Destination image and tourist loyalty: A meta-analysis Hongmei Zhang a, * , Xiaoxiao Fu b , Liping A. Cai b , Lin Lu a a College of Territorial Resources and Tourism Management, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241003, P.R. China b Purdue Tourism and Hospitality Research Center, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, USA highlights  A total of 66 independent studies were synthesized by meta-analysis.  Destination image has significant impact on tourist loyalty, with varying degrees.  Overall image has the greatest impact on tourist loyalty.  Destination image has the greatest impact on composite loyalty. article info Article history: Received 4 December 2012 Accepted 14 June 2013 Keywords: Destination image Tourist loyalty Meta-analysis Quantitative abstract Extant literature is inconclusive on the linkage between destination image and tourist loyalty, due to the multi-dimensional nature of the two concepts. The present study attempts to draw some informative conclusions about the relationship through a meta-analysis. A research framework was proposed in which 14 hypotheses were developed. A total of 66 independent studies were synthesized and analyzed. The findings reveal that the impact of destination image on tourist loyalty is significant, with varying degrees. Specifically, overall image has the greatest impact on tourist loyalty, followed by affective image and cognitive image. Cognitiveeaffective joint image fails to demonstrate a stable impact on tourist loyalty. Of the three levels of tourist loyalty, destination image has the greatest impact on composite loyalty, and then on attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty, successively. The findings are discussed in light of their theoretical and practical implications for destination marketing and management. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction As a fundamental concept in marketing, customer loyalty is closely linked to corporate performance (Reichheld, 1993). It was revealed that a 5% increase in customer retention yields 85% more profits in service industry (Reichheld & Sasser, 1990). In addition, retention and maintenance of existing customers costs less than acquisition of new customers (Reichheld, 1996). Therefore, man- aging customer relationship and increasing customer loyalty has been a topic of strategic importance for organizations. Built upon related theories of customer loyalty in marketing literature, tourist loyalty as a topic in the field of travel and tourism has been studied since 1990s (e.g. Dimanche & Havitz, 1994). If tourists’ experience at a destination is understood as a product, the level of loyalty can be reflected in their behavioral intention to revisit the destination and intention to recommend the experience to friends and relatives (Oppermann, 2000). A number of studies has addressed tourist loyalty in relation to travel motivation, satisfaction, service quality, perceived value, and destination image (Chen & Chen, 2010; Huang & Hsu, 2009; Mechinda, Serirat, & Guild, 2009; Ramkissoon, Uysal, & Brown, 2011; Yoon & Uysal, 2005). It has been acknowledged that the image perceived by tourists of a destination plays an important role in their decision-making, destination choice, post-trip evaluation, and future behaviors (e.g. Baloglu & McCleary, 1999; Echtner & Ritchie, 1991; Gallarza, Saura, & García, 2002). Knowledge about the images held by tourists to- ward a destination would increase the predictability of tourist loyalty. Presumably, tourists who perceive a destination favorably are more likely to revisit or recommend to others. Nevertheless, previous studies are inconclusive on the relationship between destination image and tourist loyalty. Some studies found that the destination image directly influenced tourist loyalty (Bosque & Martín, 2008; Lee, Scott & Kim, 2008), some revealed an indirect relationship (Castro, Armario, & Ruiz, 2007; Chi & Qu, 2008), and still others found that destination image exerted both direct and indirect influence on tourist loyalty (Bigné, Sánchez, & Sánchez, * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ86 13505530930. E-mail addresses: zhm2288@mail.ahnu.edu.cn (H. Zhang), fu34@purdue.edu (X. Fu), liping@purdue.edu (L.A. Cai), llin@263.net (L. Lu). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Tourism Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman 0261-5177/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2013.06.006 Tourism Management 40 (2014) 213e223