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People, pace, place: Qualitative and quantitative images of Ireland as a tourism destination in France

National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies, sinead.oleary{at}ul.ie

Jim Deegan

National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies and University of Limerick

Ireland’s traditional tourist images — relating to people, pace and place — are increasingly threatened by the development of the Celtic tiger economy. Furthermore, recent trends suggest that the French visitor market to Ireland is showing signs of stagnation. To date, however, there has been little research regarding destination image in either Ireland or France and none that focuses specifically on Ireland’s image in France. In this study, 281 French visitors to Ireland were asked to describe their image of Ireland in terms of common attribute-based components and holistic aspects. The findings show that the key images of Ireland remain the welcoming people, the beautiful scenery and the relaxed pace of life. Given the dramatic changes that have taken place in Ireland since the 1990s there are indications that these images may no longer accurately represent all aspects of Irish society. The study highlights the need for image modification to ensure that the portrayed image of Ireland is consistent with what the destination has to offer in reality.

Key Words: destination image • Ireland • France • qualitative • quantitative

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