The paper proposes an integrative model aiming to analyze the relationship among different measures of country image - including "general country image", "tourism destination image" and "product-country image" - tourist satisfaction and post-visit intentions in terms of destination loyalty and willing to buy the national products. The theoretical framework was tested on a sample of international tourists intercepted in two Italian airports at the end of their journey. On the basis of results, the paper concludes with discussion of research implications and it provides managerial insights both to policy makers in order to improve the attractiveness of Italy for international tourism and to managers of private firms that use national image in their marketing strategies.
Keywords: Country image, national image, destination image, product-country image, country of origin effect, tourist satisfaction, post-visit intentions.

Alessandro De Nisco, Statia Elliot, Nicolas Papadopoulos, Giada Mainolfi, Vittoria Marino, Maria Rosaria Napolitano, in "MERCATI E COMPETITIVITÀ" 3/2012, pp. 131-151, DOI:10.3280/MC2012-003007