Abstract:
The impact that local residents play in the promotion and marketing of a destination whether directly or indirectly can not be ignored. This is particularly associated with the the destinations’ image. The concept of destination image has therefore attracted a significant amount of attention from scholarship. This then leads to the purpose of this study which was to investigate perceptions of local tourists towards Cape Town as a travel and holiday destination. The destination under investigation was Cape Town, one of South Africa’s largest tourist cities. The nature of this research was quantitative adoptive the survey method. A total of 270 willing respondents selected through convenience sampling participated in the study. A key finding established by the study was that destination image had significantly more influence on local tourists’ attitudes in comparison to its influence on their willingness to visit a destination. Based on the findings, implications were brought forward as well possible suggestions for further research on the topic under investigation.
