Destination Personality: Effects on Satisfaction, Identification, Word-of

themselves by identifying with different social groupings, ranging from genetic features such
as gender and ethnicity to brands and organisations (e.g., Fournier, 1998; Turner et al., 1994).
Interestingly, a place may become a part of the self-concept in that it can evoke strong
cognitive and psychological attachments (Simpson & Siguaw, 2008). Tourist identification
with a destination refers to the extent to which a tourist perceives a sense of connectedness to
a destination and defines him- or herself in terms of it (cf. Mael & Ashforth, 1992). Thus,
destinations with a strong personality are likely to evoke tourist–destination identification by
virtue of effectively reflecting tourists’ desired self-concepts.
H2: There is a positive relationship between destination personality and tourist–
destination identification.
Promoting is defined as providing positive information about a visited destination in
social situations (cf. Arnett et al., 2003). Brand personality can serve as a basis for
differentiation that often leads to favourable customer attitudes and behaviours toward the
brand (e.g., Aaker, 1997; Brakus et al., 2009). Under this premise, tourists are likely to single
out, speak highly of, and revisit destinations that possess a distinctive and favourable
character (Chi & Qu, 2008; Ekinci & Hosany, 2006).
H3: There is a positive relationship between destination personality and promoting.
H4: There is a positive relationship between destination personality and revisit intentions.
Satisfaction may result in a re-evaluation of the salience of identities in that positive
feelings and emotions are important for the formation, maintenance, and development of
identities (Arnett et al., 2003). By virtue of their positive affective state, satisfied tourists are
likely to feel a deep rapport with the visited destination (Hou et al., 2005; Ryan, 1995) and
create or reinforce their identity in relation to it.
H5: There is a positive relationship between tourist satisfaction and tourist–destination
identification.
Positive word-of-mouth originates from customer satisfaction, especially in cases when
experience surpasses expectations (Brown, 2005). It is therefore plausible that satisfied
tourists will speak favourably of a visited destination to their circle of acquaintances upon
return (Weaver et al., 2007). Further, they are likely to revisit the destination (Chi and Qu,
2008). This can be ascribed to risk minimising behaviour: given the considerable monetary
sacrifice incurred in tourist activities, people might be reluctant to take the risk of an unknown
destination and opt for visiting one they are already satisfied with (Alegre & Juaneda, 2006).
H6: There is a positive relationship between tourist satisfaction and promoting.
H7: There is a positive relationship between tourist satisfaction and revisit intentions.
Individuals are likely to enact behaviours that they believe are consistent with a salient
identity in that identities require self-expression (Arnett et al., 2003). Thus, tourists that foster
strong relational bonds and identify with a destination are likely to exhibit higher tendencies
to return there and ‘talk up’ this destination in conversations with friends and acquaintances.
H8: There is a positive relationship between tourist–destination identification and
promoting.
H9: There is a positive relationship between tourist–destination identification and revisit
intentions.
Method
We approached a total of 746 postgraduate students on the campus of a large UK University
and asked them whether they were willing to take part in a survey on their most recent
overseas vacation. We asked the respondents that showed interest to complete a self-
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