Journal of Tourism & Hospitality
Open Access

Abstract

Actual Self-Image, Ideal Self-Image and the Relation between Satisfaction and Destination Loyalty

Muhannad M A Abdallat

Past research efforts in the tourism industry focused on what tourists buy, when they buy, where they buy, and how they buy, but not so much on why they buy. This question of “why” brings us to a micro-level analysis tourism development. In this context among other things, the literature explains the self concept literature in consumer research which helps to explain the psychological underpinnings of travel self-congruity that involves a process of matching a tourist’s self-concept to a destination visitor image. Traditional research methods, which assume a piecemeal process, may not adequately capture the holistic nature of self congruence and, therefore, may have limited predictive validity. The new method will be more predictive of a variety of tourist behaviors such as satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Data for this study were collected from international tourists whom had visited Penang. A total of 400 questionnaires were sent out and 145 were returned (response rate of 36.25%), out of which only 100 were usable (usable rate of 68.97%). This research focused on two types of self-image (ideal and actual). Specifically, ideal self-image had a positive influence on customer satisfaction, while it had a negative influence on actual self image. However, both were found to influence destination loyalty. The mediating support of customer satisfaction was found for only the relationship between ideal self image and loyalty. The data of 100 respondents were gathered through convenience sampling from the departure hall of the Penang International.