The aim of the thesis was to study how consumers’ attitudes, behavior and knowledge
affect their choice when selecting a holiday destination. In addition to this
the writers of this study wanted to introduce Iraqi Kurdistan to the Finnish tourist
market. Another aim was to find out the attitudes and knowledge of the Finnish
tourists on Kurdistan when considering the region as a holiday destination. The
purpose of the research was to see how Finnish tourists view the region of
Kurdistan and if they had the willingness to travel to the location. The target
group for this study was Finnish tourists who have not visited Kurdistan.
The theoretical framework is based on the definition of the concepts attitudes,
behavior and consumer behavior in tourism. The literature review helps to
determine attitude and destination image and its components.
For the empirical data primary and secondary data were collected by conducting
interviews using a qualitative approach as well as by analyzing two published
reports. The research was conducted in Vaasa, Finland.
The findings of this research seem to suggest that Kurdistan has the potential of
one day becoming a popular holiday destination. However, much in this lies on
the location and safety, and the security of the region. The majority of the
interviewees had the interest, knowledge and a positive attitude and considered
Kurdistan as a beautiful, modern and attractive place, which was not anticipated at
the outset. The respondents gave an affirmative answer when asked if willing to
travel to Kurdistan. However, this does not necessarily confirm that their positive