Aalborg Universitet Identification of the effective e-promotional tools on improving destination brand image Seyyedamiri, Nader; Khosravani, Ala

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Identification of the effective e-promotional tools on improving destination brand image

Seyyedamiri, Nader; Khosravani, Ala

Published in:

Journal of Global Information Management

DOI (link to publication from Publisher):

10.4018/JGIM.2020070109

Creative Commons License CC BY 4.0

Publication date:

2020

Document Version

Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication from Aalborg University

Citation for published version (APA):

Seyyedamiri, N., & Khosravani, A. (2020). Identification of the effective e-promotional tools on improving destination brand image. Journal of Global Information Management, 28(3), 169-183.

https://doi.org/10.4018/JGIM.2020070109

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DOI: 10.4018/JGIM.2020070109

Identification of the Effective

E-Promotional Tools on Improving Destination Brand Image

Nader Seyyedamiri, Communication, Media and Information Technologies (CMI), Department of Electronic Systems, Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark

Ala Khosravani, Master of Tourism, Copenhagen, Denmark

ABSTRACT

Theaimofthisresearchistoevaluatetheeffectofpromotionaltoolsoncreatingapositivedestination

brandimageandattractinginternationaltouriststoIran.Mixedmethodswereemployedbasedon

semi-structuredinterviewsthatconductedwithtourismexperts.Thesamplesizedeterminedforan

infinitepopulationandtheintervieweeswerechosenusingthesnowballmethod.Thedatawasanalyzed

byATLAS.tisoftware.ReliabilityandvalidityaredeterminedthroughexpertsandCronbach’salpha.

ThesamplingdesignforthequantitativemethodisaccidentalandbyusingtheCochranformulathe

sampleofaninfinitepopulationisobtained.Thesamplesizeis384tourists.Thecollecteddataby

questionnairesareanalyzedviaSPSSsoftware.Quantitativefindingsindicatedthemostimportant

promotionaltools.Also,thequantitativeanalysisshowedthattheinternetwithanaveragevalueof

3/3984rankedfirst.Finally,theresultsindicatedthatthemorefocusonusingpromotionaltoolson

atourismdestinationtoattractmoretourists.

KEywoRDS

Brand Image, Destination Image, E-Promotional Tools, International Tourist

INTRoDUCTIoN

Thetourismindustryhasaspecialsignificanceintheworld’seconomyandhasbecomeoneofthe

importantsourcesofthecountry’sforeignexchangeearnings.Throughtourismindustrydevelopment,

alsocompetitionisexpanding(Nasrallahietal.,2013).

Inaddition,accordingtoinvestigations,theturnoverofthetourismindustryintheworldisbeyond

theturnoverofotherindustriesanditwouldbeabouttwothousandbilliondollars.Intheprocess,the

achievementoftourismdestinationstoonlyapercentageoftheturnoverleadstoayearlyincomeof

20milliondollars(Hamidizadehetal.,2016).

AccordingtostatisticsprovidedbytheWorldTourismOrganization,theratioofinputtooutput

touristsisequalto0.1.Thedirectimpactofthetourismindustry,bytaking6%ofworldGDP,

indicatesthatoneofthe15futurejobswillbeallocatedtothetourismindustry.Alsotakinginto

Thisarticle,originallypublishedunderIGIGlobal’scopyrightonMarch20,2020willproceedwithpublicationasanOpenAccessarticle

startingonJanuary13,2021inthegoldOpenAccessjournal,JournalofGlobalInformationManagement(convertedtogoldOpenAccess

January1,2021),andwillbedistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

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accountindirecteffects,about10percentoftheworldGDPandoneoftheninefuturejobswillbe

createdbythetourismindustry(UNWTO,2016).

Inthetwenty-firstcentury,technologicaladvancescausedbytheincreaseofleisuretimeand

peoplespendmoretimeontraveling.Actually,thesecondhalfofthetwentiethcenturyshouldbe

calledtheeraofthetourismindustry.Inordertosucceedinthetourismindustrymusthaveasuitable

conditionininfrastructuresandattractionsandalsoplantoattracttouristsandintroducethetourist

attractionsofthecountrytointernationalmarkets(Nasrallahietal.,2013).Today,theglobalInternet

hasbecomeapartofdailylifeformostpeopleandglobalizationofmarketsisoneofthemajor

challengesthatfacedmarketersarefacing.Asaresultoftheincreasednumberoftravelandtrade

inmostofthecountries,aswellasincreasingInternetconnectionsaroundtheworld,globalization

accrued(Kotler&Armstrong,2008).

