Cognitive Destination Research Articles

Cognitive destination image formation among first-time Chinese tourists

PurposeThis study explores the formation process of cognitive destination image among first-time Chinese millennial tourists visiting Iran.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a comprehensive mixed-method exploratory approach, blending qualitative and quantitative methodologies, we aim to construct a conceptual model explaining the complex process of tourists’ cognitive destination image development. In the qualitative phase, interviews with 15 Chinese millennials unveiled key factors such as perceived behavioral control, perceived product quality, on-site involvement, engagement, and prior destination image as fundamental influencers of tourists’ cognitive destination image. Subsequently, in the quantitative phase, involving a questionnaire survey with 229 first-time Chinese travelers, we proposed a conceptual model to validate our primary findings.FindingsThe results highlight the emergence of on-travel cognitive image as a developmental concept originating from tourists' on-site participation and pre-existing perceptions of the destination. Moreover, we identified perceived behavioral control as the primary antecedent of millennials’ image formation, directly affecting the destination’s image development. Furthermore, increased involvement and engagement were found to diminish perceived behavioral control. Additionally, perceived product quality prompted millennials to engage more with cultural attractions and activities, enriching their in-situ image.Practical implicationsThe findings offer valuable insights for destination managers, enabling them to construct tailored strategies to augment the cognitive destination image.Originality/valueThis study provides a novel understanding of the cognitive destination image formation process among Chinese millennial tourists, highlighting the crucial role of perceived behavioral control, involvement, engagement, and perceived product quality. These insights can guide destination managers in enhancing the overall tourist experience and destination appeal.

Factors Affecting the Wellness Tourism Intention of Chinese Older Adults Tourists: Hainan Island as a Tourism Destination

This research aims to 1) examine how perceived benefits, perceived susceptibility, and cues to action influence the wellness tourism intention of Chinese older adults, specifically focusing on Hainan Island as a tourism destination; 2) explore the mediating roles of cognitive destination image and self-efficacy in the relationships between perceived benefits, perceived susceptibility, cues to action, and wellness tourism intention; and 3) analyze the moderating effect of social influence on the relationships between perceived benefits, perceived susceptibility, cues to action, and wellness tourism intention. Using a purposive sampling method, through online and onsite survey, we collect 551 valid questionnaires from older adults tourists aged 60 and above from major provinces in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Sichuan.Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to analyze the data. the results show that perceived benefits, perceived susceptibility, and cues to action significantly influence wellness tourism intentions, with cognitive destination image and self-efficacy playing important mediating roles. Additionally, social influence, such as peer recommendations and family support, moderates these relationships, particularly enhancing the effects of perceived benefits and cues to action on wellness tourism intentions. These findings offer valuable insights for tourism stakeholders in Hainan, suggesting the importance of tailored marketing strategies that highlight both the health benefits and social influence, while promoting Hainan as an ideal wellness destination for older adults.

DDMMO Website Quality, Destination Image and Intention to Use Metaverse Platforms

Background/Objectives: Destination Development, Management, and Marketing Organizations (DDMMOs) have the power to influence perceptions and behaviors regarding both actual and virtual travel in the rapidly changing landscape of digital environments. Within newly emerging Metaverse platforms, their websites can serve as critical touchpoints that enhance destination attractiveness and enable visitors to engage in valuable experiences. In this vein, this research attempts to determine if DDMMO website quality and destination image can influence users’ intention to virtually visit a place by using a Metaverse platform. Methods: Users who navigated a European DDMMO website were asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire, and 318 responses were collected. Then, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypothesis. Results: The results show that website interactivity and affective destination image had a direct positive impact on a user’s intention to use the Metaverse platform. Furthermore, indirect impacts of website design and usefulness and cognitive destination image were detected. Conclusions: DDMMOs and destination marketing experts can gain valuable insights from the outcomes of this research. Thus, focusing on the aforementioned website features can help them enhance destination image and attract users to their Metaverse platforms.

