The role of the media in constructing a destination image: the Kenya experience

ABSTRACT

Applying the experience of Kenya as a tourist destination, the purpose of this study was to examine the role of the media in the construction of a destination image and whether types of media differ in their influence on destination image and travel decision-making. Actual visitors (AVs) and potential visitors (PVs) to Kenya were surveyed using convenience sampling for the AVs and snowball sampling for the PVs. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis and, as expected, it was found that the media has an influence on destination perception, but that not all aspects of the destination image are influenced similarly by the different types of media, and not all media information sources have the capacity to influence the visitor types in the study. While television news and television travel documentaries were identified as the most influential media in the construction of the organic image of Kenya, generally the destination image is influenced differently for PVs and AVs by television news, travel guides and newspapers reports. The influence of the media also differs on negative and positive reporting. These findings have implications for a destination’s image communication strategy.

Keywords:

• destination image
• image construction
• the media
• media influence
• Kenya