City brand love: destination attractiveness and memorable tourism city experiences

Abstract

Purpose 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. Design/methodology/approach 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. Findings 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. Originality/value 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.