Introduction. This paper explores the influence of country image on the evaluation of a destination’s attributes from the perspective of inbound tourists to South Africa - within the context of both business and medical tourism.
Material and methods. Data were generated from a self-administered questionnaire distributed as part of a survey of inbound tourists visiting South Africa’s Table Mountain. Factor analysis and multiple regression were employed to determine the factors and establish their relationship, respectively.
Results. The results suggest that South Africa’s image as a country influences tourist’s perception of the country and its destination attributes. More intriguingly, the results show that South Africa’s image is subject to both stereotypes and the country-of-origin effect.
Conclusion. The paper concludes that country image is a significant heuristic cue in the appraisal of the destination attributes that motivate inbound tourist travel behaviour. More so, it is aspects such as the ability to manage its affairs, nationally branded exports and the availability of international business-related opportunities that may be most influential to South Africa’s perceived image in tourist decision-making.
