An Empirical Investigation of Attitude Theory for Tourist Destinations: a Comparison of Visitors and Nonvisitors

Abstract

This study empirically investigates attitude structure, the relationship between cognition, affect, and behavioral intention, for three Mediterranean destinations. Specifically, the study compares a traditional and extended model of attitude structures between visitor and nonvisitor segments. The findings suggest that some relationships hypothesized in the tra ditional attitude model are not supported for either visitors or nonvisitors. The extended model, however, is fully supported for visitors and partly supported for nonvisitors. It is concluded that some modifications should be made to attitude theory for tourism destina tion selection behavior. The study also reveals some practical implications for promoting and positioning tourism destinations.