Destination image and perceived meaningfulness for visitor loyalty: A strategic positioning of Indian destinations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to empirically test and validate a multi-dimensional structure of ‘In-loco Destination Image’ and ‘perceived meaningfulness’ using an integrated model of visitor loyalty. The model was tested using data collected from responses of foreign tourists visiting India (n = 246). The results identified six dimensions of ‘In-loco Destination Image’: Amenities, Attractions, Leisure, Culture, Support Systems, and Hospitality. In addition, the investigation observes that of the identified dimensions of perceived meaningfulness, the ‘spiritual’ and ‘societal’ dimensions contribute more to perceived meaningfulness than the ‘physical well-being’ aspect. Further, the exploration estimated the theoretical framework developed using structural equation modelling and established the mediating role of perceived meaningfulness in developing visitor loyalty from ‘In-loco Destination Image.’ The study’s observations helped identify three positioning approaches, namely objective, subjective, and combined, offering suggestions to destination marketers to effectively reposition Indian destinations.

KEYWORDS:

• Tourism
• perceived meaningfulness
• destination image
• In-loco DI
• visitor loyalty
• positioning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ajay Jose

Ajay Jose, Ph.D., is a practicing professional, consultant, leadership coach, and visiting academic with research interests in the domains of transformative service research, wellbeing, destination branding, service quality, and service recovery. His articles have been published in reputed journals like Electronic Commerce Research, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and many others

G. Rejikumar

G. Rejikumar, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Management, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi Campus. He has more than 30 years of professional experience in academics and industry. His areas of research interests include service operations, quality management, services cape design, healthcare service quality, export operations, etc. He is a life member of the Operations Society of India. He has published in management journals like Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Production Planning and Control, Electronic Commerce Research, Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, among others.

Aswathy Asokan Ajitha

Aswathy Asokan Ajitha is an Assistant Professor in Marketing at the Indian Institute of Management Amritsar. Her primary areas of interest include Marketing, Services Marketing, Consumer Behavior, and Strategic Management. She has published in reputed journals such as Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Electronic Commerce Research, and many more. She has also been part of reputed conferences in Marketing and chaired sessions in the American Marketing Association (AMA) Summer Conference. She is also a reviewer for leading journals, including the Journal of Business Research.

Sonia Mathew

Sonia Mathew is an Assistant Professor at Christ University, Bangalore. She has more than twenty years of experience in academics and industry. Her research interests are in transformative service research, service recovery, hospitality, and tourism management. She has published in Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and many more.

Uttam Chakraborty

Uttam Chakraborty is working as an Assistant Professor at Jaipuria Institute of Management Lucknow campus. He has published in reputed journals like the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Journal of Promotion Management. His research interests include online social media, brand management, consumer behavior, hospitality management, and tourism management. He has reviewed papers for many well-known journals.