Tourists’ destination image: an exploratory study of alternative tourism in Palestine

This study aims to understand how alternative tourism can contribute to the destination image of Palestine, given its negative image in the media. It proposes a framework for various destination image aspects and applies this framework in the context of alternative tourism in Palestine. It seeks to explore the key image formation factors, the perceived images of Palestine, and the post-visit behaviours of tourists who had engaged in alternative tourism in Palestine. This research contributes in fulfilling intriguing gaps in the Palestinian destination’s image literature, as well as the alternative tourism field that has emerged manifestly in Palestine. This study is exploratory in nature applying qualitative methodology by using open-ended questions in email interviews, and the interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The empirical results proved that tourists who had visited Palestine and engaged in alternative tourism, had positive destination images, opposite to the ones portrayed in the media that show Palestine as a dangerous place to visit. Finally, this research provides academic and managerial implications.