Sustainable Tourism Development Based upon Visitors’ Brand Trust: A Case of “100 Religious Attractions”

Abstract

This study examines tourist trust in a government-initiated tourism brand from the perspective of the economic sustainability of the tourism industry. Its antecedents comprise traveler visit motivation, visitor experience perception, and willingness to visit/revisit, and the study assesses the moderating role of believers/nonbelievers in developing a tourism brand. The data were obtained from 20 notable religious-themed attractions listed among the “100 Religious Attractions” in Taiwan. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to respondents who had visited, or were planning to visit, the listed attractions. Three hundred and eighty-five valid questionnaires were collected with the hypotheses developed and examined using the SEM method. This study analyzes the motivational and experiential differences between religious-oriented and ordinary visitors to the “100 Religious Attractions” and its brand effect concerning peripheral industry consumption behavior (e.g., food and beverage, religious items, and surrounding sightseeing sites). Last, this study discloses that the willingness to visit/revisit determinants, service value perception, and spiritual experience significantly affect tourism brand trust. These results offer a better understanding for both scholars and practitioners of religious-themed attractions regarding how tourists’ visit/revisit intentions and their willingness to consume affect the creation of tourism destination brand trust that is sustainable.