Destination Image and Revisit Intention at Hampi: An Importance–Performance Analysis of Domestic and Foreign Tourists

Hampi, the ruined capital of the Vijayanagara empire and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka's Vijayanagara district, draws backpackers, pilgrims, school groups, history enthusiasts and international travellers. Visitors praise its boulder landscapes and temples, yet many also complain about local transport, signage, toilets, food choices and information at monuments. The question this project answers is simple and practical: which attributes of Hampi matter most to tourists, and how well does the destination perform on exactly those attributes?

The study uses Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA), introduced by Martilla and James (1977). About 300 tourists — domestic and foreign — rate around 22 destination attributes twice: once for how important each attribute is to them and once for how Hampi performed during their visit. Attributes cover heritage and attractions, natural scenery, accessibility and local transport, accommodation, food, cleanliness and sanitation, safety, information and interpretation, local community and value for money. Plotting mean importance against mean performance produces the four IPA quadrants: Concentrate Here, Keep Up the Good Work, Low Priority and Possible Overkill.

The analysis is done in SPSS and Excel: reliability of the scale, paired t-tests for importance–performance gaps, independent t-tests comparing domestic and foreign visitors, and a regression of revisit and recommend intention on destination-image dimensions. Published Ministry of Tourism and Karnataka Tourism statistics provide context on visitor trends. The recommendations are written for the destination's stakeholders — hotels, homestays, tour operators and the local tourism authorities.

Abstract

Destination image — the beliefs and impressions tourists hold about a place — influences whether they return and whether they recommend the place to others. This study assesses the destination image of Hampi using Importance–Performance Analysis. A structured questionnaire rating 22 attributes on importance and performance was administered to about 300 domestic and foreign tourists at major sites. SPSS was used to test reliability, importance–performance gaps and differences between domestic and foreign visitors, and to model revisit intention. The IPA grid identifies attributes requiring urgent attention and those where effort may be excessive, offering evidence-based priorities for destination management.

Introduction

Heritage destinations face a double task: protecting monuments and serving visitors. Hampi's monuments are managed by the Archaeological Survey of India, while roads, transport, sanitation, accommodation and guiding depend on local bodies, state tourism agencies and private operators. Tourists experience all of these as a single "Hampi", so a weak link anywhere affects the overall image.

Review and gap

Destination-image research distinguishes cognitive image (beliefs about attributes) from affective image (feelings), and links image to satisfaction and loyalty. IPA has been widely used in tourism because its grid is easy for managers to read. Indian heritage-site studies often report satisfaction levels alone, without separating what visitors value from how the site performs, and few compare domestic and foreign visitors on the same attributes. This study fills that gap for Hampi.

Hypotheses

• H1: There is a significant gap between importance and performance for infrastructure attributes (transport, sanitation, signage).
• H2: Domestic and foreign tourists differ significantly in their importance ratings.
• H3: Destination-image dimensions significantly predict revisit intention.

Feasibility

• Access: visitors can be approached at public places near major monuments, bus stands and homestay clusters; permission is taken from local authorities where needed.
• Language: the questionnaire is prepared in English and Kannada, with Hindi available for north-Indian visitors.
• Time and cost: two field visits of about five days each in peak season; SPSS through the institute licence.

Hampi attracts large numbers of domestic and international visitors, but visitor experience depends on many providers — monument management, local transport, accommodation, food outlets, guides and civic services — which rarely share data on what tourists value or where they are disappointed. Online reviews and anecdotal complaints point to problems with local transport, signage, sanitation and information at sites, but there is no systematic evidence on which attributes matter most to visitors and how the destination actually performs on them, or on how domestic and foreign tourists differ.

Without such evidence, improvement efforts may be spread thinly or directed to attributes visitors do not prioritise. This study therefore measures the importance and performance of Hampi's destination attributes using Importance–Performance Analysis, compares domestic and foreign tourists, and examines how destination image relates to revisit and recommendation intentions, in order to identify clear priorities for destination stakeholders.

In scope

• Tourists aged 18 and above who have spent at least one full day at Hampi, surveyed at major sites and accommodation clusters.
• Around 22 cognitive destination-image attributes rated on importance and performance, plus overall satisfaction, revisit and recommend intention.
• Domestic vs foreign comparison, IPA grid, gap analysis and regression.
• Secondary context from official tourism statistics, quoted exactly from their published sources.

Out of scope

• Residents' attitudes to tourism and economic impact studies.
• Conservation assessment of monuments.
• Day trippers staying under a few hours, school groups and pilgrims visiting only for a ritual.
• Any collection of names, phone numbers, passport or ID details.

Research design

A descriptive cross-sectional survey with Importance–Performance Analysis.

Attribute list (22 items, 9 dimensions)

Heritage and attractions (3) · Natural scenery (2) · Accessibility and local transport (3) · Accommodation (2) · Food and restaurants (2) · Cleanliness and sanitation (3) · Safety and security (2) · Information and interpretation (3) · Local people and value for money (2). Items are drafted from the destination-image literature and refined through 10 short interviews with tourists and 3 with local tour operators.

Instrument

• Section A: profile (age group, gender, domestic/foreign, travel party, trip purpose, length of stay, accommodation type, first/repeat visit).
• Section B: importance of each attribute (1 = not at all important … 5 = extremely important), answered before the performance section.
• Section C: performance of Hampi on the same attributes (1 = very poor … 5 = excellent).
• Section D: overall satisfaction, revisit intention and recommend intention (5-point).

Sample

• About 300 tourists (target ~200 domestic, ~100 foreign) using quota sampling by origin and systematic intercept at five locations (Virupaksha temple area, Vittala temple complex approach, Royal Enclosure, Hampi bus stand area, and a homestay cluster), on weekdays and weekends.
• Pilot: 20 tourists.

Analysis (SPSS + Excel)

1. Cronbach's alpha for importance and performance sets.
2. Mean importance and performance per attribute; paired t-test for each gap.
3. IPA grid in Excel, cross-hairs at the grand means.
4. Independent t-test domestic vs foreign (Welch's where variances differ).
5. Multiple regression of revisit intention on dimension performance scores.

Timeline (14 weeks)

Weeks 1–3 review and instrument · 4 pilot · 5–8 fieldwork (two visits) · 9–11 analysis · 12–14 writing, presentation and viva.