komponenterna av ramverket återstår. Ett annat bidrag som studien kommit fram till är att materialet som samlas in med denna metod går att använda för att statistiskt testa skillnader mellan olika grupper inom urvalet.

Destination image is a concept created by different demand and supply agents. The balance between what is expected and what is being delivered is essential in promoting the destination. The main goal of this study is to describe the different destination images related to Dracula tourism in Transylvania. This is accomplished by looking at the Western tourists’ expectations and demands as expressed in their travel blogs, and by analyzing the supply side through the elicitation of information from locals and Bran Castle tour guides through qualitative interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the content, visual and audio information on sampled blogs and interviews. This method identified 11 different themes which captured the overall destination image. The themes focused primarily on historical and fictional images of the destination, on the type of tourists visiting Bran Castle, but also on the locals’ image and response to Dracula tourism. The findings of this study reveal that the majority of Western bloggers visit Bran in search for Count Dracula; however, the Bran Castle tour guides focus on presenting the historical truth. Local residents, although seeing Dracula as a national hero, sometimes adopt the mythical image as a marketing or product development tactic in selling to visitors. Nevertheless, the stakeholders involved in the creation of the image each fit into different destination image frameworks, allowing for the creation of an overall destination image based on historical and fictional elements.

Destination image is a concept created by different demand and supply agents. The balance between what is expected and what is being delivered is essential in promoting the destination. The main goal of this study is to describe the different destination images related to Dracula tourism in Transylvania. This is accomplished by looking at the Western tourists’ expectations and demands as expressed in their travel blogs, and by analyzing the supply side through the elicitation of information from locals and Bran Castle tour guides through qualitative interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the content, visual and audio information on sampled blogs and interviews. This method identified 11 different themes which captured the overall destination image. The themes focused primarily on historical and fictional images of the destination, on the type of tourists visiting Bran Castle, but also on the locals’ image and response to Dracula tourism. The findings of this study reveal that the majority of Western bloggers visit Bran in search for Count Dracula; however, the Bran Castle tour guides focus on presenting the historical truth. Local residents, although seeing Dracula as a national hero, sometimes adopt the mythical image as a marketing or product development tactic in selling to visitors. Nevertheless, the stakeholders involved in the creation of the image each fit into different destination image frameworks, allowing for the creation of an overall destination image based on historical and fictional elements.

The images of tourist destinations significantly influence travel choices. Accordingly, destination marketers make great efforts to inform their potential consumers about their destinations using deliberately designed projected images. This research focuses on a Chinese tourism destination, Qingdao, exploring the relationships between the images projected by Qingdao government agencies and those perceived by current visitors and by residents. It also examines the factors that influence the image formation of visitors and residents. Three sources of information are used in this research: promotional materials issued by the Qingdao municipal government and the Qingdao Tourism Administration, key informant interview transcripts and a questionnaires survey. The promotional materials were collected from the aforementioned agencies in May 2009. Key informant interviews were conducted in April and May 2009. Self-administered surveys of 578 visitors and 337 residents of Qingdao were administered throughout May and June 2009. The image construct was conceptualized as having three dimensions: cognitive, affective and overall images. The cognitive image attributes included seafood, scenery, beaches, local people, green space, special events, ethnic attractions, weather, squares, architecture, relaxing atmosphere, resorts, hygiene and cleanliness, cultural attractions, golf course, highway system, accommodation, public transport, shopping, fashion shows, value for money, transportation cost, nightlife, football games, airline schedules, and traffic congestion. The affective image attributes included arousing-sleepy, exciting-gloomy, pleasant-unpleasant, and relaxing-distressful. Qualitative evaluation suggested greater congruence between the images projected by Qingdao government agencies and those perceived by visitors than quantitative correlation analysis. The projected images of Qingdao and images perceived by visitors were consistent in their emphases on certain image themes. However, the correlations between these two types of images suggested that the extent to which these image themes were emphasized differed. Similar results were found in the comparison between the images projected by Qingdao and those perceived by residents. Furthermore, most visitors and residents held positive images of Qingdao. Both similarities and differences were discovered in the cognitive, affective and overall images perceived by visitors and residents. Residents were generally more positive than visitors in their cognitive and affective images. It was found that sex, education, place of residence, and previous travel experience only significantly affected visitors’ images of one or two attributes, while age, occupation, primary motivation, most important information source used and number of sources used significantly influenced visitors’ images of between 5 and 8 attributes. Additionally, place attachment and importance of the 2008 Olympic Games were significantly positively correlated with most of the image attributes examined in this study, while importance of German Heritage and Qingdao International Beer Festival were significantly positively correlated with fewer attributes (8 and 6 attributes, respectively). With regard to the factors influencing resident images, it was discovered that sex, education, age, occupation, length of residence, most important source used and number of sources used significantly affected residents’ images to different degrees, ranging from 7 to 18 attributes. Furthermore, place attachment and the importance of German heritage, the 2008 Olympic Games and Qingdao International Beer Festival were significantly positively correlated with the majority of the image attributes examined in this research. This study is one of very few that compares projected and perceived images although methodological challenges for undertaking such research remain. It is also innovative in that it encompasses both tourists’ and residents’ images. Very few such studies have been undertaken in China which has a massive domestic tourism industry and is a major player in international tourism.

