The impact of gamification adoption intention on brand awareness and loyalty in tourism: The mediating effect of customer engagement

Abstract

Gamification has been used by tourism organisations for marketing purposes to reinforce customer engagement and to achieve brand awareness and loyalty. The current study, using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, aims to investigate the antecedents and consequences of gamification's adoption intention by tourist organisations, and to examine the mediation effect of customer engagement. A quantitative method was employed using a survey to collect data from a random sample of relevant managers in travel agencies. Using structural equation modelling for data analysis, the findings revealed that tourism organisations have positive intentions to adopt gamification to increase customer engagement and to achieve tourist destinations' brand awareness and loyalty. Implications, limitations, and future research are also addressed. • Gamification is a crucial marketing strategy for engaging customers in the tourism sector. • The study aims at investigating antecedents and outcomes of gamification adoption. • Gamification is a strong predictor of customer engagement. • Gamification adoption has direct and indirect effects on destination brand awareness and brand loyalty in tourism.