Exploring Thailand as a gastronomic tourism destination: A structural equation model approach

This study aims to construct an integrative model for understanding the factors that shape Chinese tourists’ intentions to visit Thailand as a gastronomic tourism destination. In detail, we investigate the relationships among cognitive experiences, emotional experiences, cultural experiences, affective destination image, cognitive destination image, and the intention to visit Thailand for culinary experiences. Utilizing an online survey method to gather 562 Chinese tourists who have experienced Thai gastronomy, this study continues to use structural equation model to process data. The findings reveal that cognitive, emotional, and cultural experiences significantly influence tourists’ affective and cognitive destination images, positively impacting their intention to visit Thailand for its culinary offerings. The affective and cognitive destination images act as crucial mediators, intricately linking these experiences with travel intentions. This approach improves our understanding of the dynamics involved. It also provides practical insights for developing targeted marketing strategies.

Destination image and revisit intentions: a mediation-moderation study through tourist satisfaction and place attachment

Purpose The purpose of this study is to test the relationship of cognitive destination image and affective destination image with tourist satisfaction and revisit intention. This study also tested the mediation effect of tourist satisfaction between cognitive destination image and affective destination image with revisit intention. Furthermore, place attachment is aimed to test as a moderator between tourist satisfaction and revisit intention. Design/methodology/approach Participants in this study are international visitors who were visiting different tourist places in Pakistan. A total of 340 tourists participated in the data collection process, and subsequent data analysis was performed using SPSS and smart-PLS. Findings The results confirmed a significant effect of affective destination image on revisit intention, whilst’ cognitive destination image does not signify a significant influence on revisit intention for international tourists; however, tourist satisfaction confirmed the mediation effect between cognitive-affective destination image and revisit intention. Furthermore, the place attachment confirmed significant moderation with revisit intention. Originality/value This study provides valuable insights into the context of tourist revisit intention in Pakistan. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the model tested in this study (affective destination image and cognitive destination image > tourists’ satisfaction > place attachment > revisit intention) is developed for the first time and is the first of its kind to test the moderation effect of place attachment with revisit intention. This study is supported by the Oliver expectancy disconfirmation theory and the Bowlby theory, which is another novelty of this study.

The formation of inaccurate cognitive destination image from a memory process perspective

ABSTRACT People often harbour misconceptions when forming their perceptions of destinations. Via a top-of-mind association task, this paper investigates the cognitive mechanisms behind the formation of inaccurate destination images of several Chinese metropolises. The results reveal that the primary factors leading to inaccurate cognitive destination images are proximity and stereotyping. Proximity includes geographic, cultural, sensory, semantic, and phonetic similarities among mental representations; whereas, stereotyping that tends to resist change can lead to systematic biases. This paper enriches our understanding of destination image and offers novel perspectives for destination branding and management.

All I know – destination cognitive image latent profile analysis

Purpose Understanding the multifaceted images of tourism destinations is critical for effective destination marketing and management strategies. Traditional approaches, including conceptualization of destination images or analysis of their antecedents and consequences, are commonly used. This study aims to advocate the inclusion of visitors’ latent profiles based on cognitive images to enrich the evaluation and formulation of destination marketing and management strategies. Design/methodology/approach The analysis focuses on Serbia, an emerging destination, that attracts an increasing number of first-time, repeat and prospective visitors. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to test the potential dimensions (tangible and intangible cultural destination; infrastructural and accessible destination; active, nature and family destination; sensory and hospitable destination; and welcoming, value for money (VFM) and safe destination) of the cognitive destination image factors scale while subtypes (profiles) were obtained using latent profile analysis (LPA). Findings The cognitive image component encompasses the perceived attributes of a destination, whether derived from direct experience or acquired through other means. The study identified the following profiles: conventional destination; sensory and hospitable destination; welcoming, VFM and safe destination; secure and active family destination and accessible cultural destination, which are presented individually with their sociodemographic assets. Originality/value The main contribution of the paper is the application of a novel method (LPA) for profiling visitor segments based on cognitive destination image. From a theoretical perspective, this research contributes to the extant body of literature pertaining to the destination image, thereby facilitating the identification of discrete latent visitor segments and elucidating noteworthy differences among them concerning a cognitive image.

