Destination Personality: Scale Development And Validation

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to develop a scale for measuring destination personality of India. A list of human personality traits was generated from previous personality scales, and in-depth interviews were conducted among foreigners visiting India. A two-phase study was conducted to reduce the personality traits and to identify the underlying factor structure. The results indicate that destination personality of India is a multidimensional construct composed of six main dimensions: courteousness, vibrancy, conformity, liveliness, viciousness, and tranquility. In the first phase, a survey was conducted among a sample of 177 foreigners. In the second phase, a sample of 152 foreigners was collected to further refine the scale. A reduced scale with 23 items having the same psychometric properties and stability as the full 35-item scale was proposed. The article discusses the marketing applications of the scale for positioning destinations and estimating the relative impact of the personality dimensions on attitudes toward product-destination attitudes, and travel-destination attitude, and overall destination attitude. © 2014, © 2014 International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education.