Abstract:
Word of mouth communication, country image and destination satisfaction have been identified
as significant aspects in tourist industry today more than any other time as tourists make reviews
on internet based on such reviews influence the prospective tourists’ behaviour. Although scholars
have scrutinized in this area they are mainly limited to developed countries reflecting a gap in the
literature to explore the insights in the developing countries context. Addressing such gap in the
literature, this study aims to examine the impact of country image and destination satisfaction of
tourists on their word of mouth communication in Sri Lanka. A survey is carried out with 354
tourists in Sri Lanka. The result uncovers that the destination satisfaction fully mediates the
relationship between country image and word of mouth communication of tourists in Sri Lanka.
Finally, the paper makes important implications and suggestions for practitioners as well as for
academics in the field of tourism.
