| Author: | Kankhuni, Zandivuta Teargas |
| Title: | The impact of perceived destination competitiveness on tourist-based destination brand equity in emerging destinations |
| Advisors: | Masiero, Lorenzo (SHTM) Tsang, Nelson (SHTM) |
| Degree: | Ph.D. |
| Year: | 2020 |
| Subject: | Disinformation -- Social aspects Fake news -- Social aspects Online social networks -- Scoial aspects Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | School of Hotel and Tourism Management |
| Pages: | xiv, 254 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | In an increasingly competitive global tourism market, destinations have turned to the extensive use of promotion to create awareness of the attributes that set them apart from the competition. Thus, their ultimate aim is to create sustainable destination brands. Insights from both theory and practice, however, show that destinations can only create sustainable brands by offering tourism products that are functionally and experientially different from the competition. This demonstrates the importance of destination competitiveness in the formation of tourist-based destination brand equity. Against this backdrop, some gaps were identified in the literature. First, the most studies on destination competitiveness and destination branding have been conducted in mature destinations in the global north, and their findings are often inapplicable in small, unknown, and emerging destinations like those in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Second, relatively fewer studies have mainly analysed destination competitiveness from the demand point of view, despite the emphasis put on the demand-side perspective in many destination competitiveness frameworks. Third, studies on tourist-based destination brand equity have mainly analysed the cognitive dimensions of the concept, leaving out equally important affective elements such as destination trust. Similarly, tourist-based destination brand equity studies have mostly considered destination loyalty as the primary outcome of destination brand equity with the measurement of destination loyalty transferred from the general marketing literature; consequently, these studies do not focus on wanderlust as an important element of leisure travel and the rarity of repeat visits in small, 'once-in-a-lifetime', or developing destinations. Furthermore, the few studies that have explored the relationships between destination competitiveness and destination brand equity lacked a strong theorization with which to explore specific relationships between the dimensions of the two concepts. To fill the aforementioned lacunae, the current study utilised from the notion of reciprocity and the concept of customer equity to examine the impact of destination competitiveness on destination brand equity from international tourists' perspective in Malawi, an emerging destination in Southern Africa. Grounded in the positivist paradigm, the study adopted a quantitative approach for its data collection and analysis. Based on a review of literature, a survey of destination stakeholders, and interviews with tourists, 29 destination attributes, and 26 statements were generated to measure destination competitiveness and tourist-based destination brand equity respectively. In the tourist-based destination brand equity model, the study adopted destination brand awareness, perceived quality, and destination brand image, which are commonly used in tourist-based destination brand equity studies. Additionally, the study incorporated brand trust and brand commitment. Commitment, which constituted items reflecting word of mouth/engagement, attachment, and social responsibility, was used as a proxy for destination loyalty. The items were screened by a panel of destination stakeholders and experts, after which the research instrument was piloted (n = 60). Tourists' comments were incorporated to improve the phrasing of the destination competitiveness attributes while a principal component analysis and applicable procedures confirmed the destination brand equity dimensions. The study assessed Malawi's performance against its competitors in the SSA region and draw comparisons with "best-practice" destinations outside the region. A total of 768 usable surveys were collected from tourists exiting the country at the Kamuzu International Airport using a counting rules approach. The sample included only those who visited for either holiday or volunteerism. 474 respondents assessed the destination against their favourite destinations previously visited in the SSA region while 294 assessed Malawi against their favourite destination previously visited outside the SSA region. Data analysis utilised descriptive statistical analysis in SPSS version 25 and structural equation modelling (partial least squares procedure) using SmartPLS version 3. A comprehensive competitive analysis was conducted on the destination competitiveness attributes. Both groups of respondents perceived Malawi positively on attributes related to hospitality. Assessed against competitors in the region, Malawi performed poorly on natural resource attributes such as safari and wildlife reserves, while the same attributes received higher ratings from those who assessed the destination against outside-SSA destinations. There was consensus between the two groups in their perception of Malawi on created resources and supporting infrastructure attributes, which they rated poorly. Also, important similarities and differences were noted in the perceptions of the two groups on the destination competitiveness attributes. Furthermore, a near-far destination analysis of competitiveness was conducted on the 29 destination attributes, which offers Malawi guidance on the attributes to prioritise and the set of destinations to use as benchmarks in its quest to improve its competitiveness. The results of the SEM support the conceptual model and the proposed relationships. The proportion of the variances explained in the dependent variables and predictive relevance values supported the two structural models' sufficiency in explaining the effect of perceived destination competitiveness on tourist-based destination brand equity. In the SSA sub-sample, 17 of the 22 hypotheses were onfirmed in the revised model. In the outside-SSA sub-sample, 12 of the 19 hypotheses were confirmed in the revised model. Dimensions of perceived destination competitiveness significantly influenced destination brand equity, albeit with different strengths in the two models. In the SSA sample, brand awareness, perceived quality, and brand image significantly influenced brand trust. Furthermore, brand awareness, brand image, and brand trust predicted brand commitment. There was no significant relationship between perceived quality and brand commitment. The mediating effect of trust was found to be responsible for the non-significant relationship. In the outside-SSA sample, only perceived quality, among the original brand equity constructs, predicted brand trust. Brand awareness, perceived quality, brand image, and brand trust all predicted brand commitment. The multi-group analyses revealed the moderating effects of the ranking of the destinations-of-comparison and tourists' country of origin on the examined relationships. In the SSA sub-sample, the model was more supported among respondents who assessed Malawi against low-ranking SSA destination than among those who assessed Malawi against South Africa. Regarding source markets, the model found stronger support among American tourists than British tourists. In the outside-SSA sub-sample, the model was more efficient in explaining the causal links in the sub-sample that assessed Malawi against low-ranking destinations than among those who assessed Malawi against highly-ranked destinations. The study makes several theoretical and empirical contributions to the scholarship on destination competitiveness and brand equity. It confirms the importance of functional attributes such as inherited and created resources in the formation of tourist-based destination brand equity and demonstrates the importance of abstract attributes such as hospitality in T tourist-based destination brand equity formation. The study also incorporates brand trust into the tourist-based destination brand equity model to illustrate the importance of both cognitive and affective assessments in tourist-based destination brand equity evaluation. Further, the study adopts and validates destination commitment as a primary outcome of tourist-based destination brand equity in place of destination loyalty in its traditional sense, thereby recognising the unique nature of travel insofar as loyalty is concerned. In terms of practical implications, the study shows Malawi's standing compared to its competitors from a tourist perspective and, more importantly, shows the relative importance of destination competitiveness factors in the formation of tourist-based destination brand equity. This information together with the insights derived from the multi-group analysis could be useful to destination stakeholders in resource allocation, destination positioning, and market segmentation. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | open access |
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