Tourism Analysis, Vol. 8 pp. 253–257 1083-5423/04 $20.00 + .00 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2004 Cognizant Comm. Corp. www.cognizantcommunication.com 253 Address correspondence to Metin Kozak, School of Tourism and Hotel Management, Mugla University, 48000, Mugla, Turkey. Tel: + 90 252 223 92 05; Fax: + 90 252 223 91 64; E-mail: M.Kozak@superonline.com CROSS-CULTURAL BEHAVIOR RESEARCH IN TOURISM: A CASE STUDY ON DESTINATION IMAGE METIN KOZAK,* ENRIQUE BIGNÉ,† ANA GONZÁLEZ,‡ and LUISA ANDREU† *Mugla University, School of Tourism and Hotel Management, 48000, Mugla, Turkey †University of Valencia, Faculty of Business and Economy Studies, Department of Management and Marketing, Avda. dels Tarongers s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain ‡University of León, Faculty of Business and Economy Studies, Department of Management and Marketing, Campus de Vegazana s/n 24071 León, Spain This study aims to emphasize the significance of exploring cross-cultural differences in consumer behavior and, in particular, destination image. First a theoretical framework was developed to intro- duce a research agenda on cross-cultural consumer behavior in tourism. Secondly, a case study was carried out based on two ad hoc studies conducted by the Valencian Tourist Board (Spain) at its tourism information offices. ANOVA and factor correspondence analysis were considered as the main techniques to analyze the differences of destination image attributes, taking into account the tourists’ country of residence. Conclusions and managerial implications are discussed. Key words: Cross-cultural research; Destination image; Tourist perceptions; Perceptual maps; Spain image perceptions for different destinations. Most studies of destination choice and tourist behavior have been related to investigating the relationship between the image of the destination and tourist pref- erences for the place as a tourist destination as well as dis/satisfaction with the destination. At this stage, Morrison (1989) presents two criteria, objective and subjective, that help tourists decide which one meets their own criteria best. The former includes prices, locations, physical characteristics of facilities or des- tinations, etc., whereas the image of the destination Tourist destinations are accepted as being a key component of national or international tourism ac- tivities. Each destination offers a variety of prod- ucts and services to attract tourists. However, each visitor also has the opportunity and freedom to choose from a set of destinations (Crompton, 1992). Research findings indicate that different factors may have an influence on destination choice, or the at- tractiveness of one particular destination (Sirakaya, McLellan, & Uysal, 1996). For instance, each visi- tor may have different motivations, preferences, and