Infact,globalizationmeansknowingdifferentcultures,andlocalcultureispartofthisdiversity.

StudyingtheimpactofInternationalmarketingstrategies’performanceisnotnew,butthePrevious

researchliteraturedoesnotspecifythemethodsandamountofeffectsofusinge-marketingand

promotionaltoolsintourismmarketsofIranandinattractinginternationaltouriststothecountry

throughthecreationofthepositiveimageofthedestination.

AccordingtoWeber&kosuta-Telisman(1991),tourismhasthepotentialofmakingeconomic

andsocialcontributionsinordertoleadstocountries’tourismindustrygrowthandthesuccessof

tourismindustryindifferentcountriesbecomesasignificantfactorineconomicdevelopmentstrategy.

Thereforetourismmarketingandusingsuitablepromotionaltoolistheessentialmatteringaining

thisgoalanddevelopingthedestination.Thesedays,promotingtourismdestinationencounters

differentkindsofchallengestoachieveandretaincompetitiveadvantages.

Levitt(1986),foundsthatdestination’simagemarketingisthebeginningofprosperousmarketing;

Inviewofthefactthattourists’imagesandexpectationsofthedestinationcloselyrelatedtothe

informationsourcesandtheirthoughtaboutdestinations.

Hence,accordingtothesefindings,possibilitiesforevaluatingthedestinationimagethrough

marketingarise.

Oneofthefavorablescopesinthetourismliteratureisdestinationimage(Gallarza,Saura,&

CalderónGarcía,2002).

Thetheoryofdestinationimageincludescognitiveandanaffectivecomponent.Accordingto

Gartner(1993),thenotionofdestinationimagealsopossessesbehavioralaspect.On1988,Gunn

arguedthattravelexperiencesdirectlyaffectsdestination’simageandconcentratingonelementsthat

haveinfluencesondestinationimagecreation.

Inordertouristschoosetheirtraveldestination,theyneedsomeinformationaboutthedestination

andcontinuouslysearchinginformationviatheinternet,satellite,television,andsocialmedia.

Despitethemediaprovidesvaluableinformationtothetourists,buttheinformationthattheygain

fromunofficialsourcessuchastheadviceoffriendsandacquaintancesandothersaremoreeffective

becausetheyarenotbeneficiariesinadvertisingthatdestination(Nasrallahietal.,2013).

OnlineandElectronicpromotionisapartofonlinemarketingandincludingonlineadvertising,

onlinebranding,anddirectmarketingthroughtheInternetandsoon.Toapplyproperlyadvertising

services,properandavailableElectronicpromotionaltoolsinaccordancewiththeinnovationshould

beusedtoultimatelyleadtobusinesssuccess(Liang,Ekinci,Occhiocupo,&Whyatt,2013).Iran

needstocompeteeffectivelyininternationaltourismwithneighborcountriesandotherregionsof

theworldintheglobalmarket.Soadaptationofinnovativeinternationalmarketingstrategiesand

publicpoliciesappropriatetoourcountryisveryimportant.Duetothefactthattourismproducts

areintangibleandcanhardlyassessedbeforeuse,atpurchasingtheintellectualinvolvementwould

behigh.TourismproducthasDistinctivenatureanditssuccessdependsonaccurateandreliable

information.Therefore,inordertominimizetheriskduringthedecision-makingprocess,tourists

mustinvestigateandcollectavarietyoftravelinformation(Abubakar&Ilkan,2016).

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Forexample,iftouristsnevervisitedadestinationbefore,thesourcesofpromotionhaveto

demonstrateapositiveandpreciseimagebecausethiswouldaffectthedestinationimageformation,

thedestinationselection,andplanstorevisit(Pike,2002).AlthoughtheInternethasbecomeoneof

themostpopularmarketingmedia,becauseofthelownumberofwebsiteusersinsomecountries,

thedemandfactorisstillconsideredoneoftheproblems(Lopes,2011).

Researchhasshownthatdestinationimageisaninfluentialfactorandhastheeffectonthe

choiceofdestinationfortourists.Also,thedevelopmentthedestinationimagehasmulti-dimensional

natureandtheimageformationderivedfromseveralfactors(Liangetal.,2013).Developmentof

theimageisundertheinfluenceofindividualpsychologicalfactorsandexternalstimuluselements

(Pike,2002).Inaddition,promotingthetouristdestinationthatisapartoftheprocessofdestination

imageformationisdependentontheavailableinformationalresourcesthatsomeofwhichaffects

decisionmaking(Govers,Go,&Kumar,2007).