Different mirrors: studying the effect of perceived risks and information-seeking behavior on the perceived cognitive image of Chinese and Russian millennial tourists

ABSTRACT The primary objective of this research is to investigate the impact of perceived risks (PR) on the formation of pre-travel cognitive destination image (CDI) among first-time Chinese and Russian millennial tourists in Iran. It aims to explore both the direct and indirect influence of perceived risks on the cognitive perception of the destination. A quantitative approach was employed, where a survey was conducted to collect data from a sample of 446 respondents who were visiting Iran. The data were analyzed using smart-PLS, a variance-based path modeling technique. The study’s findings indicated that political, technological, health, and socio-cultural risks had a direct impact on the CDI of both Chinese and Russian millennial tourists. Additionally, the research discovered that these risks indirectly influenced CDI through the mediating role of information-seeking behavior (ISB). However, differences emerged between the two groups concerning socio-cultural and economic risks. Specifically, for Chinese millennials, both economic and socio-cultural perceived risks directly and indirectly affected CDI. On the other hand, the hypotheses regarding Russian millennials were rejected, suggesting that economic and socio-cultural perceived risks did not have a significant direct or indirect impact on their CDI. These findings highlight the varying influences of perceived risks on the formation of CDI among Chinese and Russian millennial tourists, emphasizing the importance of considering cultural and economic factors in understanding their cognitive perceptions of a destination. The paper has implications for DMOs to make efforts to find sustainable solutions in designing policies to reduce tourists’ perceived risks and improving the cognitive image of Iran.

Influence of Instagram Social Media Marketing as a Promotional Means to Increase Intentions to Visit Tourist Destinations

Technological advances, mainly social media, can drive the increase in GDP. The ease, convenience, and practicality of consumers using social media create almost limitless opportunities for social media marketing in the travel sector. Tourism destination managers have widely used Instagram to promote their destinations by creating appropriate images. However, it is essential to understand the types of destination images that influence tourists. This research aims to understand the relationship between destination image and intention in social media marketing. This research also aims to determine which cognitive or affective destination description is more significant. This research involved 373 respondents who actively use Instagram and know tourism destinations' official social media accounts. The data was analyzed using PLS-SEM. This research finds that social media marketing significantly affects the intention to visit, affective, and cognitive destination images. Destination image also mediates the relationship between social media marketing and visitors' propensity to leave. The analysis findings also show that affective destination image is more effective than cognitive destination image in influencing visitor intentions. These results highlight the importance of considering emotional components when promoting tourist locations.

Virtual Reality Technology as a Marketing Catalyst for Travel Agencies

ABSTRACT This study examined how their place attachments and virtual reality (VR) experiences affect tourists’ travel destination choices. Prior research has not focused on the relationship between motivation from VR experience and tourists’ destination choices. A research model was developed based on the social identity and signaling perspective. Altogether, 436 tourists were interviewed after purpose sampling was adopted. The research findings show that tourists’ place attachment has no significant effect on the cognitive destination image; VR experience promotes a mental destination image; cognitive destination image significantly affects destination choice; and responsiveness has moderation effects on cognitive destination image and destination choice. VR technology allows travel agencies to combine destination marketing with attractive tourist destinations so that tourists can experience a destination’s beauty in advance. VR has become a powerful marketing tool for travel agencies.

Is it a disaster once the celebrity endorser for a tourist destination is involved in a controversial scandal? Testing the concept of image‐to‐image influence

AbstractThis study aims to (1) examine whether scandals about the endorsers affect their image (in terms of believability and attractiveness) and (2) compare any difference in the destination image (in terms of cognitive, affective, and conative images) between destinations where their endorsers have and do not have scandals. The research results indicate that having scandals negatively affects endorsers' believability and attractiveness, believability positively affects affective destination image, and attractiveness positively affects cognitive destination image. This study generalizes the concept of image‐to‐image association and provides a research framework to evaluate how endorser image influences destination image in a negative context.

Modeling Perceptions About Destination Images and Intention to Re-Visit: A Mediating-Moderated Model of Tourists’ Behavior

ABSTRACT The current study investigates the effect of the set of cognitive, affective, and conative destination images and tourist satisfaction on the intention to re-visit. The study gathered information from 384 tourists who traveled to northern India in the spring of 2021. Smart PLS was used to analyze data using a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The findings supported the hypothesis that cognitive destination image influenced the affective and conative destination images in a significant way. In addition, the cognitive destination image influenced the conative destination image significantly. Tourist satisfaction and a holistic image also had a significant impact on the intention to re-visit. The novelty of this study lies in the conceptual framework and in the investigation of novelty seeking and word of mouth to see if they modify the effect of tourist satisfaction and holistic image on intention to re-visit.

