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This conceptual paper aims to explore government regulatory responses of social networking platforms (SNP) and tourism destination evangelism. This research draws on a two-phase data source review of government legislations that guarantee social media users and empirical papers related to social media platforms. The results revealed that Ghana has adopted specific legislations that manage and control SNP. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first of its kind that synthesized government legislation and empirical papers on social networking platforms in evangelising destinations which have been missing in extant literature.

This study aims to explore the consumer perceptions of cognition and intention to visit pilot zone of international medical tourism as emerging, developed medical tourism destinations.

Using a survey-based quantitative method, based on a survey of 439 tourists who have cross-border travel experience, the partial least squares approach was performed to test the hypotheses.

The results show that internal factors had a stronger influence on destination image compared to external factors. Among different factors, preferential policies had the greatest impact on intention to visit. Perceived quality had a stronger effect on intention to visit than preference. Geographical distance had a varied effect, with those furthest away in Northeast China showing greater intention to visit compared to closer regions.

This study explores the impact of multidimensional destination perception on medical tourists’ behavioural intention in emerging destinations by integrating the push-pull theory and theory of planned behaviour and tests how geographical distance affects intention to visit emerging destinations. Using China international medical tourism pilot area as a typical case of medical tourism emerging destinations for empirical analysis. This research offers guidance for branding and marketing strategies, contributes to a deeper understanding of medical tourists’ destination choices, enriches the theoretical explanation of emerging destination choice in medical tourism and provides valuable insights for destination recovery.

The purpose of this investigation is to scrutinize the unexplored realm concerning the interplay of hospital brand gestalt on patient satisfaction and revisit intentions.

A self-administered online survey was conducted with 227 patients who had stayed at and received health-care services from a private hospital in the city of Manado, Indonesia, within the past 12 months. The quantitative data were subsequently analyzed using a structural equation model with the assistance of Smart PLS statistical software.

The results suggest that the hospital brand gestalt significantly and positively influences patient satisfaction, which, in turn, leads to patients’ intentions to revisit. Furthermore, patient satisfaction serves as a significant mediator in the relationship between brand gestalt and revisit intentions.

This study enhances the comprehension of brand gestalt’s influence on customer attitudes and behaviors within the health-care context, contributing to the expanding body of literature concerning holistic brand perception. For health-care providers, the study underscores the significance of creating a uniform and distinctive brand experience to boost patient satisfaction and cultivate loyalty. In summary, this study paves the way for strategic branding initiatives in health care, ultimately enhancing patient experiences and organizational outcomes.

For health-care providers, this study emphasizes the importance of crafting a consistent and differentiated brand experience to enhance patient satisfaction and foster loyalty. Overall, this study opens avenues for strategic branding efforts in health care, ultimately improving patient experiences and organizational outcomes.

While there is a growing interest in the role of brand gestalt in marketing research, there is still a need for more empirical research to explore the link between brand gestalt, customer satisfaction and revisit intention. Surprisingly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the role of brand gestalt in the context of health care.

Drawing on the literature on brand–consumer relations in an attempt to apply the concept of brand love to a city tourism destination, this paper aims to explore the antecedents and consequences of city brand love.

Based on quantitative research and cluster sampling, study data was collected from 330 international tourists who visited six Iran cities. The research model is tested using partial least square structural equation modeling.

According to the results, city brand attractiveness, city brand identification and memorable city brand experience are the antecedents of city brand love. Moreover, the city brand attractiveness, both directly and indirectly through memorable experiences and identification with the city brand, is one of the antecedents of city brand love. Finally, the results suggest that word of mouth and revisit intention are major behavioral outcomes of city brand love.

By providing a validated conceptual model that traces the antecedents and consequences of city brand love, this study attempts to answer prior calls for examination from the viewpoint of city tourism scholars.

