International students as tourists: exploring impressions of Ghana's destination image

Abstract

This study explores how tourists’ impressions of destination attributes influence the image formation of Ghana as a destination. A qualitative approach was utilised to conduct the research due to the exploratory nature of the investigation. The study employed focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews of a sample of 28 international students. Findings show that Ghana has a positive image in the minds of the tourists as a destination. In addition, most of the participants were willing to return to Ghana and even recommend Ghana as a vacation destination. Theoretically, the study discussed the meaning of destination image from three dimensions: perceptual, image and outcome. The practical implication of the study’s findings is that Ghanaian destination marketing organisations should consider country of origin and travel motivation as factors that exert the greatest influence on how tourists assess the value of tourist destination.