The effect of destination image and personality on visitor satisfaction: A study on tourists visiting Mardin

There are various factors influencing satisfactions of visitors towards a destination. Destination personality and destination image are involved among these factors. In this regard, the main goal of this study was determined as to investigate the effect of destination image and destination personality on visitor satisfaction. The universe of the research was composed of domestic tourists visiting Mardin destination. Convenience sampling technique as a non-random sampling method was used in context to the study and required primary data was collected by 403 domestic tourists visiting Mardin destination between February 2018 and August 2018 via survey technique. Within the scope of the study, Destination Personality Scale with developed by Uşaklı and Baloğlu (2011), and Chen and Phou (2013); Destination Image Scale developed by Baloğlu (1996); and a combined scale in order to measure visitor satisfaction which was formed after literature review was used. Data gathered through prepared survey form was analysed via SPSS 22.0 computer program. Problem statement of the research was determined as "Are there effects of destination personality and destination image on visitor satisfaction of domestic tourists visiting Mardin in scope of cultural tourism?". As the result of the study, it was found that destination image and destination personality have significant and positive effects on visitor satisfaction. These results are in parallel with the literature findings. Moreover, variance analyses were conducted for destination image, destination personality and visitor satisfaction through using control variables, and it was found that there are various significant differences according to some demographic features of the sample. Keywords: Mardin, destination, Mardin destination, destination image, destination personality, visitor satisfaction