Different Tourists - Different Perceptions of Different Cities Consequences for Destination Image Measurement and Strategic Destination Marketing

A destination marketing organization is charged with the task of convincingly appealing to potential visitors and so attracting them to their destination. Destination image plays a central role in this process and the effect of destination image on destination choice decisions has been well established in the tourism literature (see, for instance, Tapachai & Waryzcak, 2000). It is also known that visitors generally do not constitute one homogenous group. Another key challenge of a destination marketing organization, consequently, is to identify sub-markets of visitors. The uncovering of separate target markets, captured by the concept of market segmentation, is well recognized by practitioners and researchers in the fields of marketing, and in applications related to tourist destination choices (Dolnicar, 2004).