Investigating river destination image by using tri-component model: a case of Malacca River - the Venice of the East

Abstract

Previous research on image attributes of river tourism destinations has focused on general image or cognitive attributes, subjective components of image formation, the affective and conative elements, have largely been ignored. We argue that cognitive image may not necessarily induce a positive affective attribute, and hence explored the possible significant relationships by using the tri-component model of destination image in the context of river tourism destinations. A self-administered survey was conducted in the vicinity of Malacca River (Sungai Melaka) and the results for a sample group of 203 international tourists revealed that three cognitive image dimensions, landscape, quay amenities and night attractions, significantly influenced affective and conative images respectively. The findings also determined that the tri-component model was a 'fit' to the study and, thus, contributes to the river tourism destination literature.