The Role of Tourist Satisfaction in The Relationship of Destination Image to The Loyalty of Tourists Visiting Coban Rondo Waterfall Tour

This study discusses destination image consisting of cognitive destination image (X1), unique destination image (X2) and affective destination image (X3) which are associated with visitor/tourist satisfaction (Y1) and loyalty (Y2). The type of research is explanatory research, while this research focuses on Coban Rondo tourist attractions in Malang Regency. The population of this research is all tourists/visitors at Coban Rondo tourist attractions, Malang Regency. the sample criteria used in this study were respondents at least 1 (once) time visiting CobanRondo Waterfall with a sample size of 300 respondents. Questionnaires are distributed by visiting tourist destinations by providing a questionnaire link to visitors/tourists who are visiting CobanRondo. The collected questionnaires were then tabulated and analyzed using SPSS to determine the direct effect (multiple regression test of 2 models) and to determine the indirect effect by multiplying the direct effect of the path traversed. Results From the results of the analysis with the SPSS program and the previous discussion, it was found that the cognitive, unique and effective destination image variables directly affect tourist satisfaction and when viewed from a direct influence on loyalty also have an influence. Including the satisfaction-to-loyalty pathway also has an influential outcome. There is one path in this research that does not have an indirect effect, namely the influence between cognitive destination image and loyalty through satisfaction, which results in no indirect effect but directly this variable has an influence. While the unique and affective images directly or indirectly have influential results.

Anticipated emotional solidarity, emotional reasoning, and travel intention: A comparison of two destination image models

Anticipated emotional solidarity, emotional reasoning, and travel intention: A comparison of two destination image models

Influence of Cognitive Destination Brand Image on Wildlife Park Attractiveness: A Case Study of the Amboseli-Tsavo Ecosystem, Kenya

The attractiveness of a holiday destination motivates the development and growth of tourism in terms of tourists’ perceived value; however, the attractiveness of wildlife protected places, such as game parks, is little understood in previous tourism literature. The paper therefore explores the role of cognitive destination brand image on the attractiveness of wildlife parks in the Amboseli-Tsavo Ecosystem. The results showed a significant positive relationship between cognitive destination image and park attractiveness (β = 0.446, t = 6.661, p = .001). The study concludes that tourists exhibiting higher levels of cognitive destination image are more likely to perceive a tourist destination as being attractive. An embedded mixed-method research design was adopted to collect quantitative and qualitative data from 440 park visitors and 28 tourism experts. Simple and linear regressions were used to test the hypotheses, whereas qualitative data were analyzed using content analyses. This study aims to add to knowledge to tourism marketing literature on wildlife park attractiveness as perceived by tourists and gives recommendation on policy of controlling the provision of accommodation, attractions or activities within the protected parks to safeguard the ecosystem.

Destination image and revisit intention: the case of Egypt tourism

This study aims to investigate the relationship between destination image, perceived value, sat‑ isfaction, and repeat tourist visit intentionplus the factos that influence loyalty when visiting Egypt. The study also analyses the mediating effects of tourist satisfaction as a result of perceived value. After extensive literature review, a study model and questionnaire were designed. Data were collected from international tourists and were analysed using the structural equation model (SEM). The key findings show that both cognitive‑affective destination image and perceived value affect tourists’ intention to revisit. The findings also indicate that the cognitive destination image and perceived value are substantial factors in influencing tourist satisfaction. Additionally, a mediating role of affective image and perceived value was found in this study. Academic contributions, management implications, and some potential ideas for future studies are also discussed.