In the era of globalization, countries compete with each other for attention, respect and trust of potential consumers, investors, tourists, media and governments of other nations. Branding is the most powerful tool that a nation can utilize for effective differentiation strategies and for creating competitive advantage over other nations. Unfortunately, not every nations or destination marketers have a broad understanding of the concept of branding and how a country can be successfully branded. Hence, this study has proposed a model that could be used as a valuable guide for country branding. Also the model is recommended for countries struggling with image crisis; on the mission to improve the image internationally. Nigeria is a good example of countries with image crisis; it is one of the most populated countries in the world with a population of about 160 million inhabitants and growth rate of 2.553percent annually. Despite the abundant resources (e.g. coal, petroleum, natural gas etc.) that the nation is endowed with, it is quite disappointing that the population below poverty line is still at the alarming rate of 70percent of the total population. The mismanagement and poor leadership of the nation characterised by corruption, fraud, embezzlement of public fund etc. has culminated into serious image crisis that is slowing down the potential for investment and economic growth. However, there has been series of image rebranding campaigns but no tangible achievement has been recorded. It is quite questionable though, if image rebranding will provide the kind of future that Nigeria envisaged, considering the socio-political situation and the economic imbalance; compounded by the obvious fact that the nation has no known brand. Therefore, this paper argues that there is need to redirect the effort invested on image rebranding to the creation of a unique and competitive brand for the country. It was established from the study that a nation’s brand is capable of improving the reputation of the nation as well as stimulate the expectation of the target audience. However, it was also established from the study that a wrong approach to branding could mislead the target audience and attract negative publicity. Hence, as a contribution of the study to the field of branding, a model was proposed as a functional guide for country branding. Also, considering the abysmal performance of Nigeria’s image in the international community and to strengthen the argument that brand creation is required for the country; an experimental application of the proposed model was conducted using Nigeria as the case country. The first phase of the model suggested a major improvement in the society; this is required to further enhance the strengths of the country and to motivate the much needed community participation and confidence in the brand creation. It is the conclusion of the study that a strong nation brand can offset the image problem if it is built on something concrete, genuine, and uniquely identifiable with the country, capable of connecting to the cognitive psychology of the target audience.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the way destination marketing works and whatneeds to be done to implant a destination image into the tourists mind. The marketingclaims that the occurrence of recognition and recall makes an image become activelyrecognized in the mind of customers. To visualize this case, the Swedish city Östersund, isexamined to show how the responsible tourist information office succeeded with theimplementation of their image into the tourists mind. To clarify this, a comparison is madefrom questionnaires hold in the summer and winter 2010 as well as an qualitative interviewwith the managing director of the tourist office in Östersund Camilla Olsson.