Do birds of a feather flock together? Empirical evidence from the Generalized Approach to Tourist Ethnocentrism (GATE)

Hermann Kimo Boukamba (PhD student)
2020 African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure  
Beyond the scope of the home country's economy, the present study investigates the effects of ethnocentrism on the cognitive, affective and conative image of a destination, in view of perceptions of cultural distance. Two datasets were collected in the city of Pretoria (South Africa) through structured surveys proposing either Japan (n=346) or Zimbabwe (n=302) as destinations. Psychometric properties as well as model-fit, robustness, and measurement invariance of the composite were confirmed.
more » ... hnocentrism was found to negatively affects the image of less competitive destinations. Cognitive states mediated the positive effects with respect to Japan, whereas the negative effects towards Zimbabwe were explained by affective states. Japan maintained a positive image irrespective of ethnocentrism levels. No significant differences were found in the way ethnocentrism affects destination image across groups displaying different perceptions of cultural distance. This study is set to advance the current knowledge on tourist decision-making beyond marketing mix and socio-demographic variables.
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