This study investigates the way attributes of an individual's ideal destination influence attitudes towards a holiday destination. Traditionally, ideals are used as comparison standards or to weight perception measures, but literature from outside the tourism and business management domains suggest new possibilities exist. A conceptual model was developed and empirically tested using path analysis, and the results indicate that ideal attributes directly influence perceptions of a holiday destination and indirectly influence attitude components of emotion and conation. The implications of the findings are discussed from both a practical and theoretical perspective and raise a number of interesting future research possibilities. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.