The impact of destination source credibility on destination satisfaction: The mediating effects of destination attachment and destination image

Abstract

Building emotional destination attachment is a key tourism destination branding issue in today's tourism market. The current study aims to develop and test a comprehensive theoretical model for destination branding that borrows the concepts of brand credibility, brand image, brand attachment, and satisfaction. Based on the above concepts, this article hypothesizes the relationships among four constructs, namely, destination source credibility, destination image, and destination attachment as antecedents of destination satisfaction. These relationships are examined for a sample of 398 international tourists visiting a famous world heritage tourism destination (Angkor Wat) and a famous skyscraper (Taipei 101). The SEM indicates that destination source credibility and destination image could indeed affect tourist perceptions of destination satisfaction with regard to destination attachment. In addition, the mediating role of destination attachment and destination image is also confirmed in this study. The findings offer important implications for tourism management and practice.