Chinas Olympic destination: tourist evaluations of China and the Games

John Nadeau, Norm OReilly and Louise Heslop

John Nadeau is an Associate Professor at the Nipissing University, North Bay, Canada. Norm OReilly is an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. Louise Heslop is a Professor at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

Abstract Purpose This paper aims to report on the views that tourists in China have about the country, its people, the country as a destination and the 2008 Olympic Games that were held there. Design/methodology/approach The study utilizes a survey in which responses were gathered from 288 tourists in Beijing, China during the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. The study presents results for Chinas three images (country, destination, and mega-event) using an attitudinal framework and explores the patterns of relationships using linear regression. Findings Results of the study show that tourists perceive China positively in terms of the country and people competencies and the character of the people. China is less positively viewed in terms of country character. As a destination, China is seen positively for its built environment but less positively for its natural environment. Positive experiential and logistical beliefs characterize the Olympic Games, while beliefs about security are less positive. The data support the assertion that the three images are important and related. In addition, the evaluation of China as a destination involves the relationship of the country image evaluation to the evaluation of the Olympic Games. Originality/value This paper addresses a gap that exists in image-based research on mega-events. In particular, this study explores mega-event image in the context of the host country and destination images. Keywords Olympic Games, China, Destination image, Country image, Mega-event image Paper type Research paper

Introduction
One of the benets of hosting mega-events is that they attract tourists to the city, region, and country that is hosting the mega-event. These benets include both short-term (e.g. spending, attendance at the event) and long-term (i.e. potential return visits, brand) advantages for the host destination. This research focuses on the shorter-term impacts of hosting a mega-event by empirically examining tourist views of the host country during a mega-event. Specically, the researchers explore the Summer Olympic Games of 2008, held in Beijing, China, with the aim of examining the inuence of a mega-event on tourist perceptions of the host country, its people and the Olympic Games. A common approach to assessing tourist perceptions of destinations is place image theory. Place images are used to understand the complex reality of geographic locations such as countries, cities, towns, etc. These images are useful in the tourism context where tourism marketers promote, develop and communicate images to attract tourists and where people, as potential tourists, use these images to make decisions about their where to travel (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999; Goodrich, 1978; Hunt, 1975; Pike and Ryan, 2004; Tapachai and Waryszak, 2000). Destination (or place) images include the beliefs, feelings and impressions associated with a place, developed in peoples minds in a variety of ways (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). The unit of analysis in place image research is typically the country, although a place can certainly refer to a city or region as well. This paper reports on the image of the

Received: December 2009 Revised: May 2010 Accepted: October 2010 This research is supported by a Strategic grant from the SSHRC. The authors would also like to acknowledge the Capital Institute of Physical Education in Beijing, China for providing support that enabled some of the data collection. In addition, the authors extend their gratitude to the research assistants who collected the data Tyler Aird, Don Lord, Ryan McLeod, Junzhe Xu, and Kathleen Zinn.

DOI 10.1108/17506181111156925

VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011, pp. 235-246, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH

PAGE 235

Olympic Games host at the country level, given that people often refer to country as the host of the mega-events and most often the countries fund, organize and bid for mega-events. Thus, in an effort to improve collective understanding of the role of host country images with mega-events, this paper explores the 2008 Summer Olympic Games host country image (its people, country, products and as a destination) on the image of the Games.

