Destination Image, Self-Congruity, and Travel Behavior: Toward an Integrative Model

An integrative model of destination image, self-congruity, and travel behavior is described in this article. In particular, the model postulates relationships between destination environment, destination visitor image, tourists’ self-concept, self-congruity, functional congruity, and travel behavior. Travel behavior is hypothesized to be influenced significantly by both self-congruity and functional congruity. Self-congruity is the match between the destination visitor image and tourists’ self-concept (actual, ideal, social, and ideal social self-image). Functional congruity is the match between the utilitarian attributes of the destination and the tourist’s ideal expectations related to those attributes. Self-congruity is hypothesized to influence functional congruity. It is argued that the destination environment influences the formation and change of the destination visitor image and the tourist-perceived utilitarian destination attributes.