International Journal of Marketing Studies; Vol. 9, No. 5; 2017 ISSN 1918-719X E-ISSN 1918-7203 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Italy’s Image as a Tourism Destination in the Chinese Leisure Traveler Market Silvia Gravili1 & Pierfelice Rosato1 1 Department of Management and Economics, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy Correspondence: Silvia Gravili, Department of Management and Economics, University of Salento, Complesso Ecotekne, via per Monteroni, Lecce, Italy. Tel: 39-0832-298-622. E-mail:
[email protected] Received: September 8, 2017 Accepted: September 25, 2017 Online Published: September 30, 2017 doi:10.5539/ijms.v9n5p28 URL: http://doi.org/10.5539/ijms.v9n5p28 Abstract This study aims to measure the image of Italy as a tourism destination on the Chinese leisure traveller market. To this end, Echtner & Ritchie’s model (1991) is applied; however, compared to its original formulation, it is implemented with greater consideration of the experiential dimension and potential travel constraints affecting the perception of the range of tourism goods and services on offer. This enables not just a denotative, but also and above all a connotative measurement of the image, thereby reducing the risk of ambiguity in the interpretation of the most significant attributes that emerged during the analysis. Adopting a hypothetical segmentation of the market in question, it was also possible to the elements that act as encouraging and discouraging factors regarding a holiday in Italy are highlight, identifying tailor-made approaches to the construction and promotion/commercialisation of tourism products designed to be attractive to the specific segment of interest.