Place image
Research on the topic of place image evolves from two literature roots: destination images are frequently examined in tourism studies while place images are investigated in marketing studies exploring the relationship of place images with product selection decisions. To illustrate, the development of the country-of-origin or the product-country image eld in marketing examines the relationship of product and country images on evaluations (Nebenzahl et al., 1997). Other research demonstrates that the image of the country is a salient consideration in the destination decision-making process (Nadeau et al., 2008). Intuitively, therefore, the host country image is an important aspect of the destination evaluation. In order to understand place image, one must possess an understanding that images summarize, standardize, and generalize information from many sources and about many aspects of the image object. That is, an image is created in the mind of an individual from many sources and experiences, some of which can be managed or leveraged by a tourism marketer. The body of literature that explores place image in the tourism context, via empirical assessments of destination image, normally utilizes an attitudinal approach that includes beliefs, evaluative feelings, and behavioral intentions about the destination (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). Like general consumers, potential tourists use images to simplify the complex destination choices that they face by managing information and applying this information to direct their behavior (Kotler and Gertner, 2002). Thus, attitudes play an important role in how images impact consumer behavior, whereby an attitude towards some object is a summary of the many captured psychological inuences (Ajzen, 2001). Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) outline how attitudes are built via three aspects cognition (or beliefs held), affect (emotions or evaluations), and conation (intent to behave) about image of interest. While the means of measuring place images in the tourism literature differs, a common thread is that place image is a multidimensional construct within an attitudinal framework. This multidimensional approach conceptualizes beliefs about the natural and built environments, as well as evaluations and intentions to visit the destination. For example, the natural environment beliefs construct includes measures about the scenery and climate (Echtner and Ritchie, 1993) and measures about the built environment include beliefs about quality of shopping, nightlife and sport facilities (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999; Echtner and Ritchie, 1993). Evaluation measures include an overall assessment of the destination (Reilly, 1990) while the travel intention measures include the destination selection decision (Chon, 1990; Foster and Jones, 2000) and the willingness to recommend the place to others (Chon, 1991). Marketing research on place images typically explores the relationship of place images to product decisions. Building from early unidimensional studies of country image (Erickson et al., 1984; Han, 1988), the eld now takes a multidimensional approach that encompasses a context broader than focusing solely on products and includes an attitudinal framework (Heslop et al., 2004; Laroche et al., 2005; Orbaiz and Papadopoulos, 2003). Conceptually, the belief dimensions of product-country image include people character (e.g. likeability, friendliness), country character (e.g. wealth, role in world politics), people competencies (e.g. work ethic, industriousness), and country competencies (e.g. technology level, skill level of workers) (Heslop et al., 2004).

Mega-events and the Summer Olympic Games

Mega-events have the ability to reach multiple mass markets, to attain signicant resources through sponsorship and media rights, and to attract considerable interest from outside the

PAGE 236 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011

region in which they take place. Research in the area assesses their impact on business and society (Dolles and Soderman, 2008) as well as empirical examinations of their reach via sponsorship and intent-to-purchase longitudinally (OReilly et al., 2008). Examples of large global properties which t the denition of a mega-event include the Olympic Games, the Grey Cup, the FIFA World Cup, the Masters Golf Tournament, the Ryder Cup, the Super Bowl, the Worlds Fair, Mardi Gras, Wimbledon, the Running of the Bulls (Pamplona) and the Tour de France. All play important roles in their local economies and act as central elements of the media-based culture (Wise and Miles, 1997). When considering a mega-event like the Summer Olympic Games, tourism marketing begins on the basis that the mega-event provides the host country with an opportunity to reinforce or change the attitudes held by the rest of the world. Recent research emphasizes the economic, social and marketing benet of mega-events (Dolles and Soderman, 2008; OReilly et al., 2008). The focus of this research is an unmatched global property in terms of interest generated, the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, which attracted approximately 10,000 athletes from over 200 countries, with an estimated television audience of more than 4.7 billion people (Nielsen, 2008). The Games are a mega-event that involves a two-week multi-sport athletic competition that has taken place every four years since 1896 in most of the worlds great cities, including London, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, and most recently Beijing. The rights holder of the Games is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which accepts bids (one bid per country) for the Games and awards the Games to a single city approximately seven years before the Games are scheduled. As such, the Games are rarely held in the same location more than once, thus providing opportunities for cities to bid for the event and build programming around the event to promote their country and enhance the related images. The Games were held in a number of venues, mostly around the capital city of Beijing; however satellite facilities were found throughout China, including Hong Kong. The IOC (2001, 2002) is very concerned about the image and the desired Olympic values (e.g. peace, festive, cultural exchange, fair play, equality, tradition, honor, etc.). They demonstrate this concern through efforts in the areas of exclusivity, environment, brand protection, size reduction, new rules cities, etc. (IOC, 1999). Similarly, international perceptions of the host country are important to both the IOC and the host in terms of a variety of important considerations including international relations, revenue generation, tourism, product purchasing, export/import issues and investing decisions. Given the interests of governments, the views of the host countrys citizens are also of considerable interest, where both positives (image, infrastructure, legacy, etc.) and negatives (opportunity cost, disruption, etc.) exist concerning the hosting of the Games. The IOC also possesses a resilient image that includes the Olympic rings, National Olympic Committee logos, and other related symbols that are recognized around the world (Seguin and OReilly, 2008). Previous research (Jaffe and Nebenzahl, 1993) found that hosting the 1988 Olympic Games positively inuenced beliefs about South Korea and consumer willingness to buy their products, showing that hosting the Olympic Games could alter the image of the host country. A primary motivator for China to host the Olympic Games was the enhancement of its international image (Goodspeed, 2008). In this regard, China has acted to control media stories about the country (Bodeen, 2008; Goodspeed, 2008; Foss and Walkosz, 2008; Fram, 2008). A second important point is that China is a developing country host. From an external perspective, Chinas status as a developing country suggests that its image would be similar to other developing countries where a poor image is associated with its products (Ahmed and dAstous, 1993; Chao, 1993; Cordell, 1992; Kaynak et al., 2000; Mohamad et al., 2000; Tse and Gorn, 1992). Previous research illustrates that consumers and retail buyers hold a preference for developed countries and their products (Heslop et al., 2004). Specic to Chinas image, however, other studies conrm this general trend and show that consumers hold a poor image of products from China (Brunner et al., 1993). Negative publicity also exists for China about its product quality and safety (Rennie, 2008). Negative publicity is also present in Western media, by criticizing Chinas human rights record, in particular; this coverage intensied as the Olympic Games approached (Human Rights Watch, 2007).

VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH PAGE 237

Hypotheses
The preceding discussion has identied the theoretical framework for the current study. Theory about attitudes and images provides the basis for this research. These areas help us to understand the relationship around the evaluative dimension of images when hosting a mega-event such as the 2008 Olympic Games in China. Although some country image beliefs are related to specic dimensions of tourism destination image (Nadeau et al., 2008), evaluations underlie the relatedness among these images. Evaluations for each image involve a cognitive process enabling the integration of additional information provided by other images. Figure 1 illustrates the hypothesized relationships and stated as follows: H1. H2. H3. H4. The evaluation of the country and people image is positively related to the evaluation of China as a destination. The evaluation of the country and people image is positively related to the evaluation of the Olympic Games. The evaluation of China as a destination is positively related to the evaluation of the Olympic Games. The evaluation of China as a destination intervenes on the relationship between the evaluations of country and people and the Olympic Games.

Methodology
The researchers collected data to test the studys hypotheses using image measures based on a previous study of country and destination images (Nadeau et al., 2008) and with measures from the literature reviewed above. The questionnaire contained sections to measure attitudes towards China as a destination (22 measures), the country and people of China (33 measures), and the Olympic Games as a destination (26 measures). All image measure responses were made on a ve-point scale (1 being low/poor, 5 being high/good). Demographic questions were also asked to garner information about the respondents gender, age and level of education. The sample was gathered during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Street- and mall-intercept techniques were employed as tourists were randomly approached in busy public areas. In exchange for their time, respondents received a small token of appreciation. The researchers collected a total sample size of 288. This sample is characterized as 51.4 per cent males with an average age of 21-30 years old. Figure 1 Framework for hypothesis testing

PAGE 238 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011

The sample represents those with relatively high levels of education as 39.6 per cent of respondents hold a university degree and 33.9 per cent hold a graduate degree.

