Effects of tourism planning and marketing strategies on destination brand equity: a system dynamics model

Abstract

ABSTRACT Tourism is limited by the lack of policies and strategies in areas Tourism is constrained by the lack of policies and strategies in areas with tourism potential. Therefore, there is a need to increase awareness and tourist inflow through the creation of destination brand identities. However, brand equity is one of the most complex business challenges due to its control and effect on tourists over time. This paper proposes a System Dynamics model of destination brand equity to assess the evolution of the future behaviour of related variables, including tourist arrivals. The model simulates continuous scenarios by analysing the causal relationships between variables that can explain brand equity. The effects of marketing strategies and the complexity of tourism planning are tested. The effect of brand equity on tourist arrivals is analysed in order to assess the impact of complex tourism planning on perceived brand equity. It also demonstrates the counter-intuitive behaviour of the effect of marketing strategies on the trend of arrivals.