Shaping tourists' destination quality perception and loyalty through destination country image: The importance of involvement and perceived value

Abstract

Although tourists' country-image perceptions are an important precursor for both the buying process and product evaluations, they have not been adequately considered in the context of tourism destination. In this study, a detailed model has been developed and examined. This model, based on data obtained from 568 tourists who holidayed in Alanya, Turkey, was tested through structural equation modeling and multiple-group analysis. It was found that tourists' micro and macro country-image perceptions had a significant positive effect on their destination-service quality (DSQ) perception. Also, the micro country-image perceptions of tourists with high levels of involvement determined DSQ perception to a greater extent. The DSQ perceptions of those with high-level money-value perception highly determined their revisiting intentions. In addition, the impact of tourists' DSQ and destination natural quality (DNQ) perceptions on their recommendation intentions were more indicative for those with high social-value perceptions.