Results
Developing countries often have negative or less positive images as a destination or as places of production when compared to developed countries (Ahmed and dAstous, 1993; Chao, 1993; Cordell, 1992; Kaynak et al., 2000; Mohamad et al., 2000; Tse and Gorn, 1992). The preference for developed countries may be reected in some of the descriptive results of country image presented in Table I. For instance, the character of the country displays less positive mean scores than other dimensions of their country image. Indeed, two items representing the country character construct are below the scale midpoint of 3 (rights and freedoms 2:22, environmental/pollution controls 2:21). These items seem to reect the public criticisms China experienced around the Olympic Games on these issues (e.g. Human Rights Watch, 2007). However, China is also viewed very positively as the people character and the country and people competencies measurement items achieve relatively strong ratings indicating the people are well liked and are considered to be well Table I Mean responses for country image items
n People character of China (0.906) Likeability Fascinating people Friendliness Helpful Courteous Honest Trustworthiness Country character (0.839) Role in world politics Political stability Quality of life Wealth Rights and freedoms Enviro/pollution controls Country and people competencies (0.696) Industriousness Work ethic Technology level Avail. skilled workers Stability of economy Education level Workers skill level Individualism Evaluations of people and country (0.685) Appealing culture Enjoy being with Overall rate Knowledge of China Rating compared with others Alignment with own country Desired links (0.779) Tourists to China Visitors from China Exports to China Political/economic ties Imports from China Immigration from China Notes: 1 low/poor, 5 high/good Mean

283 279 283 283 279 279 280 275 274 280 276 277 281 279 275 282 272 275 275 279 280 281 279 279 279 279 277 281 281 279 279 280 281

4.05 4.01 4.01 3.98 3.88 3.73 3.59 3.44 3.18 3.05 3.01 2.22 2.21 4.15 4.10 3.75 3.58 3.54 3.48 3.34 3.03 4.07 3.85 3.80 3.53 3.44 2.78 3.99 3.98 3.96 3.95 3.24 3.14

VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH PAGE 239

skilled and hard working. In addition, the evaluations of Chinas image are generally positive. However, the alignment with ones own country is one item that is below the scale midpoint. Table I also presents the Cronbachs Alpha test of reliability for each construct. The test scores are all generally in the acceptable range of greater than 0.700 with one exception. The evaluations of people and country, achieve a relatively low Cronbachs Alpha value of 0.685. The construct receives a much higher Cronbachs Alpha value of 0.795 when one item is dropped (i.e. appealing culture). Therefore, the item is excluded from further analysis and not included in a summary variable based on average responses to these items representing the construct. The relatively low Cronbachs Alpha value of 0.696 for the country and people competencies construct is improved to 0.780 by dropping the education level item from further analysis. Using attitude theory as a guide for organizing the constructs, a linear regression demonstrates that the three aggregate belief constructs of people character, country character and country and people competencies are signicantly related to the evaluation of Chinas country image (adj:R 2 0:487, F 76:6, sig: 0:000). At the individual construct level, people character (std.beta 0:392, sig: 0:000) and country character (std.beta.434, sig: 0:000) are related to country image evaluation while the competencies of the country and people construct (std.beta 0:021, sig: 0:745) is found not to be related to the evaluation construct. Therefore, the relatively weak image dimension of country character for China does seem to be harming the countrys overall image in this case. Further, the evaluation of countrys image is related to the linkages respondents would like to see between China and their home country (adj:R 2 0:300, F 76:6, sig: 0:000, std.beta 0:547, sig: 0:000). A similar nding is discovered with Chinas destination image where one belief construct is viewed more positively than the other. Table II presents the mean scores for the destination image items. Table II is organized by relevant tourism destination image constructs and shows the Cronbachs Alpha values attained by each construct in parentheses. The mean scores for the belief constructs show overall that the built environment of China is more positively viewed than the natural environment. The natural environment has one item with a mean score below the scale midpoint of 3 (climate 2:82) while the built environment had three items achieve ratings over 4 (culturally interesting 4:52, tourist attractions 4:15, shopping facilities 4:06). The relatively low Cronbachs Alpha value of 0.697 for the destination evaluation construct may be improved dramatically to 0.848 by dropping one item (i.e. memorability of experience). Therefore, this item is excluded from the summary construct in further testing. A linear regression analysis testing the attitude theory base of cognition leading to evaluations and intentions demonstrates support (adj:R 2 0:549, F 148:2, sig: 0:000). Both the natural environment beliefs (std.beta 0:331, sig: 0:000) and the built environment beliefs (std.beta 0:483, sig: 0:000) constructs are shown to be related to the evaluations of China as a destination. These results show that the built environment is more important to the evaluation as indicated by the higher standardized beta coefcient. However, both environmental belief sets are important with strong relationships to the evaluation of China. In addition, the destination evaluation construct is related to respondents travel intentions (adj:R 2 0:639, F 468:4, sig: 0:000, std.beta 0:800, sig: 0:000). Therefore, both belief sets are ultimately related to travel intentions about China. The country as a destination, the people and the country itself provide the context for the Olympic Games. However, the mega-event itself has a unique image and the attributes of this image are presented in Table III. Attribute based image research on mega-events or, more specically, the Olympic Games, are limited (Walliser, 2003). Therefore, a more exploratory approach to the constructs has been embraced for this portion of the study and the items are organized by the results of a factor analysis. The table provides the Eigenvalue for each factor in parentheses as well as the loadings for each item. This approach yields ve factors with Eigenvalues over one and these factors reect the underlying theoretical framework of attitudes and its three components (i.e. cognitive, affect and conative). While the value for money item has a low loading with the evaluation factor, value for money is