Sotouristsforgaininginformationusingsourcessuchassocialmediaandunofficialsources

likewordofmouth,emailmarketing,thathavemoreeffectiveimpactscomparedtoothersources

(Minazzi,2015).Themediacanbedividedintotwoparts:audiomediasuchasradio,CD,telephone,

videomediasuchasTV,satellite,images,brochures,books,magazines,theInternetandmore.

Brochuresareadvertisingintermediariesinthetourismindustryandhavemultifacetedaimstoattract

andconvincepotentialtourists(Brito&Pratas,2015).

Asaresult,thisstudyexaminestheimpactofpromotionaltoolsonthecreationofpositive

destinationimageandattractinginternationaltourists.

REVIEw oF LITERATURE

Oneofthefactorsaffectingtheformationofadestinationimagepriortovisitingisinformation

sourcesusedbytourists(Friazetal,2008).Despitethatvariouspromotionaldevicesareavailableto

marketingplanners,themostimportanttoolsareinformationaldata(ClarkeandMiddleton,2001),

andtheothertoolsareconveyedcertaininformationtopotentialtourists.Inthefieldofthetourism

industry,informationresourcesusuallyhelpcustomersinmakingdecisionsandpurchaseofaspecific

destination.MiddletonandClarkebelievethatmarketingtoolsareinformationaldata,whichthe

costsareprovidedfrommarketingbudgetandaredesignedtocreateawarenessamongexistingand

potentialtargetmarketinordertostimulateinterestanddemandforproductsspecifictotourism.

Thesetoolsalsomakeiteasierforcustomerstobuyanduse(Chao,2005).Thepurposeofdatahere

isanyinformationthathasbeendisseminatedelectronicallyornon-electronicallyandunconventional

informationresourcesthatarealsocalledcomplementaryinformationcanbeusedasimportanttools

intourismmarketing(ClarkeandMiddleton,2001).Thiscomplementaryinformationincludesword

ofmouthpublicity,ambientadvertising,andtransitionaladvertising,specialadvertising,etc.,(Beerli

andMartin,2004).IntheopinionofMiddletonandClarke(2001),thedisseminateddatahavephysical

andqualitativevalue,forexample,theyarepalpablecanbemaintainedandcanbeshowntoothers.

Thesephysicalcharacteristicsattractpeople.Ontheotherhand,electronicdatahaveapowerfuland

complementaryroleandalsoreducethecostsoftraditionalmarketingmethods.Amongelectronic

advertisingtools,theinternetadvertisingisamongthegrowingtools.Ifatourismdestinationisnot

ontheinternetwebsites,thebusinesswouldlosemanypotentialcustomerswhoexpecttoreceiveall

tourisminformationfromtheinternet.Itisclearlyobviousthatthesuccessofanymarketerinthe

highlycompetitivetourismmarketcannotbepossiblewithouttheuseoftheinternetasamarketing

tool.Basicallytourists,inordertochooseatourismdestination,needinformationregardingthe

destination.Touristsconsistentlycollectinformationfrommasscommunicationmediasuchas

television,satellite,theinternet,andsocialmedia.Althoughthesesourcesprovidevaluableinformation

totourists,however,theywouldprefertoreceiveaconsiderablepartoftheirneededinformation

fromunofficialsourcessuchasrelatives,friends,acquaintancesandotherpeople(Silverman,1997).

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Becausefriendsandacquaintancesarenotbeneficiariesinpromotingthedestination,sotheir

recommendationsareimportanttomostpeoplewhowanttotravel.Accordingly,thetouristswho

aretravelingtoforeigncountries,asopinionleaderstransmittheirpositiveandnegativeexperiences

tootherpeoplewhohaveplanstotravel.(Wangenheim&Bayon,2004).

Researchershaveindicatedthatwordofmouthhasasignificantimpactonreducingtheconsumer

perceivedrisksinthefieldofserviceproducts(Wangenheim&Bayon,2004).Especiallytourism

thatisaserviceindustrybenefitsofwordofmouthadvertising.Therefore,effectivefactorsonword

ofmouthadvertisementsanditseffectontouristbehaviorhavetobemonitoredcarefully.Although

marketerstryinghardtopersuadecustomers,buttheyforgetthatopinionofthepreviouscustomer

hasmoreeffectondecisionmakingofthepotentialcustomer(Bruyn&Lilien,2008).

