Impact of cultural proximity on destination image and tourists’ perceptions: The case of the Portuguese cultural festival Lusofonia in Macao

Festivals showcase cultural heritage, popularise travel destinations, and generate economic benefits. Additionally, studies have shown that participating in the festivals of a destination whose culture is proximate to their own helps tourists resonate with the destination better. Thus, this study investigates the impact of cultural proximity on destination image and tourists’ festival perception. It also examines the mediating roles of festival perception and cognitive destination image. Lusofonia festival, an annual Portuguese cultural festival of Macao, was chosen for the questionnaire-based data collection. I employed factor and correlations analyses and tested the hypotheses using structural equation modelling. The results consolidated the relationship between cognitive destination image and affective image, provided insight into the role of cultural events in enhancing destination image, and identified the attributes of parity in terms of home-destination culture that steer festival perception and cognitive destination image positively. The study indicates that tourism managers should align destination branding with tourists’ expectations and experiences.