The Effect of Destination Image on Destination Loyalty: An Application In Alanya

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the impact the destination image of Alanya district which is a district of Antalya, one of the main tourism centers in Turkey had on establishing destination loyalty. The sampling group of the study consists of tourists who visited Alanya district of Antalya between the months of June and August in 2012. A survey containing scales pertaining to destination image and destination loyalty was used as a data collection tool for the application and the collected data were analyzed by benefiting from statistical techniques such as factor analysis, reliability analysis, arithmetical average, standard deviation, Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis. The study concluded that there was a positive and strong affiliation between the destination image which was reported as positive in general by the participants and destination loyalty and that cognitive image had a greater impact on establishing destination loyalty than affective image.

Key Words: Destination image, cognitive image, affective image, destination loyalty, Alanya