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The study examines first-time and repeat-visitor primary destination images through the prism of the three-factor theory of consumer satisfaction to expose the positive-negative asymmetry of their relationship with overall visitor satisfaction and word-of-mouth recommendation, and the differential impact of factor type on first-time visitors and repeaters. It also subdivides repeat visitors on the basis of revisit frequency to reveal significant differences between repeater subgroups and between first-time visitors and high-frequency repeaters, which have been overlooked in previous research. Combining this theoretical approach with the examination of repeater heterogeneity has revealed the criticality of the destination's basic and performance factors; the former are potentially critical constraints on re-visitation for the large majority of visitors, while many of the latter have a positive impact on satisfaction and visitor …