An analysis of destination image for emerging markets of Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to assess the perceived importance of the attributes that form the destination image (DI) based on general vacation experiences and opinions of travelers and (2) to compare the expected performance of Turkey’s attributes in attracting travelers from the emerging markets (i.e. China as well as Arab countries) using importance–performance analysis (IPA). The data were gathered from a sample of 426 prospective Chinese and Arab travelers during two prominent travel expositions in Dubai and Shanghai using face-to-face interviews with structured questionnaires. Comparative factor analysis and two generated IPA grids for each sample provided important insights into the perceived DI of emerging markets. More specifically, study findings provide valuable practical management information to destination management organizations in Turkey that want to design tailored marketing strategies for emerging markets. Further practical and theoretical implications are discussed in detail.

Do you dare to travel to China? An examination of China's destination image amid the COVID-19

“…In particular, the international travelers were getting more and more concerned with the safety and security of a destination when making decisions. Similarly, when Atadil, Sirakaya-Turk, and Altintas (2017) examined the perceived destination image, the safe and secure environment at a destination was associated with the highest level of importance in their respective factor analysis.…”

“…Thus, it's not surprising that the perceived destination image is affected by such cultural expressions and natural resources. Further dimensions such as smooth travel and affordability were also examined to enhance our understanding of the destination image formation by previous research (e.g., Atadil et al, 2017 ; Chaulagain et al, 2019 ). These image dimensions mentioned above were comprehensively included in the proposed destination image scale and their significance was tested in predicting travel intentions.…”

“…A 5-point Likert-type scale where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree was adopted to assess respondents' ratings on the destination image attributes. These 30 attributes describing China as an international destination were developed based on previous related research, including Atadil et al (2017) , Chaulagain et al (2019) , Baloglu and McCleary (1999) , Chen, Lai, Petrick, and Lin (2016) , Beerli and Martin (2004) , and executed pilot study, as well as, professional and academic experience of the authors of the present study. Section 3 contained three items to measure the future travel intention to China.…”

“…There was no item with a higher absolute value than 1.19 regarding kurtosis, skewness and standard deviations. Furthermore, previous research suggested and had used 5 to 10 participants per scale item method when assessing the sample size (e.g., Atadil et al, 2017 ; Comrey & Lee, 2013 ). In addition, a high reliability was also observed for the scale (α = 0.94).…”

“…The common method bias was also assessed through Harman's single-factor test that resulted in only a 38% of explained variance. Based on the previous related literature (e.g., Atadil et al, 2017 ; Beerli & Martin, 2004 ; Chaulagain et al, 2019 ), as well as, our professional and academic experience, the obtained factors were named as: (1) Destination Safety and Security , (2) Cultural Richness , (3) Ecological Richness , (4) Travel Smoothness , and (5) Wallet Friendliness . In Table 1 , the highest three mean scores were associated with the following items: China has places of historical or cultural interest (Mean value = 4.14), China has unique ways of life and customs (4.03), and China has wealth and beauty of the landscape (4.00).…”