Introduction and products of the mental image of the tourist destination brand - an applied study on the Egyptian tourist destination

The study aims to identify the impact of some introductions to the mental image of the tourist destination as sources of information and the experience of the tourist as well as the impact of this picture on some of the outputs of the overall mental image such as tourist satisfaction and future behavioral intentions. The effects of the components of the overall mental image of the tourist destination are also tested. There is a research gap represented in the lack of integration of previous studies and research, which dealt mostly with either the study of the introductions to the overall mental image or the study of their outputs and hence the current study attempts or seeks to fill this gap in order to reach results that can help understand how to improve and enhance the mental image For the tourist destination. Data were collected from 401 tourists in Hurghada. SEM was used to test hypotheses. The study concluded that there is no effect of the cognitive mental image on the emotional mental image and no impact on the overall mental image. The study also showed that there is a positive impact of the emotional mental image on the overall mental image. She noted that the satisfaction of the tourist is a mediator between the overall mental image and behavioral intentions of the tourist. Outcomes of the overall mental image of the destination are the behavioral intentions of the tourist, his nickname to re-visit the destination and his intention to advise others to visit the destination, as well as the results indicated that the overall mental image is an intermediate variable between the emotional mental image and the behavioral intentions of the tourist. The researchers developed proposals for future studies.