Heterogeneity of tourists’ destination brand experiences : a segmentation analysis

Abstract

Destination brand experiences (DBEs) have been one of the crucial attributes for establishing differentiation, uniqueness and competitive advantages in tourism. Although existing research tend to evaluate tourists’ DBEs as homogeneous, tourists in reality vary according to different dimensions of DBEs, and such heterogeneity will impact their destination satisfaction and loyalty. This study addresses this gap through a two-stage segmentation analysis, and a three-cluster solution was found, that is, Rel-Cog, Emo-Sense and Behaviorally Tepid tourists. Overall, this study contributes to the literature by highlighting the application of DBEs for segmentation and provides recommendations for tourism practitioners on ways to customize their promotional activities and strategies.