IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i24p16601-d1295064.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the Pathways to Tourist Loyalty in Pakistani Tourism Industry: The Role of Destination Image, Service Quality, E-WOM, and Social Media

Author

Listed:
  • Afshan Rahman

    (Garden Campus, Institute of Business Studies and Leadership, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan)

  • Naveed Farooq

    (Garden Campus, Institute of Business Studies and Leadership, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan)

  • Muhammad Haleem

    (Department of Computer Science, Kardan University, Kabul 1003, Afghanistan)

  • Syed Mohsin Ali Shah

    (Garden Campus, Institute of Business Studies and Leadership, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan)

  • Hatem El-Gohary

    (College of Business and Economics, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar)

Abstract

Tourism plays a pivotal role in Pakistan’s economic landscape. Understanding the drivers of tourist loyalty is paramount for sustainable growth. This study delves into the factors influencing tourist loyalty within Pakistan’s tourism sector, examining the destination image, service quality, electronic word of mouth, and tourist satisfaction. Data sourced from a tourist survey at popular Pakistani destinations unveil significant relationships and mediation effects. The results underscore that a positive destination image and superior services directly impact tourist loyalty. Furthermore, electronic word of mouth and tourist satisfaction mediate these relationships, highlighting how positive perceptions and satisfaction bolster loyalty. Social media also exerts a moderating influence on the destination image, service quality, and tourist loyalty dynamics. These findings offer crucial insights for tourism stakeholders and destination marketers to refine strategies. By enhancing its destination image, delivering exceptional services, and leveraging social media, Pakistan can both attract and retain tourists, bolstering its tourism sector’s growth and prosperity. This study contributes to the existing literature and offers practical guidance for promoting tourism in developing nations like Pakistan.

Suggested Citation

  • Afshan Rahman & Naveed Farooq & Muhammad Haleem & Syed Mohsin Ali Shah & Hatem El-Gohary, 2023. "Exploring the Pathways to Tourist Loyalty in Pakistani Tourism Industry: The Role of Destination Image, Service Quality, E-WOM, and Social Media," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-21, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:24:p:16601-:d:1295064
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/24/16601/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/24/16601/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lee, Richard & Lockshin, Larry, 2011. "Halo effects of tourists’ destination image on domestic product perceptions," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 7-13.
    2. Woo-Hyuk Kim & Chunghee Lee & Sungsoo Kim, 2020. "The Influence of Hallyu on Africans’ Perceptions of Korea: The Moderating Role of Service Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-10, April.
    3. Faiza Manzoor & Longbao Wei & Muhammad Asif & Muhammad Zia ul Haq & Hafiz ur Rehman, 2019. "The Contribution of Sustainable Tourism to Economic Growth and Employment in Pakistan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-14, October.
    4. Milan Ćulić & Miroslav D. Vujičić & Časlav Kalinić & Milosav Dunjić & Uglješa Stankov & Sanja Kovačić & Đorđije A. Vasiljević & Željko Anđelković, 2021. "Rookie Tourism Destinations—The Effects of Attractiveness Factors on Destination Image and Revisit Intention with the Satisfaction Mediation Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    5. Chunxiao Li & Xingyang Lv & McCabe Scott, 2023. "Understanding the dynamics of destination loyalty: a longitudinal investigation into the drivers of revisit intentions," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 323-340, January.
    6. Thowayeb H. Hassan & Amany E. Salem, 2021. "Impact of Service Quality of Low-Cost Carriers on Airline Image and Consumers’ Satisfaction and Loyalty during the COVID-19 Outbreak," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-16, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bodur S. Alonazi & Thowayeb H. Hassan & Mostafa A. Abdelmoaty & Amany E. Salem & Mahmoud I. Saleh & