Tourism Destination Image, Satisfaction and Loyalty: A Study in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico

The aim of this paper is to analyse the causal relationships among three key variables in tourism marketing: image, satisfaction and loyalty. It analyses the specific case of a tourism destination, approaching it not only from a cognitive perspective but also from an emotional one. It thus attempts to incorporate the experiential view into a construct such as the image of the tourism destination. Some hypotheses are put forward and tested in an empirical study of 140 American tourists visiting Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo (Mexico). Four dimensions of the tourism destination image are identified: natural resources, service quality, entertainment and affective image. The study demonstrates that the affective image is the main antecedent of loyalty.