The Relationships between Destination Brand Image, Destination Brand Loyalty and Word of Mouth Behaviour

Abstract

This article documents a study and model of the destination brand image, destination brand loyalty and word-of-mouth behaviour (WOM). Therefore, the literature review consists of three parts namely destination brand image, destination brand loyalty and word-of-mouth behaviour. Destination brand image can be defined as the reasoned perceptions consumers attach to specific brands. Destination brand loyalty can be defined as the main source of customer-based brand equity. Brand loyalty was defined as the attachment a customer has to a brand. Lassar et. al. noted that brand equity stems from the grater confidence that consumers place in a brand than they do in its competitors. This confidence translates into consumers' loyalty and their willingness to pay a premium price for the brand. Word of mouth behaviour can be defined as informal communications directed at other consumers about the ownership or characteristic of particular goods and services and/or their sellers. In order to explore the relationship between destination brand image, destination brand loyalty and word-of-mouth behaviour, a two phase research design (exploratory and descriptive) was adopted and conducted. This study was based on the measures of Boo et all (2009), and Kim et all (2011) because their instruments had been developed, tested, refined and yielded reliable results. The questionnaire items were scored on a 5 point Likert scale, ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. A cross sectional design was used for the data collection. Data is analysed by using SPSS.