Tourism destination’s reputation and visitors' effective evaluation and cognitive perception; Isfahan as a case study

In recent years, issues related to brand and reputation have been widely discussed nationally, regionally, in local communities, as well as concerning destination marketing strategies. Reputation is a component of attractiveness and encompasses the overall image of the destination. Reputation plays a vital role in tourism development. It is positively affecting the image of the destination, visitors' understanding of the value, and their loyalty to a destination, and finally, their satisfaction. The reputation of a destination plays an essential role in attracting tourists. The same questionnaire cannot be used to measure reputation for different destinations because the reputation of a destination depends on what it has gone through and can be different from similar destinations. Therefore, to design a questionnaire and measure dependent and independent variables, the indicators were collected based on previous studies and then approved by experts.Considering the components of urban reputation and identifying them based on the perception of visitors is critical for understanding their needs. Investigating the reputation of Isfahan and the factors influencing the reputation of this city, based on effective evaluation and cognitive perception of visitors by distributing 384 questionnaires, showed that among the factors influencing the reputation of the tourism destination of Isfahan, the destination image affects its reputation more than other factors. There is no significant difference in the city's reputation between the attitude of people who visited Isfahan and people who have not been there before. This research showed that the reputation of the destination and the recommendation of friends and relatives are the main factors in the knowledge of people from Isfahan, and media, exhibitions, and training have a minimal role in the introduction and development of this destination.Based on the study results, the six components of reputation, destination image, hospitality, the attitude of local communities, perceived perception, and emotional evaluation along with the variables of each component have been described.In the component of reputation, the respect of visitors to Isfahan has gained the most points. Among the relevant variables with the destination image component, Isfahan's unique attractions have the highest score. However, the variables "wide variety of entertainment and tourist activities" and "enjoyment of the location of this place" are also in good condition.Among the hospitality variables, host friendliness relative to tourists had the highest average, and the efforts of public institutions, the private sector, and local communities in solving potential problems and complaints of visitors received the lowest average.Among the variables of attitudes of the local community, the diversity of the local cultural customs is higher than the average, and the cultural perception of Isfahan's residents is the lowest. Among the components of cognitive perception, management indicators, the concentration of tourist attractions and routes have a higher average and security index, and access to facilities have a lower average.Finally, from the perspective of the emotional evaluation variable, the entertainment of leisure activities with the calculated average has the highest score, and the happy mood of the people of Isfahan has the lowest average, although the scores obtained for the variables of this component is higher than the average. One sample T-test was used to assess the attitude of the sample towards the components of reputation, destination image, hospitality, the attitude of local communities, perceived perception, and emotional evaluation.Cognitive perception of Isfahan's reputation has been a factor in the re-visit of this city and has had a direct impact on people's perception of reputation. There has been a high correlation between cognitive perception and reputation in Isfahan.It can be said that paying attention to comfort, diversity of destination activities, security, proper infrastructure, good transportation, marketing and promotion of cultural attractions strengthened, cognitive perception of visitors to the destination, and positively enhanced its reputation. Providing leisure facilities for tourists can be attractive and have a positive impact on their attitudes towards Isfahan.We found that the reputation of the destination and advice of friends were the main factor in introducing Isfahan to visitors and media, exhibitions and training played a minimal role in this regard.Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the writing of up-to-date content and the presentation of Isfahan on the internet in the form of user-friendly websites, as well as the development of documentary programs for radio and television, the development of quality, diverse and up-to-date print media. Informing and educating people, especially those involved in tourism, about the importance and role of tourism in the economy of Isfahan and its reputation can lead to improving the responding to tourists and their needs and thus providing a positive image of residents and tourism service providers.