PAGE 240 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011

Table II Mean responses for destination image items

n Natural environment of China (0.76) Attractive scenery Variety of activities Peaceful/quiet Wilderness Climate Built environment beliefs (0.86) Culturally interesting Tourist attractions Shopping facilities Safety Nightlife/entertainment Selection of restaurants Accommodation Quality of service Ease of nding interesting places Sport facilities Ease of getting around Family Evaluations of destination (0.70) Memorability of experience Originality of experience Proud to visit Value for money Overall rating Overall satisfaction Relative to expectations Rating compared with others Knowledge of destination Travel intentions (0.93) Like to visit again Willingness to recommend Willingness to return Intention to visit again Willingness to extend stay Notes: 1 low/poor, 5 high/good Mean

282 280 285 275 282 283 286 280 281 279 282 283 281 281 275 282 274 284 281 283 284 286 283 285 284 284 280 282 285 286 284

4.0 3.8 3.3 3.3 2.8 4.5 4.2 4.1 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.4 4.6 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.0 4.0 3.6 3.6 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.0 3.4

included here to present the mean score in the empirically and theoretically best tting factor. Further, the construct achieves a Cronbachs Alpha value of 0.886 when the item is included indicating that the item contributes to the reection of the underlying evaluation construct. Three beliefs sets exist with the experiential beliefs achieving the highest mean scores followed by logistics beliefs and security beliefs. A linear regression of these belief sets on the evaluation of the Olympic Games image shows overall support for the attitudinal framework (adj:R 2 0:542, F 104:6, sig: 0:000). Among the three belief constructs, experiential (std.beta 0:497, sig: 0:000) and logistics (std.beta 0:257, sig: 0:000) beliefs are signicantly related to evaluations while no support exists for the relationship with the security beliefs construct (std.beta 0:082, sig: 0:106). The evaluation of the Olympic Games image is related to respondents intentions about engaging in the event (adj:R 2 0:349, F 147:1, sig: 0:000, std.beta 0:592, sig: 0:000). Therefore, despite less positive perceptions about security issues with the Games, intentions to engage in the event are ultimately driven by beliefs about the experience and logistical issues. The descriptive statistics provide the views of respondents for China and its people, for the country as a destination, and for the Olympic Games. However, the hypothesis testing is focused on understanding the relationship of these images at the evaluation level. For

VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH PAGE 241

Table III Mean responses for Olympic Games image items

n Experiential beliefs (2.41) Memorability Originality of experience Culturally interesting Attractive facilities Variety of activities Entertainment/nightlife Logistics beliefs (1.23) Overall satisfaction Ease of nding something of interest Quality of service Ease of getting around Ease of attending Security beliefs (1.10) Safety For the family Peaceful Evaluation (10.58) Rating compared with other events Attractive Overall rating Likeability Proud to visit Worthy Value for money Intentions (1.46) Willingness to watch on TV Willingness to recommend to friends Willingness to read about Willingness to travel Knowledge of the Olympic Games Notes: 1 low/poor, 5 high/good Mean Factor loading

281 281 281 280 280 280 279 281 278 282 282 282 280 279 277 284 282 284 284 284 284 285 285 285 285 284

4.5 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.0 4.0 3.8 3.7 3.9 3.7 3.6 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 3.8 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.1

