Brand Attachment, Tour Leader Attachment, and Behavioral Intentions of Tourists

Abstract

The brand of a travel agency and the tour leader play critical roles in travel decision making. Attachment theory has recently been extended to the domain of travel behavior. However, little academic attention has been paid to travel agency brand and tour leader attachment. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of brand attachment and tour leader attachment on tourists' behavioral intentions and to clarify the roles of perceived value and customer trust. The results indicate that brand attachment has an indirect effect on behavioral intentions through perceived value. Tour leader attachment also has both direct and indirect positive influences on tourists' behavioral intentions. Finally, the influences of brand attachment and tour leader attachment on perceived value are stronger among customers with a high level of trust than among those with a low level of trust. The implications of these findings and future research are subsequently discussed.

The Relationship between Tour Guide Humor and Tourists’ Behavior Intention: A Cross-Level Analysis

“…Specifically, the higher the level of tour guide humor, the more prone tourists are to have behavioral intentions. First, humor can strengthen tour guides’ glamor and service quality (Pearce 2009; Tsaur and Teng 2017), and further trigger tourists’ behavioral intentions, encouraging tourists to maintain the relationship with the guide and perform a positive behavioral response (Tsaur and Teng 2017; Yen et al 2018). Especially, previous literature has suggested that tourists are inclined to return to the destination when experiencing a charismatic guide and to recommend to others when the service quality of a guide is high (Heung 2008; Yen et al 2018).…”

“…First, humor can strengthen tour guides’ glamor and service quality (Pearce 2009; Tsaur and Teng 2017), and further trigger tourists’ behavioral intentions, encouraging tourists to maintain the relationship with the guide and perform a positive behavioral response (Tsaur and Teng 2017; Yen et al 2018). Especially, previous literature has suggested that tourists are inclined to return to the destination when experiencing a charismatic guide and to recommend to others when the service quality of a guide is high (Heung 2008; Yen et al 2018). Second, tour guide humor implies that the tour guide might use humorous expressions to interact with tourists, including creating a joyous atmosphere, telling amusing stories, introducing special pleasant topics, and making interesting puns (Tsaur and Teng 2017), which can enhance tourists’ memories (Lippman and Dunn 2000).…”

“…Among these, tour guides in tour groups maintain contact with tourists during the whole trip and can greatly affect tourists’ experience quality and decision about whether to remain loyal (e.g., Chan, Hsu, and Baum 2015; Chang 2014; Huang, Weiler, and Assaker 2015; S. Lee, Jeon, and Kim 2011; Yen et al 2018; Zatori, Smith, and Puczko 2018). Thus, the use of humor by tour guides with tourists is particularly significant.…”

Tour leaders with detailed knowledge of travel-related diseases play a key role in disease prevention

“…Tourists’ attachment to a tour leader may affect their travel decision-making. Yen et al [ 18 ] believed that attachment to a tour leader has a positive influence on tourists’ behavior. Therefore, a tour guide's knowledge and attitude about the destination and travel-related diseases will directly or indirectly influence the tour safety.…”

Tour Leading in South America: Job Inputs and Outcomes

“…As such, this study contributes to the existing knowledge of employees’ well-being within the tour leading environment and provides managerial intelligence to tour operators to enhance TLs’ job satisfaction and performance. In doing so, tour operators can increase their business success by reducing costs associated with employees’ turnover (Wong and Wang 2009; Yen et al 2015) and retaining the best performers who help differentiate their product. Study findings are also important to inform tourism policies to safeguard TLs’ careers (e.g., ensure job security), a critical need in developing countries where traveling with a TL is an increasing trend among international tourists (Wang et al 2010).…”