本研究基于定量研究和整群抽样, 研究数据来自访问伊朗六个城市的330名国际游客。研究采用偏最小二乘结构方程模型对研究模型进行了检验。

借鉴品牌-消费者关系的相关文献, 本研究试图将品牌爱的概念应用于一个城市旅游目的地, 探讨城市品牌喜爱的前因和后果。

结果表明, 城市品牌吸引力、城市品牌辨识度和令人难忘的城市品牌体验是城市品牌喜爱的前因。城市品牌吸引力通过城市品牌直接或间接通过难忘体验和认同产生, 是城市喜爱的前因。最后, 研究结果表明, 口碑和重访意愿是城市品牌喜爱的主要行为结果。

通过提供一个经过验证的概念模型, 追溯城市品牌喜爱的前因后果, 本研究试图从城市旅游学者的角度回答先前检验的呼吁。

A partir de una investigación cuantitativa y muestreo por conglomerados, los datos del estudio se recogieron de 330 turistas internacionales que visitaron seis ciudades iraníes. El modelo conceptual se analizó mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS).

Basándose en la literatura sobre las relaciones entre marca y consumidor para aplicar el concepto de amor de marca a una ciudad como destino turístico, la presente investigación analiza los antecedentes y las consecuencias del amor de marca de ciudad.

Conforme a los resultados, el atractivo de la marca ciudad, la identificación con la marca ciudad y la experiencia memorable con la marca ciudad son los antecedentes del amor a la marca ciudad. Adicionalmente, el atractivo de la marca ciudad, tanto directa como indirectamente a través de las experiencias memorables y la identificación con la marca ciudad, es uno de los antecedentes del amor por la marca ciudad. Finalmente, los resultados sugieren que la comunicación boca-oído y la intención de volver a visitar la ciudad son los principales resultados comportamentales del amor de marca de ciudad.

Al proporcionar un modelo conceptual validado que analiza los antecedentes y las consecuencias del amor de marca de ciudad, este estudio trata de responder a las llamadas para su estudio desde la óptica del turismo urbano.

In the last decade, the concept of Islamic attributes of destination (IAD) has emerged due to Muslim tourists’ need to visit a destination that complies with Sharia law. Since then, the IAD concept has been popular to increase the destination’s attractiveness and travel satisfaction for Muslim tourists. This concept evolved from evaluating the Muslim tourists’ perception of IAD to non-Muslim tourists and from assessing the Islamic attributes in Muslim-majority destinations to non-Muslim majority destinations. Furthermore, the literature showed several measurement scales to assess tourists’ satisfaction with IAD, and scholars were varied in the methods of analysis used to assess tourists’ satisfaction with IAD. The purpose of this study is to perform a systematic mapping study on satisfaction with IAD by answering five research questions.

This study used the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses framework to guide the search process and search for relevant studies between 2012 and 2022 from two scientific databases, Scopus and Web of Science.

The search revealed 387 studies. In total, 31 articles met the eligibility criteria. This study indicates the journal considered research studies on tourists’ satisfaction with IAD the most, the method of analysis used in the previous studies, the Islamic destination attributes considered in the previous studies, the research distribution by counties, the research trend and the future direction.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic mapping study that delivers a summary of empirical research studies on tourists’ satisfaction with IAD.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze to what extent and in what ways signaling theory has been explored within the field of international marketing. This paper systematically reviews the use of signaling theory in the field of international marketing. Communication is a core aspect of the international marketing process. Research in this field has explored effective and unique ways of improving the communication flow to reduce the asymmetry of information between international consumers and the firm. This notion is adopted, enhanced and strengthened by signaling theory. Signaling theory has recently received the attention of international marketing scholars.

The systematic review methodology was applied for the purpose of identifying the relevant studies. We extracted academic articles over the last 23 years from the domain of international marketing that directly contribute to signaling theory based on 57 journal articles extracted through the systematic review process.

Based on systematic research the results reveal that the topic has grown and continues to expand within the broader international marketing field. We offer a theoretical conceptual framework to better understand signaling theory in the context of international marketing.

The authors map and critically evaluate the use of signaling theory in international marketing. Relevance of signaling theory in international marketing is growing and authors present an integrative framework that organizes the existing literature, and provides scholars to further expand on emerging themes of the domain. The paper offers some useful future research directions.

Heritage tourism is an increasingly popular form of tourism that allows individuals to connect with the past and immerse themselves in cultural and historical narratives. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the intricate relationships among vicarious nostalgia (VNOS), memorable tourism experiences (MTEXs) and their collective influence on tourists’ behavioral intentions (BINTs). Additionally, this study examines the moderating effect of social return (SN) in the context of heritage tourism.

