Premium
Multisensory Processing Impacts on Destination Image and Willingness to Visit
Author(s) -
Kim Jihee,
Kerstetter Deborah L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of tourism research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.155
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1522-1970
pISSN - 1099-2340
DOI - 10.1002/jtr.2032
Subject(s) - empathy , tourism , structural equation modeling , destination image , advertising , psychology , focus (optics) , marketing , image (mathematics) , destinations , computer science , social psychology , business , computer vision , geography , machine learning , physics , optics , archaeology
Missing from destination image research is a focus on multisensory processing, particularly with respect to multiple types of communication about a destination. In this study a 2 × 2 between‐subject experimental design was employed to explore how multisensory processing of various forms of communication induces or amplifies positive images. At the same time, the relative contributions of empathy and destination image to willingness to visit the tourism destination were investigated. Structural equation modeling suggested that multisensory processing positively affected empathy and destination image, and empathy and destination image contributed to willingness to visit a destination. The study results are discussed in terms of their contribution to the literature as well as the ways in which they can be used by tourism researchers and marketers. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.