The Role of Destination Brand Image and Revisit Intention on Tourist Spending

Abstract

There has been a substantial rise in the number of tourists in coastal cities in Asia and Europe. Yet very little is known about their tourism spending behavior, particularly how their perceived the importance of amenities in destination brand image and their influence on re-visit intention. This paper examines the relationship between amenities of tourist destination and their effect on tourist spending by examining (a) the mediating role of destination branding and (b) the moderating role of re-visit intention in the relationship between amenities and destination brand image. An online survey used to collect data from 150 Greek and 370 Chinese participants. Results show that destination brand image mediates the relationship between amenities of the destination and tourist spending. Moderated mediation reveals that the indirect paths (destination brand image) through which amenities exerts its effect on destination brand image is dependent on the value of tourist re-visit intention. Surprisingly, the model did not perform with Greek data. The role of destination brand image and tourist re-visit intention on tourist spending discussed together with future research directions.