Building relationship orientation among travelers through destination brand authenticity

Abstract

Tourism destinations strive to develop a strong and enduring relationship with travelers to gain a competitive edge. In this regard, previous studies have validated numerous marketing constructs for building strong and enduring relationship orientation among travelers. The importance of authentic experiences in providing innumerable benefits to tourism destinations and travelers has long been acknowledged. This study extends the scope of the benefits of destination authenticity in developing and maintaining an enduring relationship orientation among travelers towards heritage tourism destinations in India. After examining the data collected from 409 respondents, findings suggest that perceived authenticity in tourism destination brands helps develop and foster relationship orientation among travelers. Moreover, such induced relationship orientation generates favorable behavior, i.e., promoting revisit intentions and destination advocacy. The study offers multiple implications for researchers and practitioners.