Mostconsumerstrusttheopinionsoffriendsandacquaintancesandfamilymorebecausethese

viewsaresincereanddevoidofself-interest(Podoshen,2008).Theinfluenceofothers’advicederived

fromthreemainfactors:1.Howtocommunicateinwordofmouthadvertisementsisanimportant

factor.Mostofthediscussionthattakesplacewithfamilyorfriendsissupportingthemtoperform

certainbehaviors.2.Unliketheone-waycommunicationsuchasadvertising,wordofmouthistwo- waycommunication.Unliketheone-waycommunicationsuchasadvertising,advertisingspokeof

thepeopleistwo-waycommunication.Two-waycommunicationpowerderivedfromthefactthat

thepotentialcustomercanaskaquestion,receivesexplanationsandaresultofexplanationsmakesa

decision.3.Attributesofcustomerwordofmoutharethatpeopletransfertheirpersonalexperiences

aboutproductsandservicestoothers(Wilklie,1990).

Wordofmouthinthefinalstagesofthebuyingprocessismoreimportantbecauseitcanbe

ensuredandtheresultsofresearchshowonly14%ofpeoplerelyoncommercialadvertisements

(Walker,2001).Evenmoreinterestingisthat90percentofthosetrusttheproductsorservicesthat

afamilymember,friendorcolleagueconfirms(Alire,2007).

DESTINATIoN BRAND IMAGE

Brandimageisconsumerperceptionofproductspecificcharacteristicswhichreflectedofbrand

associationintheconsumer’smind(Woodward,2000).Cognitiveperceptionscanappearoutwardly

andthiscategorywouldgainmorepowerinserviceproductsbecauseconsumersareabletorely

ontheirperceptionsoftheexperiencethatisinherentlyintangibleandnotstandardized.Thebrand

imageofproductorservicemostofthetimecanbeasubjectivephenomenonintheindividual’s

mind(Woodward,2000).Thecreatedimageofthebrandintheconsumers’mindcontainsalldetails

suchassymptoms,products,promotionsandsoon.

Recallingthisperceptionoftheconsumer’smindthroughappropriatesignsbecomespossible.

Positivebrandimagereducestheperceivedriskoftheconsumeraboutthebrand,aswellasincrease

thelevelofconsumersatisfactionandloyalty.ABrandthatcreatesapositiveimageinthemindsof

peoplewillbeeasierpositioning;becausethebrandthathasastrongandpositiveimagemoreeasily

recalledinthecustomer’smind(Keller,1998).

BalogluandMcClearlyhavebeenexaminedtheeffectofstimulatingfactorsandpersonalfactors

onthedestinationimage.Theyconcludedthatcognitiveandemotionalassessmentshaveaneffecton

theoverallimage.Also,theyfoundthattheamountofinformationandtypesofdatasources(wordof

mouthadvertisingandothertypes)influencescognitiveimage,alsosocialandpsychologicaltriggers

influencesoneoftheemotionalimageaspects.Theresultsshowedthatthereisnotasignificant

relationshipbetweenageandemotionalassessments,butthereisasignificantrelationshipbetween

ageandoneoftheemotionalimageaspects.Thereisalsoarelationbetweeneducation,cognitive

andemotionalimage.

Hosaniet.al(2006),examinedtherelationshipbetweendestinationimageanddestination

personality.Surveyresultsindicatedthattourist’sevaluationofdestinationsincludescognitive,

emotionalandcharacteraspects.

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ChenandTsai(2007)examinedtheeffectofthedestinationimageandevaluativefactorsontourist

behaviororientations.Theyconcludedthatbehaviororientationsaffecttheimageofthedestination

intwoways:directandindirect.

MartinandDel.Basque(2008),haveexploreddestinationimage,cognitive-affectivenatureand

theroleofpsychologicalfactorsintheimageformation.Theresultsofthisstudyindicatethatthe

imagecanincludecognitiveandemotionalevaluationofthedestinationbeforeitisvisited.Onthe

otherhand,thecognitiveimageismoreeffectivethantheemotionalimageofthedestination.When

feelingstowardadestinationcomplywiththeirvisitmotivation,theywouldhavethemorefavorable

emotionalimage.

