The role of extraordinary sensory experiences in shaping destination brand love: an empirical study

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the contribution of extraordinary positive sensory experiences to the development of destination brand love utilizing two studies. Study 1, based on online reviews, finds that destination brand love stems from extraordinary sensory experiences. A survey collecting longitudinal data in Study 2 further examines that common sensory experiences do not influence destination brand love significantly and reveals that momentary happiness and retrospective happiness are serial mediators between the extraordinary sensory experiences and destination brand love. Thus, these findings suggest that providing extraordinary positive sensory experiences is an effective way to facilitate destination brand love.

KEYWORDS:

• Destination brand love
• brand love
• sensory experiences
• extraordinary sensory experiences
• common sensory experiences
• tourist happiness
• momentary happiness
• retrospective happiness
• relationship
• emotional bond

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China [No. 17CTY014].