Search results

This study examined perceived brand attractiveness of and identification with fashion luxury brands given different levels of sexuality in advertisements. Sex in advertisements has become increasingly more common to generate attention and interest in fashion luxury products, with limited research on its influence on the consumer. However, the use of sexuality in luxury advertisements may counter the ethical expectations of brands by the current consumer in the United States.

A sample of 1,266 males and females completed a survey on brand attractiveness and identification after examining an advertisement of a luxury fashion product. Participants were assigned an advertisement that featured a same-gendered model at one of four levels of sexuality (fully clothed to nude). IBM SPSS Statistics was used to analyze the data which included descriptive statistics and a two-way multivariate analysis of variance followed by an analysis of variance.

The results indicated that less sexuality in luxury advertisements was better in generating attractiveness to and identification with the brand. The advertisements with models fully clothed were rated highest on brand attractiveness and identification. These relationships were statistically significant among groups of men and women.

These findings are important to scholars and marketers of luxury brands as sexuality in luxury brands continues to increase and becomes more provocative, as well as socially conscious.

Thailand's Halal-friendly destination attributes are the focus of this study. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Halal-friendly attributes on tourists’ intentions to visit non-Muslim destinations. Also, this study analyzes the impact of Muslim tourists’ attitudes on Halal-friendly characteristics and their intentions to visit countries that are not predominantly Muslim.

To accomplish objectives, a survey was used to gather the data by using a convenient non-probability sampling approach from Muslim-majority countries Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. A proposed structural equation model was used to assess the influence of the variables above on the outcomes.

This study found that the factors of Halal-friendly facilities and Halal-friendly service positively influence the visiting intentions of Indonesian, Malaysian and Brunei Muslim tourists. In contrast, the social environment, food/beverages and local and staff attributes do not influence visit intentions. The tourist attitude mediates the relationship between the intention to visit and three dimensions of Halal-friendly attributes (social environment; food/beverage; and locals and staff).

This study did not investigate different kinds of dimensions for Muslim tourists visiting Thailand, such as preferences regarding personnel and families, cultural and artistic characteristics and the attributes of events and festivals. These dimensions cover a wide range of Halal-friendly tourism aspects. Second, this research did not investigate the associations between the demographics of Muslim tourists (age, gender, education level and income level) and the model variables. Such an investigation could have helped business developers and marketers in Thailand develop an efficient strategy for target marketing. The results of this research provide fundamental guidance and information for tourist enterprises in non-Muslim nations on how to enhance Muslim travellers’ images and intentions. However, because of the influence of other variables, locations in various areas of Asia, Africa and Europe may exhibit somewhat different effective qualities (e.g. environment, culture, history, etc.).

This study sheds light on the factors contributing to visitor satisfaction in the context of a desire to go to a Halal-friendly site. This insight from this study can be adapted and applied by tourism managers and marketing executives to build or develop the Halal-friendly destination image of a tourist destination (Phuket) in the right dimensions. It is a possibility that the image of a tourist attraction has a tight relationship with travelers’ perceived value, contentment and loyalty (Hsu et al., 2008; Khunrattanaporn, 2013; Pike, 2008). Battour et al. (2022) found that Muslims’ behavioural intentions are affected by the Halal attributes of the destination. It indicates that Halal attributes are very important for Muslim tourists when selecting a destination. To attract Muslim tourists, this study can be used for strategies and planning.

This study sheds fresh light on the concept of Halal tourism. It examines the perspective of Muslim tourists using Halal goods or services in anticipation of a future trip to a non-Muslim location (Phuket). This study is crucial for destination tourism operators, managers and marketers who lead Muslim tourists to non-Muslim destinations.