Quetal.(2011),intheirstudyentitled“Theintegrationofbrandinganddestinationimage

concept”foundthatfirstlycognitive,secondlyuniquepartandfinallyemotionalpartoftheimage

havethemosteffectonthedestinationimageformation.Theoverallimageasamediatorbetween

brandassociations(likeunique,emotionalandcognitiveimages)andfuturebehaviorofthetourist

(likeaplantorevisitthedestinationandrecommendtoothers)havebeenapproved.Thepurpose

ofmarketingtourismdestinationistoincreaseawarenessofthebrandbycreatingauniquetourist

destination.Brandawarenessrepresentstheembodimentofthebrandintheconsumers’minds.Often

brandawarenesshasprovidedtwolevelsofthebrand:1.Brandrecognition;2.Brandrecall.

Theimagethattouristshaveintheirmindofdestinationsissignificant.Thus,itrequiresmarketing

andpromotingofthedestinationtocreateapositiveimageandinformingpeopleaboutthetourist

destination.Destinationimagehasinfluenceinfinalchoiceandindividualbehaviorofthepotential

tourist(ChenandTsai,2007).Destinationimagemarketingisthestartpointofsuccessfultourism

marketingbecausetheimageandexpectationsofvisitors’travelexperiencesinthefuturewilllead

theirthoughtstoaspecialdestination(Chao,2005).ThepotentialTourist’scognitiveimageofthe

destinationhasanimportantroleindestinationchoice.Apositiveimageofadestinationincreases

tourists’awarenessandstrengthencompetitiveadvantageofthedestination.Sincethedestination

imageisastrongmotivationforexcursionsandleisuretravels,thesuccessorfailureofitdependson

theimagethattouristhasinthemind(MiddletonandClarke,2001).

Therefore,toachievesuccessfuldestinationmarketing,tourismmarketersshouldcreatean

effectiveandrelevantimagebeingavailable,credible,catchy,clearandappealing.Animagemay

changeorbecreatedinlesstimethroughmarketingtoolsandwordofmouthadvertisingbywhichan

eventisbroadcasted.Hence,choosingappropriateandeffectivemarketingtoolstoconveyinformation

andcreateapositiveimpressiononthepotentialtouristshelpsalot(Chao,2005).Successfuldestination

imageformationiscentraltoafittingstrategytoutilizethemarketingtools.Thevisitor’svisionofa

particulardestinationisprofoundlyaffectedbythemediumthroughwhichthatdestination’simageis

conveyed.Thatiswhythemarketersshouldstrivetocommunicatethisimagetothepotentialtourists

byrelevantmeans.Cutleretal.(1999)believethatthemarketingtoolscanhelpmakethetargetmarket

andfetchthepotentialtouriststoalessknowndestination.Thus,forthesuccessfulpromotionofthe

destinationimage,themarketingtoolsmustbedeterminedselectively(Chao,2005).Hostingdifferent

eventsandoccasionsincludingmeetings,exhibitions,historicalevents,conferences,sportsevents,etc.

isalsoaneffectiveapproachtoattracttouriststotherespectivedestination.Thisalsocontributesto

conceivingapositiveimageinthemindsofthefirst-timers.Sincetherearemanydifferentalternative

destinations,thefirstonecomingacrossthetouristswouldbethebranddestinationappealingthem

themost(Candreaetal.,2010).

RESEARCH METHoDoLoGy

Themethodusedinthisstudyisdescriptiveinnatureandtheresultisapplicable.Mixedmethods

employedbasedonsemi-structuredinterviewsthatconductedwithexpertsinthefieldoftourism.

Thesamplesizedeterminedforinfinitepopulationandtheintervieweesarechosenusingsnowball

methodandtheinterviewcontinuesuntiltoachievethesaturationpoint.Also,thequalitativedata

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areanalyzedbyemployingATLAS.tisoftware.Thereliabilityandvalidityoftheresearchtoolsare

determinedthroughexpertsandCronbach’salpha.Thesamplingdesignthatusedforthequantitative

methodisaccidentaloravailabilitysamplingandbyusingCochranformulathesampleofaninfinite

populationisobtained.TheSamplesizeof384outboundtouristsisselected.Thequestionnaires

distributedtoatthehotels,sitesandImamKhomeiniInternationalAirport.Thecollecteddataare

analyzedbySPSSsoftware.Quantitativefindingsindicatedthattwelvepromotionaltoolscanbe

definedasthemostimportant.Also,thequantitativeanalysisshowedthattheinternetwithanaverage

valueof3/3984rankedfirstandmassmediawithanaveragevalueof3/3462arerankedsecond.

