MEASURING TOURISTS DESTINATION PERCEPTIONS

This article describes an exploratory study that tests the consistency of two response formats. They are both originally based on the semant ic differential scale and have been widely used in the tourism literat ure to generate measures of perceptions regarding destinations. The re sults indicate that while the two response formats are reliable, there is evidence to suggest that they are not equivalent. This brings into question the comparability of research findings utilizing different d ata collection forms and indicates a need for more fundamental work on validity and measurement in tourism research.