Destination's Image and Tourism Experiences

Introduction

Tourism is seen as a phenomenon that is researched and studied for its development by both academicians, practitioners, and managers. The tourism industry contributes economically to countries in terms of consumption, foreign exchange input, and employment on a regional and global basis (Buhalis, 1999; Kandampully, 2000). The economic contribution of tourism to countries is not only in the tourism industry, but also supports the development of many industries. With the development of the transportation sector and technology in recent years, tourism has become easier on a global scale, and the tourism sector has gained value. The development of world tourism and the increase in the number of tourism destinations has led to the development of competition. So, efforts to create a destination image have gained importance for gaining a competitive advantage. Because, to gain an advantage in the competition in the tourism industry, it is necessary to develop a positive image for destinations (Baloglu & McCleary, 1999b). Also, it is necessary to know the destination image in the minds of tourists and the strengths and weaknesses of the destination (Chen & Uysal, 2002) to gain a competitive advantage. Today, competition is valid not only for products, institutions, companies, individuals but also within countries and destinations. Therefore, the destination image is also very important for a competitive advantage. Creating a positive image, especially in the tourism industry, requires comprehensive and strategic planning due to the industry’s structure (Akyurt & Atay, 2009). Another issue that is as important as the clarity of the destination image and its clear transfer to the individual is the positive result of the experience gained by the individual from this touristic activity because the individual positive experience will make the stronger of the destination image. In addition to the competitive advantage, tourists’ changing expectations and needs and the fact that similar services are offered in many destinations have caused tourists to seek diversity and diversity. These tourist expectations have brought many changes in the tourism industry. In addition to the goods and services in the tourism industry, focusing on tourism experiences is considered very important in contributing to the destination image. Destinations refer to certain geographic areas such as continent, country, region, city. It consists of a combination of touristic features that offer interconnected services to visitors. In creating destinations, many features of the region such as cultural characteristics, geographical conditions, historical importance, ethnic cuisine, and having an endemic species are taken into consideration. Destination image consists of the sum of the information, experiences, and impressions that individuals have about a region. So, tourism experiences are very valuable. If people’s experiences reinforce the destination image, the destination image becomes even more important.

Pine and Gilmore (1999) highlight the impact of experience on economic growth, arguing the change of the global economy towards products, services, and experience. The competition between products, services, and experiences in the tourism industry and the constant change in the demands and expectations of tourists reveal the necessity of managing and marketing tourism destinations by evaluating them from a strategic perspective. So, image plays an important role in the success of destinations. Furthermore, destination image has an impact on consumer behaviour because it is related to the resources and attractive aspects of a tourism destination and is considered as a mental indicator of consumers’ knowledge, emotion, and perception towards a particular destination (Crompton, 1979; Fakeye & Crompton, 1991; Stabler, 1995).