Perceived Destination Image: An Image Model for a Winter Sports Destination and Its Effect on Intention to Revisit

The purpose of this study is to develop a destination image model that shows how the overall destination image of a winter sports destination is defined and how it affects the intention to revisit. The article undertakes a review of the relevant literature and develops a structural equation model for destination image, which is tested with data from a survey of n=795 winter sports tourists in Oberstdorf (Germany) and Saalbach-Hinterglemm (Austria), collected between February 14 and 28, 2011. The model depicts that destination image is a multidimensional concept including important sports characteristics and has an impact on tourists' intention to revisit the winter sports destinations. Practical implications for tourism marketers, for instance, include that more structural development and architectual changes have to be implemented carefully to maintain the tourists' perception of landscape or their overall image of the destination.