The paper aims to extend the current knowledge on travel intention to destinations featured in media programs, using the Swiss Alps from the famous novel and TV-series “Heidi” as a stimulus. A structural model including place attachment, positive affect, and motivation as antecedents to travel intention and imagination capacity as a moderator was examined. The results, tested on 410 individuals who had never visited the Swiss Alps, demonstrated the significant influence of the proposed antecedents on travel intention, while the magnitude of their impact was found to differ depending on respondent’s proclivity to imagine. The study’s contribution is three-fold: (1) empirical support to the assertion that place attachment may be stimulated by narratives is provided; (2) the underlying foundations of place attachment are further elucidated by applying the symbolic interactionism and media effects theories; (3) the moderating role of cognitive imagination ability in decision-making stimulated by imagery is evidenced.