0.57 0.79 0.77 0.56 0.72 0.60 0.55 0.57 0.53 0.74 0.65 0.74 0.71 0.80 0.70 0.77 0.73 0.69 0.50 0.79 0.34 0.73 0.80 0.80 0.64 0.62

hypothesis testing, the summary measures of the constructs, calculated by creating an average score among those items that reect the evaluations of each image, are used to assess the relationships. Table IV shows the results of the hypotheses tests using linear regression. The results demonstrate support for the four hypotheses. Multicollinearity of the data is not of concern as the VIF statistics are all below 10 that normally indicates a problem (Stevens, 1992). Therefore, the data supports direct relationships between the country image evaluation and the image evaluations of China as a destination (H1) and of the Olympic Games (H2). However, the support for the relationship between tourism destination evaluation and the evaluation of the Olympic Games image (H3) suggests that an alternative understanding of the images may exist. Support for the intervening nature of the evaluation of tourism destination image on the relationship between the evaluation of the host country image and of the Olympic Games (H4) indicates that an alternative, more holistic understanding of these relationships is required. Therefore, all three images appear to be important to assess the impact of hosting mega-events. The relationship between country image evaluation and the Olympic Games evaluation becoming insignicant under the holistic testing condition is noteworthy. This suggests that the inuence of country image on the Olympic Games image works through the destination image. While country image remains important to the evaluation of the mega-event, country image provides the context for the image of the destination. This interpretation is consistent with previous research that found country image beliefs informed the beliefs and evaluation of the destination image (Nadeau et al., 2008).

PAGE 242 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011

Table IV Hypothesis testing results

Relationship Std. Beta Coeff. Std. Error t Sig. of t Collinearity (VIF)

Model for H1 Country image evaluation tourism destination image evaluation a CIEval-TDIEval 0.72 0.04 Model for H2: country image evaluation Olympic Games image evaluation CIEval-OGEval 0.34 0.05
b

16.81 5.68
c

0.00 0.00 0.00

d

1.00 1.00 1.00 2.11 2.11

Model for H3: tourism destination image evaluation Olympic Games image evaluation TDIEval-OGEval 0.45 0.06 8.11

Model for H4: Country image evaluation tourism destination image evaluation Olympic Games image evaluation TDIEval-OGEval 0.43 0.09 5.10 0.00 CIEval-OGEval 0.01 0.07 0.17 0.87

Notes: a Adj. R-square 0.52, Std. error 0.42, F 282.5, Sig. of F 0.000; b Adj. R-square 0.11, Std. error 0.58, F 32.2, Sig. of F 0.000; cAdj. R-square 0.20, Std. error 0.55, F 65.8, Sig. of F 0.000; dAdj. R-square 0.183, Std. error 0.551, F 28.7, Sig. of F 0.000

Conclusions
The ndings reported in this study have several practical implications derived from the images of the country, the destination and the Olympic Games. First, the country image of China among tourists is based on the character of the country and its people. This multi-dimensional approach to country image is reective of previous research in the area (Heslop et al., 2004; Laroche et al., 2005). The perceived character about the country is seen as less positive than the other country image dimensions. This may be detrimental to China because results show that the country character dimension is an important determinant of Chinas image. Therefore, communications about China should address country character issues and convey its strengths, building on the character of the people (e.g. friendliness, helpful, courteous), because these dimensions inuence country image evaluations. Second, the destination image of China contains two dimensions: the natural and the built environments. This reects previous tourism destination image research that acknowledges the importance of the natural and built environments (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999; Echtner and Ritchie, 1993; Nadeau et al., 2008). The built environment is viewed more positively than the natural environment. While both dimensions appear inuential in the evaluation of the destination image and indirectly lead to travel intentions, the built environment has a stronger relationship to the destination evaluation than the natural environment. Therefore, China should exploit their strengths as a destination that is culturally interesting, has many tourist attractions and shopping facilities, and is safe. Meanwhile, the country should also address some natural environment weaknesses in perceptions about its climate, wilderness and peacefulness. Third, organizers of the Olympic Games will be interested to nd its image is comprised of three main belief dimensions: experiential, logistics, and security. The image of the Games is most positively associated with the experiential dimension and organizers should promote the event in this way. Message communication should position the event as a memorable, original and culturally interesting event with excellent facilities, a variety of activities and good entertainment value. Event organizers should also integrate the logistics dimension by communicating the ease of nding something of interest while addressing less positive aspects of navigating and attending the event. Both of these dimensions are found to be related to the evaluation of the Olympic Games and ultimately to the intentions people had about their engagement with the event. The study also contributes to the theoretical understanding of mega-event images and the relationship of these images to those of their host country. Results show that the image of the host country as a destination intervened on the relationship between the host country image and the image of the mega-event (i.e. Olympic Games). The nding provides support for previous research that found country image acts as the context for a destination image

VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH PAGE 243

(Nadeau et al., 2008) and, by extension, the image of mega-events hosted by the country. These results demonstrate the salience of all three images and reinforce the importance of considering perceptions about potential mega-event host countries when making the selection decision. Some limitations of the study are evident, based on the methodology employed. First, the study presents the country and destination images of China during the staging of a mega-event. The image among tourists may be signicantly different if a sample was drawn at an alternative point in time. Second, the Olympic Games represent a single mega-event. While the nature of the Olympic Games as a rotational country hosting event is ideal for testing linkages of relationships that include country image, future research may seek to replicate the study with an alternative event and in a different country. In addition, future research should be broadened to explore the relationships of country and mega-event images with other important images (i.e. sponsors).

References
Ahmed, S. and dAstous, A. (1993), Evaluation of country-of-design and country-of-assembly in a multi-cue/multi-national context, European Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 1, pp. 214-21. Ajzen, I. (2001), Nature and operation of attitudes, Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 52, pp. 27-58. Ajzen, I. and Fishbein, M. (1980), Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Baloglu, S. and McCleary, K. (1999), A model of destination image formation, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 868-97. Bodeen, C. (2008), Wary China tells local leaders to manage unrest, 16 July, available at: www. abcnews.go.com (accessed 17 August 2008). Brunner, J., Flaschner, A. and Lou, X. (1993), Images and events: China before and after Tiananmen Square, in Papadopoulos, N. and Heslop, L. (Eds), Product-Country Images: Impact and Role in International Marketing, International Business Press, Binghamtom, NY, pp. 379-400. Chao, P. (1993), Partitioning country of origin effects: consumer evaluations of a hybrid product, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 291-307. Chon, K.S. (1990), The role of destination image in tourism: a review and discussion, The Tourist Review, Vol. 2, September, pp. 2-9. Chon, K.S. (1991), Tourism destination image modication process, Tourism Management, Vol. 12, pp. 68-72. Cordell, V. (1992), Effects of consumer preferences for foreign-sourced products, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 23, pp. 251-69. Dolles, H. and Soderman, S. (2008), Mega-sporting events in Asia impacts on society, business and management: an introduction, Asian Business and Management, Vol. 7, pp. 147-62. Echtner, C. and Ritchie, J.R. (1993), The measurement of destination image: an empirical assessment, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 3-13. Erickson, G.M., Johansson, J.K. and Chao, P. (1984), Image variables in multi-attribute product evaluations: country-of-origin effects, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 694-700. Foss, S.K. and Walkosz, B.J. (2008), Denition, equivocation, accumulation, and anticipation: American medias ideological reading of Chinas Olympic Games, in Price, M.E. and Dayan, D. (Eds), Owning the Olympics: Narratives of the New China, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI, pp. 346-74. Foster, N. and Jones, E. (2000), Image versus identity: representing and comparing destination images across a tourist system the case of Wales, in Robinson, M., Evans, N., Long, P., Sharpley, R. and Swarbrooke, J. (Eds), Management, Marketing and the Political Economy of Travel and Tourism, Business Education Publishers, Houghton-le-Spring.