DESTINATION IMAGE AND EXPECTATIONS OF TOURISTS IN SATUN GEOPARK, THAILAND

Satun is the first geopark in Thailand, recognized by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for having the longest succession of fossils as well as an abundance and diversity of fossil species. It is also renowned for its rich nature, cultural diversity and harmony. Satun geopark has a high potential to be further developed for world tourism. However, the geopark green card is validated only for 4 years. Thailand must ensure a delicate balance between local community development and geopark tourism. The goal of this study is to review existing literature on Satun Geopark's destination image, visitor expectations, and intended travel dates. It also aims to develop a conceptual framework for evaluating the importance of Satun Geopark's destination image and visitor expectations. According to the literature, it is clear that tourist expectations and internal motivation have an impact on affective destination image, while external motivation and word of mouth have an impact on cognitive destination image. Cognitive destination image also acts as a mediating factor between external motivation and word of mouth. The results of this study can be used to modify the tourism and information package to maximize tourists' satisfaction and loyalty. It will also guide the Satun geopark in terms of marketing and providing information to the tourists.

Can audience involvement stimulate visit intention in Chinese Kung Fu? Using a serial multiple mediation model to explore film tourism.

The popularity of film and television causes audiences to flock to the location of filming, and thus film tourism is widely been used as an efficient tool in destination branding and marketing. Accordingly, this study takes Chinese Kung Fu film and television as an example, using the method of regression model to study audience involvement, cognitive destination image, tourists’ anticipated experiences, and visit intention into an overall framework. Findings illustrate a significant positive correlation among these four factors. Specifically, cognitive destination image and tourists’ anticipated experiences have a partial mediating effect on the relationship between audience involvement and visit intention. This study provides three suggestions for the development of film tourism, namely maximizing the marketing effect, strengthening the unity of film and images of destinations, and making full use of modern marketing tools.

Physical Layer Security for Cognitive Multiuser Networks With Hardware Impairments and Channel Estimation Errors

In this paper, we investigate the physical layer security for a cognitive multiuser network which is composed of multiple cognitive sources, a cognitive destination and an eavesdropper under the joint impact of hardware impairments (HIs) and channel estimation errors (CEEs). We consider a practical scenario where mutual interference exists between the primary users and cognitive users. To achieve high physical layer security with low implementation complexity, we propose three pure user scheduling schemes, namely, selection combining (SC) scheme, threshold-based switched diversity (tSD) scheme and switch-and-examine combining with post-selection (SECps) scheme. To further improve physical layer security, we present an extension of our SC framework to a jammer aided multiuser network and propose a jammer aided SC (JSC) scheme. We derive the closed-form intercept probability (IP), outage probability (OP) and effective secrecy throughput (EST) expressions for SC, tSD, SECps and JSC schemes over Nakagami- <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$ </tex-math></inline-formula> channels to analyze the system performance. Numerical results show that among the three pure multiuser scheduling schemes, the SC scheme achieves the best secrecy performance with the highest complexity, the SECps scheme obtains the worst secrecy performance with the lowest complexity. In addition, the secrecy performance of JSC scheme is better than that of SC scheme in the high SNR region.

향토음식이미지가 관광지이미지, 장소애착, 행동의도에 미치는 영향: 광주광역시를 중심으로

Purpose - This study was conducted to examine the effect of local food image in Gwangju Metropolitan City on destination image, place attachment and behavioral intention and the effect of tourist destination image and place attachment on behavioral intention. Design, data, and methodology -For tourists who have visited Gwangju Metropolitan City, it was conducted from May 1 to May 20, 2022. Result - The results of this study are as follows. First, Hypothesis 1-1 was partially accepted as the quality and uniqueness factors of the Gwangju local food image had a positive (+) effect on the cognitive destination image. Also, it was found that the uniqueness factor of the Gwangju local food image had a positive (+) influence relationship on the emotional destination image, so Hypothesis 1-2 was partially accepted. Second, Hypothesis 2 was partially accepted as it was found that two factors, the uniqueness of Gwangju''s local food image and food attribute factors, had a positive (+) effect on place attachment. Third, it was found that the emotional factors of the tourist destination image had a positive (+) effect on the behavior intention, so it was partially adopted. Finally, Hypothesis 4 was accepted as it was shown that place attachment had a positive (+) influence on behavioral intention. Conclusions - This offers that the good quality of local food in Gwangju can represent the image of the region and provide a point of differentiation from other regions.