Tourists` perception towards an effective destination brand : a study of Maldives

Abstract

Destination branding is considered to be highly challenging in this competitive environment where choices are vast that offers similar services and products. To differentiate the destinations have been one of the key strategies in meeting the ever changing needs and wants of the tourist. As such, to mitigate the challenges faced in branding a destination effectively, it is important to understand the tourists’ perception towards the particular tourism destination. The purpose of this study is to identify the tourists perception by understanding the relationship of destination personality and destination image on destination choice through destination brand of Maldives. Data was collected from those tourists who have already visited Maldives, through an administered online questionnaire. A total of 350 responses were received and used in the analysis. SPSS was used for the purpose of data analysis where mediate macro was integrated in the SPSS to conduct the mediation analysis. Firstly, the reliability analysis of the scale used was performed. Secondly, the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed in order to extract the factor underlying for each of the measured variable of interest. Then, the mediation analysis was run to test the hypotheses of the study. Findings revealed that, there is indeed significant positive impact of destination personality and destination image to destination choice through destination brand confirming the mediation effect. Similarly, it was also found that, destination image and destination personality have a significant positive impact on destination brand. Also, it was confirmed that destination brand has a positive relationship with destination choice. In sum, the finding of the research can bring some weight towards the managerial implication, especially in the area of destination branding.