FINDINGS

InordertoidentifythemosteffectivepromotionaltoolsinpromotingthebrandimageofTehran,

semi-structuredinterviewswereconductedwith7expertsinthefieldoftourism(Table1).

Datacollectedinthissectionofthestudyarearranged,andthentheresearchercodedthedata.

ThestageofopencodingandqualitativeanalysisisdonebyAtlas-tisoftware.Thefindingsofthe

interviewsshowedthatfromexpertspointviewthemostimportantpromotionaltoolsareasseen

inTable2.

QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS

Inthenextstage,aquestionnairedesignedbytheresearcheraccordingtothemostimportant

promotionaltoolsanddistributedamongthestudypopulationandthissectionpresentstheeffectof

promotionaltoolsondestinationimageofTehran.

Thefindingsrelatedtothisstageanalyzedbyusingone-wayANOVA.

Thefindingsareasfollows.

Resultsofone-wayvarianceanalysisshowedthataccordingtosig=000,theassumptionof

differencesbetweentwovariablesofpromotionaltoolsanddestinationimageisconfirmedandthus

thereisasignificantrelationshipbetweenpromotionaltoolsandIrandestinationimage.

Accordingto“MeansPlot”graph,thereisadifferentstructurallybetweenmeanvalues.Onthe

otherhand,accordingtotheamountof“F=2.537”,itcanbeinferredthatpromotionaltoolsaffect

destinationimagewell.ThefindingsofthisstageprovidedinTable3andFigure1.

Table 1. Interview table

Row Interviewee Code Field of Study Profession

1 A PhdofTourism professor

2 B MAoftourism Incomingtoursmanager

3 C Phdoftourism professor

4 D MAoftourism Marketingmanager

5 E BAoftourism Tourguide

6 F PhDofGeography ResearchAssistantof

TourismOrganization

7 G PhDofGeography PresidentoftheTourism

NationalOrganization

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AlsotoinvestigatewhichkindofpromotionaltoolshasthemosteffectonIran’sdestination

imagefromthetourists’pointofviewagainANOVAtestwasused(Table4).Findingsshowedthat

consideringsignificantvaluepromotionaltoolsliketheInternet,socialmedia,familiarizationtours,

massmedia,targetmarketdetermination,promotionalcampaigns,brochures,emailmarketing,word

ofmouthadvertisingandnewspapershaveapositiveimpactonthedestinationimage.

Table 2. Table of most promotional tools

Number Promotional Tool

1 Internet(websites,onlinenewschannels 2 Socialmedia(Instagram,Facebook,TripAdvisor) 3 Expos(domestic,international,culturalofficesoutboard) 4 Newspapersandtourismmagazines

5 brochures

6 Massmedia(radio,domesticandinternationaltelevisionchannels)

7 Emailmarketing

8 Familiarizationtoursforimportantpeople,tourists,agencies,invitingtourguides)

9 Wordofmouth

10 Advertisingcampaigns

Table 3. Findings related to ANOVA test

Sum of Squares Freedom Degree Average of

Squares F Significance

Betweengroups 15.011 34 .441 2.537 .000

Withingroups 57.257 349 .174

Total 72.268 383

Figure 1. ANOVA test

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Table 4. ANOVA table

Sum of

Squares Freedom

Degree Average of

Squares F Significance

Internet

Betweengroups 27.795 34 2.817 2.029 .001

Total 289.239 383

Socialmedia

Betweengroups 63.913 34 1.880 2.368 .000

Total 325.033 383

Expositions

Betweengroups 42.387 34 1.247 1.255 .162

Total 369.151 383

Newspapers

Betweengroups 23.370 34 2.687 2.703 .000

Total 344.975 383

Brochure

Betweengroups 43.698 34 2.285 2.285 .001

Withingroups 328.992 349 1.000

Total 372.690 383

Media

Betweengroups 78.001 34 2.294 2.564 .000

Total 372.385 383

Emailmarketing

Betweengroups 43.912 34 2.292 2.487 .004

Total 329.615 383

Familiarization

tours

Betweengroups 66.385 34 2.952 2.114 .000

Total 370.286 383

Positive

international

destinationimage

Betweengroups 47.808 34 1.406 1.133 .285

Total 456.008 383

Wordofmouth

Betweengroups 51.632 34 2.519 2.288 .000

Total 439.393 383

Determinationof

targetmarket

Betweengroups 52.764 34 1.552 2.109 .000

Total 294.901 383

Promotional

campaigns

Betweengroups 84.279 34 2.479 3.363 .000

Total 326.758 383

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Andfinallytodeterminetheeffect’srankofeachpromotionaltoolondestinationimage,one- wayvarianceanalysistestwasusedandfindingsarefoundinTable5.Accordingtothe“P-Value

=0.000”differencesbetweentheaverageshowedasignificantdifferencebetweenmeans.Soit’s

possibletorankthefactorsandaccordingtothemeanvalues,rankingpromotionaltoolsaffecting

destinationimageareinTable5.

