Destination Personality, Affective Image, and Behavioral Intentions in Domestic Urban Tourism

Abstract

The collective influence of destination personality and affective image on overall image formation of a domestic urban destination and subsequently its influence on tourists’ behavioral intentions were examined in this study. The sample consisted of 361 urban tourists and included both past visitors and nonvisitors of the urban destination under study. Data analysis confirmed the influential role of destination personality and affective image in the formation of overall destination image in both samples. In turn, overall image was a mediator of the relationships of destination personality and affective image with tourists’ behavioral intentions (i.e., intention to revisit the urban destination and intention to recommend the destination to others). Analysis of the data supported a two-factor solution of the destination personality construct, with the personality traits of sincerity and excitement emerging in the domestic urban context to influence past visitors’ and nonvisitors’ overall destination image perceptions.