In my proposed doctoral thesis I aim to understand the tourism destination image effects of visiting a sport event in the Middle East amongst German visitors and to learn if or how they disseminate their experiences. Based on a relativist ontology and a transactional, subjective epistemology, I operate in the constructivist research paradigm. I identify my position as a special type of insider researcher, highlighting the importance of reflexivity in my work. Phenomenology will enable me to characterise the co-created results of in-depth interviews conducted with each respondent. I believe this study will yield three major contributions: firstly, I want to contribute to the theoretical knowledge on the tourism destination image effects of sport event visitation. Secondly, I hope my results can give insight on how intercultural contacts influence tourists’ experiences and perceptions. Thirdly, I intend to understand intercultural contacts between Westerners and Middle Easterners in tourism and sport event settings.