Finallytoevaluatetheeffectofpromotionaltoolsonattractingtourists,theresearcherused

correlationtest(Table6).Thedefaultofthistestisevaluatingifthedataarenormalorabnormal.

InordertoevaluatethenormalityofthedataCoefficientsofskewnessandkurtosiswereevaluated.

Findingsshowedthatregardingdataskewnessforattractingtouristsequaltothevalueof-0/580and

Table 5. Ranking effective promotional tools on destination image formation

Factor Average Rank Grouping n

Internet 389/3 1 A 364

Media 346/3 2 A B

Socialmedia 318/3 3 A B

Familiarizationtours 328/3 4 A B C

Emailmarketing 326/3 5 A B C

Promotionalcampaigns 315/3 6 B C D

Targetmarketdetermination 054/3 7 C D

Positiveinternationaldestinationimage 947/2 8 D

Wordofmouth 678/2 9 E

Brochures 348/2 10 F

Attendingexpositions 304/2 11 F

Magazinesandnewspapers 277/2 12 F

Figure 2. Ranking effective promotional tools on destination image formation

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-0/450forpromotionaltoolsandalsopositivekurtosisofbothvariablesareabnormal,Asaresult

Spearmantestwasusedtoexaminetherelationshipbetweenthesetwovariables.

Atthenextstageandafterthereviewandselectionofappropriatestatisticaltest,Spearmantest

findingsshowedthatatthe99%confidenceleveland0/01errorlevel,thereisasignificantrelationship

betweenpromotionaltoolsandtouristattraction.Itmeansthatpromotionaltoolscanleadtoatourist

attraction.Thevalueofthisrelationisequalto0/188thatshowscorrelationsbetweenthesetwo

variables.Thesefindingsindicatethatfocusingonpromotingthetouristdestinationandspending

morewillleadtoattractingmoretouriststothatdestination(Table7).

Contribution

Thisstudyhasasignificantcontributiontotheknowledge.Weprovidedremarkableinformationof

pastreasearchesanddatawhichgatheredofintervieesthatexpertsinthisfieldandalsoincoming

tourists.Thesedatacouldbeusedinfutureresearches.

Accordingtotheresults,thefollowingsuggestionscanbemadeforproperplanningandattracting

moretouriststothedestination:

1. Focuseonpromotionaltoolsformorecompetitiveadvantagesintourismdestinations;

2. Consideringthefeaturesofpromotionaltoolsinadvertisementproductionandthewaythese

toolsareusedtopromotetourismdestination;

Table 6. Data normality test for choosing the suitable correlation test

Tourist Attraction Promotional Tools

Population Acceptable 384 384

Missing 0 0

Average 2.95 2.9492

Standarddeviation .456 .44619

Variance .208 .199

Skewness -.580 -.454

Thestandarddeviationskewness .128 .128

Kurtosis 2.571 .615

Thestandarddeviationkurtosis .255 .255

Table 7. Spearman correlation test findings

Attracting

Tourists Promotional Tools

Spearmantest

Destination

image

Thecorrelationcoefficient 1.000 .188**

Significance . .000

Sample 384 384

Promotional

tools

Thecorrelationcoefficient .188** 1.000

Significance .000 .

Sample 384 384

Note: There is a significant relationship between promotional tools and attracting tourists at the error level of 0/01

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3. Focusingmoreontheroleofmassmediaintourismmarketing;

4. Theemphasiseone-promotionaltoolsratherthantraditionalduetothewidespreadutilization

ofinternet;

5. Planningtoincreaseelectronicinfrastructuresamongtourismserviceproviders.

Limitations

Wehavasomelimitationssuchas,thedifficultyofhavingaccesstoforeigntourists,distributionof

questionnairesinlowseason,lackofcooperationofofficialsattheairports,hotelsandtourismsites

fordistributingquestionnairesanddifficultyofinterviewwithtourismexperts.