PAGE 244 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011

Fram, A. (2008), Poll: Most in China Expect Olympics to Help Image, Associated Press, 27 July, available at: http://news.lp.ndlaw.com/ap/other/1110/07-22-2008/2008072213_11.html (accessed 18 August 2008). Goodrich, J.N. (1978), The relationship between preferences for and perceptions of vacation destinations: application of a choice model, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 8-13. Goodspeed, P. (2008), China leaves nothing to chance as Olympics nears, National Post, 11 July, available at: www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id 648855(accessed 18 August 2008). Han, M. (1988), The role of consumer patriotism in the choice of domestic versus foreign products, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 25-33. Heslop, L., Papadopoulos, N., Dowdles, M., Wall, M. and Compeau, D. (2004), Who controls the purse strings? A study of consumers and retail buyers reactions in an Americas FTA environment, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 57, pp. 1177-88. Human Rights Watch (2007), China: pre-Congress clampdown intensies: repression campaign escalates with abduction and violence, available at www.hrw.org (accessed 12 October 2007). Hunt, J. (1975), Image as a factor in tourism development, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 13, Winter, pp. 1-7. International Olympic Committee (1999), Olympic Marks and Imagery Usage Handbook, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne. International Olympic Committee (2001), Marketing Matters, Vol. 18, pp. 1-12. International Olympic Committee (2002), Working with Olympic brand, Sponsor workshop, Athens, June. Jaffe, E. and Nebenzahl, I. (1993), Global promotion of country image: do the Olympics count?, in Papadopoulos, N. and Heslop, L. (Eds), Product-Country Images: Impact and Role in International Marketing, International Business Press, Binghamton, NY, pp. 433-52. Kaynak, E., Kucukemiroglu, O. and Hyder, A. (2000), Consumers country-of-origin (COO) perceptions of imported products in a homogeneous less-developed country, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 34 Nos 9/10, pp. 1221-42. Kotler, P. and Gertner, D. (2002), Country as brand, product and beyond: a place marketing and brand management perspective, in Morgan, N., Pritchard, A. and Pride, R. (Eds), Destination Branding: Creating the Unique Destination Proposition, 2nd ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Laroche, M., Papadopoulos, N., Heslop, L. and Mourali, M. (2005), The inuence of country image structure on consumer evaluations of foreign products, International Marketing Review, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 96-115. Mohamad, O., Honeycutt, Z. and Tyebkhan, T. (2000), Does made-in . . . matter to consumers? A Malaysian study of country of origin effects, Multinational Business Review, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 69-74. Nadeau, J., Heslop, L., OReilly, N. and Luk, P. (2008), Destination image in a country context, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 84-106. Nebenzahl, I., Jaffe, E. and Lampert, S. (1997), Towards a theory of country image effect on product evaluation, Management International Review, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 27-49. Nielsen (2008), Olympic Games press release, 5 September. Orbaiz, L.V. and Papadopoulos, N. (2003), Toward a model of consumer receptivity of foreign and domestic products, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 101-26. OReilly, N., Lyberger, M., McCarthy, L., Seguin, B. and Nadeau, J. (2008), Mega-special-event promotions and intent-to-purchase: a longitudinal analysis of the Super Bowl, Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 392-409. Pike, S. and Ryan, C. (2004), Destination positioning analysis through a comparison of cognitive, affective, and conative perceptions, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 42 No. 4, pp. 333-42. Reilly, M. (1990), Free elicitation of descriptive adjectives for tourism image assessment, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 21-6.

VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH PAGE 245

Rennie, S. (2008), Product safety bill includes penalties up to $5M: Harper announces harsh penalties for selling dangerous goods; product recalls, available at: www.TheStar.com (accessed 1 August 2008). Seguin, B. and OReilly, N. (2008), The Olympic brand, ambush marketing, and clutter, International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, Vol. 4 Nos 1/2, pp. 62-84. Stevens, J. (1992), Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences, 2nd ed., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ. Tapachai, N. and Waryszak, R. (2000), An examination of the role of benecial image in tourist destination selection, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 37-44. Tse, D. and Gorn, G. (1992), An experiment on the salience of country-of-origin in the era of global brands, Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 57-76. Walliser, B. (2003), An international review of sponsorship research: extension and update, International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 22, pp. 5-40. Wise, S.L. and Miles, M.P. (1997), Corporate sponsorship of events and tax implications: is there an opportunity for global co-ordination?, International Marketing Review, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 183-95.

Corresponding author
John Nadeau can be contacted at: johnn@nipissingu.ca

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

PAGE 246 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011