Title: The first Plymouth: pictorial element and destination image

Authors: Rong Huang, Graham Busby, Christina Bosdou

Addresses: School of Tourism and Hospitality, Plymouth Business School, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK. ' School of Tourism and Hospitality, Plymouth Business School, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK. ' Piraeus Bank, Arhelaou 4, Veria 59100, Greece

Abstract: The historic English city of Plymouth is not a primary tourist destination although it has much to offer. This study examines the construct of destination image in relation to the views of 209 visitors interviewed in 2007. Respondents were shown images from the current Visitors Guide and presented with bi-polar adjectives in order to ascertain their impressions. Visitors had a low level of advertising awareness, in relation to Plymouth yet were conscious that one of the images shown was somewhat dated; nonetheless, the picture was considered to portray that area as exciting, familiar and affordable but not peaceful, surprisingly.

Keywords: Plymouth; destination images; pictorial elements; UK; United Kingdom; tourist destinations; visitor guides; tourism.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2009.028713

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2009 Vol.2 No.4, pp.246 - 261

Published online: 25 Sep 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article