The impact of country image and destination image on US tourists’ travel intention

Over the past decades there has been a sustained interest in country image and destination image constructs in two primary streams of literature, including international marketing and tourism. However, limited research in tourism has investigated the differences and interaction between these two constructs and their impacts on intention to visit. The current study addresses this gap by developing and testing a theoretical model that examines the relationships among the country and destination image of Cuba, a country that has continuous political conflicts with the US, and Americans’ intention to visit Cuba as a tourism destination. In addition, the moderating role of destination familiarity on the proposed relationships is examined. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is utilized to test the proposed model using data collected from 353 US residents. The results demonstrate that country image has a positive impact on destination image, and both country image and destination image positively influence intention to visit. A significant moderating effect of destination familiarity is also found on the relationships between country image and destination image, and destination image and intention to visit. This research provides valuable theoretical and practical implications for academics and practitioners in the field of destination marketing and management.