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.

Sustainable Place Branding and Visitors’ Responses: A Systematic Literature Review

“…These efforts also form positive brand attitudes [43] and increase the perceived functional, convenience, emotional, social, and epistemic value of the destination [60] by identifying traits in the destination that tourists greatly value. Studies also demonstrate that sustainable destination branding not only enhances brand love and engagement [58] but also fosters trust in the destination brand and its offerings [61,62], ultimately reinforcing the destination's reputation for trustworthiness [2]. In turn, it serves as a compelling incentive for potential visitors to choose the destination for their travels.…”

“…Finally, the last theme identified in the studies shows a strong link between sustainable place branding and the behavioral outcomes of the visitors'. Pro-environmental branding and labeling efforts lead to the intention to consume eco-tourism products [66] and visit sustainable destinations [62]. Furthermore, sustainable and green actions at the destination level can also promote willingness to revisit a destination in the post-travel stage [57,62,67,68].…”

“…Pro-environmental branding and labeling efforts lead to the intention to consume eco-tourism products [66] and visit sustainable destinations [62]. Furthermore, sustainable and green actions at the destination level can also promote willingness to revisit a destination in the post-travel stage [57,62,67,68]. Studies [57] credit destinations' efforts to build a sustainable brand image that involves all stakeholders with favorable results.…”

Social Media and Influencer Marketing for Promoting Sustainable Tourism Destinations: The Instagram Case

“…However, maintaining and enhancing a sustainable destination's image in international markets is a challenging task [30]. Romao et al [31] build their research based on structural analysis regarding the motivation and satisfaction of global tourists from different nations and cultures, stating that there is an opportunity to attract long-haul visitors who spend more and behave sustainably to destinations; this is even more important when domestic tourists cannot support the development of a destination [32].…”

Research on the development strategy of integration of Chinese traditional culture and tourism development oriented to a matrix model

“…Mateoc-Srb et al mainly identified, synthesized, processed and interpreted some tourism eligibility information within the Malamureş Conservation Area and, based on this, proposed a mathematical model based on 25 settlements to identify the types of tourism that these areas can support and develop [20]. Wang, K took the perspective of sustainable economic development of tourism, the analysis of tourists' trust in government-initiated tourism brands and the evaluation of the moderating role of trustors in developing tourism brands [21]. This paper first explores the signs and characteristics of Chinese traditional culture during its evolution in different periods and discusses the expression of traditional culture in modern tourism from four aspects: clothing, food, housing and transportation.…”