Community support and benefits, culture and hedonism as moderators in the relationship between brand heritage, tourist satisfaction and revisit intention
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights
ISSN: 2514-9792
Article publication date: 6 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This research explores the antecedents of tourist satisfaction and revisit intention, especially in light of the post-pandemic environment that pushed tourism to the lowest level in the present decade. A comprehensive conceptual model based on the brand equity theory (BET) is developed, and interrelationships between brand heritage, community support and benefits, hedonism, culture, tourist satisfaction and revisit intention.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 670 tourists visiting one of the heritage destinations in southern India (Kanchipuram). After checking the psychometric properties of the survey instrument, the hypotheses were tested using path analysis and Hayes's PROCESS macros.
Findings
The results indicate that heritage brand of destination sites is positively associated with (1) tourist satisfaction and (2) tourist revisit intention. The findings also support the positive effect of attractiveness of products is positively related to tourist satisfaction, which in turn, is a significant predictor of tourist revisit intention. The findings also support that community support benefits moderating the relationship between heritage brand and attractiveness of products in heritage destinations tourist satisfaction.
Practical implications
This study has several implications for practicing managers engaged in maintaining heritage destinations. As this research highlights the importance of heritage brands of destinations in influencing tourist satisfaction, local communities and policymakers need to provide the necessary infrastructure and facilities at these destinations. Further, local entrepreneurs are motivated to invest in delivering products that attract tourists.
Originality/value
The conceptual model developed in this study, is first of its kind, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, that investigates the effect of hedonism (second moderator) moderating the relationship between tourist satisfaction and culture (first moderator) in influencing tourists to revisit their intention. In addition to direct relationships, the moderating role of community support and benefits, culture and hedonism makes a unique contribution to the bourgeoning literature on tourism especially in Indian context.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Professor Fevzi Okumus, the Editor-in-Chief, Professor Osman M. Karatepe, the Managing Editor and the anonymous reviewers for giving constructive suggestions to the earlier versions of the manuscript.
Citation
Raja, S., Soundararajan, V. and Parayitam, S. (2023), "Community support and benefits, culture and hedonism as moderators in the relationship between brand heritage, tourist satisfaction and revisit intention", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-05-2023-0324
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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