Impact of destination images to satisfaction of domestic tourists for Dong Thap tourist destination

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the impact of the destination image on domestic tourist satisfaction in Dong Thap tourist destination. Group discussion is conducted for 07 tourists to adjust the scale, followed by the interview of 250 domestic tourists (normative sampling method was applied) to 05 typical tourist attractions of Dong Thap province. Besides, the method of data analysis chosen by the authors is to evaluate the structural equation model according to the partial least squares method with the support of the SmartPLS 3.0 tool. The research results have shown that Cognitive images are the premise leading to the formation of emotional images; both the affective image and cognitive image components have a direct and positive effect on the overall image; Only the cognitive and overall image composition directly impact visitor satisfaction. Besides, the authors also found that there is an indirect relationship between the perceptual image and overall image through the emotional image; the indirect relationship between cognitive image and satisfaction through the overall image and the evolution between the affective image and the overall image; Emotional images have an indirect relationship to satisfaction through the overall image. In addition, the authors have not found a significant difference in visitor satisfaction based on gender and age.