Differences in perceived destination image and event satisfaction among cultural visitors: The case of the european biennial of contemporary art "manifesta 7"

Abstract

The destination image reflects the impressions and ideas tourists have of a holiday region and strongly influences visitors' behavior. Visitors to cultural events have differing images of destinations according to their interest in seeing the event itself. Destination managers can exploit the factors that influence the destination image and customer satisfaction with a cultural event in order to successfully position the destination and improve communication. Destination image, quality of event, and customer satisfaction are highly related, and this study analyzes these factors for three differently motivated groups of visitors. An empirical investigation of visitors at 2008 Manifesta 7, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, was conducted in order to ascertain differences among groups according to these variables. The results show that differentiation of promotion measures is needed depending on the single items that influence satisfaction with cultural event and tourist offerings. © 2013 Cognizant Comm. Corp.