A SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF DESTINATION IMAGE TERMINOLOGY

Abstract

Destination image is an important aspect of successful destination marketing; therefore, it receives attention from both tourism academia and practitioners. However, due to the diverse background of destination image researchers, there is variety in use of terminologies, which provides potential for confusion, especially for laypersons. Some researchers use different terms when referring to the same concept, whereas some others use the same terms but refer to different concepts. The purpose of this article is to clarify this terminology confusion in destination image literature by reviewing several empirical and conceptual image-related articles published in well-known journals of tourism and related fields. Visual depictions of relationships between different terms are provided. It is concluded that more commonly accepted image terminology needs to be used by researchers for a substantial and scientific destination image theory and research.