The importance of the country image: the united states of america case

Abstract

Country image is an issue that is becoming more relevant in the last few years due to competition generated among countries to attract tourists and increase their exports in the wake of globalization. Nowadays, countries are more concerned about country image being projected and, therefore, the favourable or unfavourable perception that consumers have of the country. This research is an exploratory study to determine the components of the United States of America country image, from the perspective of consumers of Peru and France. The United States was chosen for purposes of this study because it is the country that provides the greatest flow of tourists to Peru and is the main destination market for exports; while in the case of France it is the opposite: it has a low rate of tourists and trade. This allows comparing the results of two samples: one with a high level of familiarity (Peru) and one with a low level of familiarity (France). The same questionnaire was used for both markets under the same conditions, and the same variables and indicators were measured.