The Impact of Destination Image on Tourists’ Satisfaction and Loyalty in the Context of Domestic Tourism

Abstract Tourism is an extremely complex field and in order to understand its complexity, none of its components should be left aside. That's why, as many other researchers have done before, the present paper aims to analyze the central element of the entire tourist activity: the tourist. Based on the impressions, opinions and thoughts of Romanian tourists, we tried to determine to what extent the image of the destination they have recently visited has an impact on the satisfaction and loyalty they have towards that destination. Therefore, this paper represents a market research aimed at assessing the image of the Romanian tourist destinations as perceived by the Romanian tourists who visited them and to what extent their satisfaction and intentions to revisit/recommend can be influenced by it. The sample consisted of 200 Romanian tourists, contacted both directly and through social networks, who have visited a tourist destination in Romania with at least one night of accommodation in the last 5 years. Following the statistical analysis of the answers provided, it was found out that there are a number of elements of major importance for the Romanian tourists, while other aspects have a slightly influence on their satisfaction and loyalty. The conclusions of this research should be taken into account by all the stakeholders involved in the development and promotion of tourist destinations in Romania, as the contribution of tourism to the economic and cultural development of a country is an important one, according to some official reports.