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INFLUENCE OF DESTINATION IMAGE & DESTINATION PERSONALITY IN TOURIST’S DECISION MAKING: AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Makarand Upadhyaya

Abstract


The idea of personality in a destination is a relatively new one and the academic investigation of such a process is still in its infancy. In the ever more competitive tourism marketplace,  destinations  are  increasingly  adopting  branding  techniques  to  craft  an identity which emphasizes the uniqueness of their product. A key component of this personality building process is the thorough management of destination image and personality with particular attention to personality-related factors. Destination personality can be regarded as an attitudinal construct and it can be clearly argued that our image towards a destination is affected by the personality we form towards that destination.

Although a conceptual model exists in an academic study, no apparent effort has been made to empirically investigate the relationship between destination image and destination personality in a particular tourism context. The paper attempts to develop an understanding about the major factors contributing to destination image and identifying important personality traits of a destination. Destination image is measured using a structured scale with 15 variables adopted from past researches and brand personality scale is used to derive important personality traits for a tourist destination.  Findings are based upon a sample of 200 respondents using multivariate tools.


Keywords


Destination image, Destination personality, Destination branding, Destination marketing, Branding, Brand personality

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