Data were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire from 259 tourists visiting heritage sites in Jaipur. The proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling.

The results confirmed that VNOS had a significant positive impact on BINT in the context of heritage tourism. The causal relationship between VNOS and BINT was fully mediated by MTEX. The results further verified that the presence of SN strengthens the association between MTEXs and BINT.

This research will guide the firms associated with heritage tourism to target specific cohorts interested in heritage tourism. Policymakers may find it easier to create unique offerings and packages that appeal to visitors interested in historical sites and produce memorable travel experiences. One key implication is to create “social media friendly spaces” at different locations of the sites. To increase tourism, managers may use the findings from this research to create plans for the ethical promotion and protection of cultural and natural heritage sites.

Overall, this research advances the understanding of the role of VNOS in heritage tourism by elucidating its cognitive and emotional aspects and their subsequent influence on the memorability of tourist experiences and BINT s. Additionally, by considering the moderating effect of SN, this study provides a comprehensive view of how these factors collectively shape tourists’ decisions and actions in the context of heritage destinations. This research has been conducted in the heritage city of Jaipur (North-Western India), which, surprisingly – despite its popularity as a heritage tourism site – has not been sufficiently explored in the scholarly research.

The migration of physicians is a global interest, causing imbalances between developed and developing countries. Romania is one of Europe's major providers of physicians, not because there is a surplus, but because physicians are drawn to places with better living and working conditions. Medicine in Romania is increasingly highly advanced, and Romanian physicians are well appreciated all over the world. Despite being one of the countries with the most medical graduates in the world, Romania is suffering a doctor exodus. After joining the EU, the problem of physician migration became widespread, resulting in a deficient and inefficient healthcare system. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to estimate the losses registered by Romania because of physicians' decision to migrate.

These losses were calculated in two ways: utilizing the statistical life value and the amount of money invested in training a medical graduate.

According to the findings, the losses in 2018 were 104.16 million euros, approximately 0.12% of GDP.

The originality of this paper consists in data, being provided by the College of Physicians from Romania and the method used, this study being the only one that estimates the cost of Romanian physicians' migration. The paper adds to existing knowledge an empirical results regarding quantifying the value reflecting the departure of physicians, using value of statistical life and the amount of money invested in preparing a medical graduate.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether COVID-19 had an impact on the brand equity of the Top 100 global brands in the Americas, European and Asian regions over the three years of assessment (2020–2022).

A secondary data method (document scanning) was used to gather the study’s data from Brand Finance’s Global 500 annual reports from 2019 to 2022. The data for this study was analysed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0. The data were subjected to a descriptive test and one-way analysis of variance.

The findings showed that most of the Top 100 global brands from the Americas, Europe and Asia experienced little or no impact due to COVID-19. Thus, no significant differences were found to exist among the Top 100 global regional brands due to COVID-19 in the years 2020 and 2021. However, there is a significant difference in 2022 due to its small effect size.

The findings of this paper contribute to brand equity literature and global branding literature in the context of COVID-19. This paper innovatively frames brand equity and provides guidelines to help brands sustain their financial-based brand equity during a worldwide crisis.

This study aims to examine the influence of condominium attributes on resident satisfaction and word of mouth from the perspectives of the elderly in Thailand.

Data were collected from 338 elderly residents through a questionnaire survey and analysed by using descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling procedures.

The results showed that the strongest predictor of resident satisfaction was design functionality, followed by social environment, safety and security and service quality. In addition, the strongest predictor of word of mouth was safety and security, followed by design functionality, proximity, service quality and social environment.

The data were drawn at the level of the overall characteristics of elderly residents. People may be different in terms of their demographic characters such as gender, age, and user experience.

The study suggests that condominium developers and designers should pay attention to design functionality both physically and mentally such as suitable materials, lighting and common areas. Moreover, the developers should focus on the proximity of the nearest hospitals, safety and security measures, well-trained security personnel and social activity arrangement.

Elderly condominium markets are increasingly growing as a result of the ageing society in Thailand. However, very few empirical studies investigate condominium attributes that affect resident satisfaction and word of mouth provided by real estate developers. The paper aims to determine driving factors that enhance the better well-being of elderly residents.