Abstract
This article delves into the cognitive perceptions and affective responses of tourists when viewing destinaton photographs. This study involved 149 participants interested in a holiday in South Tyrol, Italy, who provided feedback on various types of destination photographs in a web-based qualitative study using QDC studio. These photographs featured compositions with a single person, a group of people, or pure landscape. Findings confirm existing findings regarding negative effects of crowding on landscape photograph perception. In addition, this study shows that for photographs depicting nature-based tourism, the number of people it takes for respondents to react negatively ( as a crowd) is very low, even in a convivial context. Moreover, compositions featuring single individuals elicited ambivalent reactions, ranging from excitement to distress. Notably, a lack of familiarity with the destination can lead to misinterpretations and negative reactions to photograph elements. In light of these insights, we present recommendations for destination marketers and highlight the need for further research on photography and its influence on destination image formation.