Towards a Conceptual Framework of Tourists' Destination Knowledge and Loyalty

ABSTRACT

This paper postulates the conceptual relationships between brand knowledge and brand loyalty in a tourism destination context. A framework is conceptualized connecting destination knowledge (comprising of destination awareness and destination image) and tourist destination loyalty (in terms of both affective and behavioral loyalty). A series of hypotheses related to the model are hence developed. Although this article does not empirically test the predictive power of the models, it suggests that there is a close linkage between destination knowledge and destination loyalty, which deserves further research. Some preliminary thoughts on the measurement and managerial implications of the conceptual framework are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Destination knowledge
• destination loyalty
• destination image
• destination awareness