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Destination Personality: An Application of Brand Personality to Tourism Destinations

School of Management, University of Surrey, UK

Sameer Hosany

School of Management, University of Surrey, UK

As tourism destinations become more substitutable due to increasing competition in global tourism markets, destination personality is seen as a viable metaphor for building destination brands and crafting a unique identity for tourism places. At the conceptual level, although the importance of destination personality has been acknowledged, to the best of our knowledge, no empirical research has yet identified its dimensions. Adopting Aaker’s brand personality scale, this study aimed to identify whether tourists ascribed personality traits to tourism destinations. The findings of the study indicate that perception of destination personality is 3-dimensional: sincerity, excitement, and conviviality. The study also found that destination personality has positive impact on perceived destination image and intention to recommend. In particular, the conviviality dimension moderated the impact of cognitive image on tourists’ intention to recommend.

Key Words: destination image • destination personality • tourists’ behavioral intention • destination branding • product and brand personality

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