Extending the Conceptualization of Destination Brand Experiences

Abstract

Tourism research has flourished over the last decade, providing novel insights and deepening the literature on destination branding and tourism experiences. Consequently, the initial conceptualization of destination brand experience (DBE) as a four-dimension concept may not fully capture the field’s expanded knowledge-base. The present study seeks to extend the conceptualization of DBE into six main dimensions (i.e., relational; spiritual, sensory, cognitive, affective, and behavioral) and provide empirical support for this extended conceptualization from a sample of tourists at Lake Malawi in Africa. The study contributes by providing support to the relevance of “relational” and “spiritual” dimensions as additional components of DBE. It offers insights to destination marketing organizations toward facilitating relational and spiritual dimensions that may be particularly relevant when tourists seek recovery and social experiences as travel and tourism re-emerges from the pandemic.