CoNCLUSIoN

Inordertoacquiretherequiredknowledgeabouttheneedsoftheconsumersandtopenetrateinto

theirperceptiveimage,increasingthecountry’sreputationandfameandmakinguseofpromotional

toolsareimportant.

Theresultsshowedthatpositiveimageofthedestinationleadstoattractingpotentialtourists.

Alsotheimagedirectlyaffectstourists’attitudetowardtraveldestination.Consequently,astheinternet

causedtosavingtimeandcostandalsoprovideseaseofaccesstoinformation,touristsmostlytake

advantagesofitandaffecttheirtravelchoice.

Takingintoconsiderationthatowningapositiveimageisimportantforacountryandhasadirect

impactonitstourismindustryandreputation;consequently,tourismorganizationsshouldmakeuseof

appropriatepromotionaltoolsinordertocreateapositiveimageofthecountry.Iranneedstoassess

itsimageabroadandfindingoutothercountries’attitudestowardIran.

Generallypeoplearecreatingadestinationimageintheirmindthroughvisitingthecountry,

readingaboutorinquiringfromfriendsandacquaintances.Sotourismhasasignificantinfluence

oncreatingtheimageofthedestinationamongtourists.Meanwhile,tourismisoneoftheleading

sectorsoftheglobaleconomyandahugesourceofrevenue,employment,exportandtaxprovided

bythetourismindustry.Consideringthebenefitsofthetourismindustryanditsroleineconomic

development,theimportanceofplanningforthedevelopmentoftourismismorethaneverrequired.To

increasethenumberoftouristsandrevenuesfromthem,investigatingandidentifyingthepromotional

toolsinordertoincreaseinternationaltourismdemandisthebasicstepsintourismplanning.

Ontheotherhandtourismindustryhasanimportanteconomicimpactonthenationaland

internationallevelsandforeignexchangeearningsofmanycountriesaredependentonthetourism

industry.Asaresult,thisstudyaimedtoinvestigatetheimpactofpromotionaltoolstocreateabrand

image,selecttraveldestinationsandattractinternationaltouriststoIran,Tehran.

TheexistinggapsinliteraturearethelackofresearchaboutpromotingIrandestinationbrand

imageandrecognitionofthemosteffectivepromotionaltoolsforattractingtouriststoIran.In

factthedevelopmentoftheInternetcausesaconsiderableimpactonthetourismindustryand

hasbeencussedenormouschangesinthewayofcommunication.InordertointroduceIranasa

touristdestination,createapositiveimageofthedestination,promoteanddevelopit,theuseof

promotionaltoolsisimportant.

Therefore,forthedevelopmentoftourism,increaseindemandfortraveltoIranandcreating

apositivebrandimage,tourismofficialsshouldhaveabetterunderstandingofpromotionaltools.

Mixedmethodusedinthisstudy,andregardingtheresultsobtainedbysemistructuredinterviews

withtourismexperts,thequestionnairepreparedbytheresearcher.Thequestionnairesaredistributed

among384incomingtouristsinTehran.Finally,thegathereddataanalyzedbySPSSsoftware.

Resultsshowedthemostimportantpromotionaltoolsareasfollows:Internet(websites,

onlinenewschannels),socialmedia(Instagram,Facebook,TripAdvisor),expositions(localand

international),newspapers(onlineandprintedandtourismmagazines),brochures(printedandonline),

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massmedia(radio,television,domesticandinternationaltelevisionchannels),emailmarketing,

familiarizationtours,wordofmouth,campaigns.

Atthenextstagethegathereddataviathequestionnairesanalyzedandresultsshowedthatthe

Internetwithanaverageof3,3984isthemostimportantpromotionaltoolandmassmediawithan

averageof3,3462placedsecond.

Finally,inordertoevaluatetheeffectivenessofthesetoolsonatouristattraction,correlationtest

used.Thefindingsshowedthatfocusingonthepromotionatatouristdestinationandspendingbudget

topromotethedestinationwillattractmoretouristsandleadstopositivedestinationimageformation.

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Nader Seyyedamiri is a faculty member, Faculty of Entrepreneurship. In addition, he also works as a Guest Researcher at Aalborg University of Denmark, Campus of Copenhagen. He has PhD of Marketing from University of Tehran. Nader`s research area is entrepreneurial marketing and digital marketing in small and medium e-businesses, and SMEs. Nader is author of many academic articles and book in marketing and entrepreneurship.

He is also a member of the ITS (International Telecommunication Society). Nader is consultant of marketing systems on small and medium businesses. He serves in the board of directors in several companies and established numbers of startups.