| Summary: | Since the 1970s when the first destination image studies were performed, this topic has become one of the most predominant in the tourism marketing literature. Destination image within the tourism industry is essential, as most tourism products are services rather than physical goods, and can often only compete by means of the image they portray. The image of a specific destination is a major element in the final decision when selecting the destination. Both positive and negative images occur, together having a great impact on the travel and tourism industry. Destinations therefore have to create images of their location and what they have to offer to help differentiate them from their competition. Therefore, potential tourists rely on their mental images when deciding to visit one destination over another. Different influences emerge within tourist decisions, which affect their ultimate experience. It is therefore clear that, to understand tourists‟ needs and wants, relationship building is important and this could assist with the marketing of products or services. Marketing plays a central part in tourism, since consumers need to travel to a certain destination to see, feel or test the product that is to be purchased and evaluated.
Image is formed based on three main components. These are: cognitive (what one knows about a destination), affective (how one feels about what one knows) and conative components (how one acts on this information). To date, various image models have been developed. However, none of these have been applied to, tested in, or developed for South Africa. It is therefore important to know how tourists formulate a destinations‟ image as well as what influences their image regarding a destination. Therefore, to achieve this and the goal of this study, which is to develop a framework for the optimisation of the image of South
Africa as a tourism destination, a comprehensive review of marketing and destination image literature was performed, subsequent to which the research was conducted. After having conducted the literature review and gathered expert advice and opinions, various literature-based attributes were identified. A total of sixty-three attributes were acknowledged whereafter these were sifted and grouped into Cognitive, Affective and Conative attributes. After taking expert advice into consideration, these attributes were once again sifted and it was determined whether they were applicable for this research. A total of fifty-seven attributes remained important and formed part of the questionnaire. Forty-two attributes were Cognitive, twelve Affective and three Conative. The research was conducted at the international departure area of a major international airport in South Africa. The respondents consisted of international tourists that were returning to their home countries after visiting South Africa. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed of which 474 questionnaires were obtained. Of these, 451 questionnaires were usable for this study, as 23 questionnaires were incomplete and not usable. The number of questionnaires was therefore representative of the target population and further analysis. After the questionnaires for this study were gathered, the primary data was captured and analysed. Different types of data analyses were used in this study: Firstly, descriptive analysis to determine findings concerning the demographic profile of respondents and the respondent‟s travel behaviour whilst visiting South Africa. Secondly, factor analyses to factorise the image attributes into image factors; and to factorise external aspects into factors and determine how these affect image formation. Thirdly, ANOVAs (One-way analysis of variance) were conducted where more than two categories formed part of the question, t-tests were conducted to compare the image factors with questions consisting of only two categories and Spearman rank correlations were conducted to describe the strength and direction of the linear relationship between selected variables. Finally, Structural Equation Modelling was used to empirically test the framework and evaluate how well the data supports the hypothesised model.
The first factor analysis resulted in 13 reliable and valid factors, which consisted of the cognitive, affective and conative image attributes. These factors, together with the factors of the second factor analysis (Media, Political and Iconic aspects) were used as constructs in the Structural Equation Modelling analysis. After having combined the results of all the different analyses, a framework was developed that identifies the aspects influencing South Africa‟s image.
Some of the main findings were that media, political happenings and iconic aspects directly influenced cognitive, affective and conative images. Novel to this study was the significant influence of icons. Interestingly, demographic information only affects cognitive image and neither affective nor conative image. Travel behaviour contributes to the formation of cognitive, affective and conative image.However, surprisingly, the lack of influence from travel agents and travel guides was also depicted in the results. This framework emphasises the importance of pre-, onsite and post-experiences as well as communication in image formation. This study contributes academically, methodologically and practically. Academic contributions include empirically testing the framework, which significantly contributes to literature; and the innovative inclusion and assessment of icons adds a new dimension to image formation in literature. From a methodological point of view, it is clear that the analyses of all influencing aspects are challenging and not standardised. The types of analyses applied in this study enhanced the in-depth analyses of the data that was then included into one framework. The data was empirically tested and found to be reliable. The empirical testing of all aspects in a South African context was different and innovative, which finally created a detailed picture of South Africa‟s image as a tourism destination. Finally, the practical contribution of this study is that the framework developed for this study can be used by tourism organisations of various types in planning and implementing marketing strategies. The framework can direct their advertising and staff training; and improve the general tourism product of South Africa. The framework can also be applied to other tourism destinations. Clear recommendations were made regarding the focus of marketing strategies and building the image of South Africa. It was recommended that the framework developed in this study be implemented by national tourism organisations such as SA Tourism, as well as provincial organisations such as Tourism Boards. Product owners can benefit from the framework by considering some of the influential aspects in their product development and marketing strategies. Lastly, all marketing strategies and plans for South Africa should be focused on improving the cognitive, affective and conative image of South Africa. === PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015
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