• DOI:10.1080/02642069.2017.1333601
• Corpus ID: 54745153

Travelling for Umrah: destination attributes, destination image, and post-travel intentions

@article{Gannon2017TravellingFU,
  title={Travelling for Umrah: destination attributes, destination image, and post-travel intentions},
  author={Martin Joseph Gannon and Ian Baxter and Elaine Collinson and Ross Curran and Thomas Farrington and Steven Glasgow and Elliot M. Godsman and Keith Gori and Gordon R. A. Jack and Sean Lochrie and Rebecca Maxwell-Stuart and Andrew C. MacLaren and R. MacIntosh and Kevin O'Gorman and Luke Ottaway and Rodrigo Perez-Vega and Babak Taheri and Jamie Thompson and Ozge Yalinay},
  journal={The Service Industries Journal},
  year={2017},
  volume={37},
  pages={448 - 465}
}

• M. Gannon, I. Baxter, +16 authors Ozge Yalinay
• Published 31 May 2017
• Business
• The Service Industries Journal

ABSTRACT This paper examines the links between cosmopolitanism, self-identity, and a desire for social interaction on perceived destination image and behavioural intentions. A model was tested using a sample of 538 Iranian visitors to Mecca for the purpose of Umrah. The result from the structural model suggests that destination attributes influence perceived destination image. Further, such tourists are likely to revisit or recommend Islamic destinations if their experience matches their perceived image of the destination. This implies that, while the religious characteristics of the destination remain important, destination managers cannot disregard the tangential, non-religious attributes of a destination which are crucial in order to satisfy more conventional tourist desires. As such, this study suggests that those managing religious travel destinations should endeavour to foster a welcoming image, where experience, interaction, and tolerance are at the forefront of the destination’s offering.