Eureka! Institutional Repository

Fringe tourism is an understudied, but growing, segment of the tourism industry and research. This exploratory study seeks to extend Tourism Destination Image (TDI) research to a developing country context. Perceptions of three countries in the South Caucasus region were evaluated by young respondents, who are viewed as ‘most likely’ to engage in fringe tourism, and who also live in nearby developing regions. Analysis of cognitive and affective constructs showed generally lukewarm perceptions for the target countries. Importance-performance (perception) analysis showed strong relationships between optimal and perceived TDI, which is critical in attracting tourists, with the target countries’ performance scores most often lower than the importance of the same attributes. The findings suggest the need for more research on fringe destinations (especially those in developing countries), and point to joint cross-country campaigns toward culturally-near regions as possible strategies for the target countries to improve their TDI.