Country and Destination Image Domains of a Place: Framework for Quantitative Comparison

Abstract

The constructs of country and destination images have been used to understand attitudes and behaviors of consumers and tourists toward products and destinations. The constructs have evolved theoretically in two distinctive streams of literature and their relationship and interactions have not been empirically substantiated. Building on Keller’s brand equity framework (K. Keller, “Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity,” Journal of Marketing 57, no. 1 [1993]: 1–22) and biodiversity literature, the study proposes an approach to numerically describe and compare country and destination images of a place on ease of recall, richness and diversity of associations, as well as on strength, favorability, uniqueness, and types of these associations. The study empirically tests the proposed approach using the United States as an example. The approach contributes to better understanding of the two constructs and their relationships, and it is hoped that the study will aid countries and destinations in their branding and marketing efforts.