Assessing destination image: An online marketing approach and the case of TripAdvisor

Abstract Destination image is a popular research domain in the tourism literature, yet few studies focus on destination image as reflected by actual tourists׳ evaluations and reviews on social media. Given the significance of social media and the relationship between country and destination image, the study sets out to assess the cognitive, affective and conative components of image. This study considers the concept of destination image from the tourists׳ point of view, though their reviews of Istanbul on TripAdvisor during the summer in 2013. This study, although limited in scope, will be of interest to academic researchers and industry practitioners who are seeking to better understand the behavior of travelers using the Internet.