Personifying Destinations: A Personal Values Approach

Abstract

In this article, we examine whether tourists ascribe value priorities to destinations in a way that is consistent with the structure of the Schwartz theory of human values. In study 1, we test a new measure of destination values to elicit tourists’ perceptions of the values of a recent memorable holiday destination and whether these values reflect their holiday experiences. In study 2, we use the same measure to elicit tourists’ perceptions of four popular international destinations (London, New York, Paris, and Bangkok) and examine whether person–destination values congruence influences visit intentions. Across both studies we show that tourists’ perceptions of a destination’s values share a common structure consistent with values theory, but they differ widely in the value priorities they ascribe to destinations. We also found that destination values reflect tourist’s value-expressive holiday experiences and that self-congruity was associated with intentions to visit a destination.