There has been exponential growth in the number of studies of destination image appearing in the tourism literature. However, few have addressed the issues of destination positioning analysis and the role of affective perceptions. This article analyzes the market positions held by a competitive set of destinations through a comparison of cognitive, affective, and conative perceptions. Cognition was identified by trialing a factor analytic adaptation of importanceperformance analysis. Affect was measured using an affective response grid, while conation was gauged by stated intent to visit. The alignment of the results from these techniques identified leadership positions held by two quite different destinations on two quite different dimensions of destination attractiveness. It is suggested that this method of positioning analysis offers a practical means for destination marketers faced with the challenge of identifying the one or few features from their diverse and multiattributed product range that could be developed to differentiate their destination in a meaningful way to consumers.

BackgroundThe impact of scientific publications has traditionally been expressed in terms of citation counts. However, scientific activity has moved online over the past decade. To better capture scientific impact in the digital era, a variety of new impact measures has been proposed on the basis of social network analysis and usage log data. Here we investigate how these new measures relate to each other, and how accurately and completely they express scientific impact.MethodologyWe performed a principal component analysis of the rankings produced by 39 existing and proposed measures of scholarly impact that were calculated on the basis of both citation and usage log data.ConclusionsOur results indicate that the notion of scientific impact is a multi-dimensional construct that can not be adequately measured by any single indicator, although some measures are more suitable than others. The commonly used citation Impact Factor is not positioned at the core of this construct, but at its periphery, and should thus be used with caution.

No abstract

This article evaluates a theoretical model based on hypothesized relationships among four constructs, namely, destination image, place attachment, personal involvement, and visitors’ satisfaction as antecedents of loyalty. These relationships are explored for a sample of 705 international visitors staying in hotels on the island of Mauritius. Confirmatory factor analysis is used initially to ascertain the dimensions of the various constructs but also to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of the measurement items. The structural model indicates that destination image, personal involvement and place attachment are antecedents of visitors’ loyalty but this relationship is mediated by satisfaction levels. The findings offer important implications for tourism theory and practice.

No abstract