The Three-dimensional Model for Operationalization and Measurement
of the Destination Image in Case of Transylvania. A Theoretical
Approach Based on Tourism Resources
1 Human Geography and Tourism Department, Faculty of Geography, Babeș-Bolyai University, ClujNapoca, Romania
Pages:
52 - 62
Abstract:
As conceptual frameworks for this paper, we specify the tourist
destination literature, tourist image, and cultural tourism. We are talking
about Transylvania as an ex-province of Romania and a current geographical
and historical region which encompasses maximum 10 counties: Alba,
Bistrița, Brașov, Cluj, Covasna, Mureș, Harghita, Hunedoara, Sălaj, Sibiu.
Because of the multitude and the variety of tourism resources,
complementarity the most specific attribute for the tourist attractiveness of
this multicultural region. The predominance of Transylvania's tourist
resources is composed of the anthropic ones, which bear the mark of the 3
great cohabitant ethnic groups: the Romanians, the Hungarians and the
Germans. The natural tourism resources assure the background for the
anthropic ones. Regarding the research methodology used in this study, we
mention the documentation consisting in studying specialized tourism
bibliography – various studies and articles on tourist destination image –, and
romanian geographical literature. Another kind of documentation consisted
in studying the manner of presenting and describing the natural and
anthropic resources in guides and promotional materials about Transylvania
as the most attractive Romania’s destination. For this paper we also did the
prospection of Transylvania’s most important, famous and valuable tourism
resources, both natural and anthropic. Finally, we chose the threedimensional model imagined and proposed by Echtner and Ritchie – one of
the most well-known conceptual models in this field – for applying it as an
efficient instrument in operationalizing and measurement of Transylvania’s
image as a tourist destination.