Halo effects of tourists’ destination image on domestic product perceptions

Country-of-origin (COO) image may imbue product beliefs, just as beliefs about a travel destination can form from destination image. As COO and destination image both concern belief formations from images, we meld these research streams to investigate the influence of destination image on beliefs of and preference for the destination’s local products. We posit that consumers may non-consciously form a COO image from destination image, which in turn influences product preference. Consumers in China (n = 226) and Chinese tourists in Australia (n = 235) self-reported their perceptions of Australia as a tour destination and of Australian wine. The results show that destination image positively influences product beliefs with both samples, but the influence is stronger with Chinese consumers who are unfamiliar with Australia. Destination image influences product preference indirectly via product beliefs. A key managerial implication is that exporters and tourism authorities should cooperate to harness a country’s destination image for exports.

Research highlights
► Rather than using country-of-origin (COO) image, a traditional construct used in COO studies, consumers may use destination image to form product beliefs. However, the relationship is stronger when familiarity with the travel destination is low (the China sample) rather than high (the Australian sample).
► Similar to past studies, we find that product beliefs mediate the influence of destination image on product preference.
► An applied implication is that tourism authorities need to ensure that their marketing efforts in foreign countries result in portraying the destination favourably. Not only does the perceived destination image influence visits to the country, it also influences perceptions of the country’s products available in the foreign countries.
► The significant influence of destination image on product beliefs also means that exporters can use their home country image to help differentiate their products from foreign competitors. This requires exporters to work closely with tourism bodies or other policy makers, who are responsible for promoting a country (be it for trade or for tourism).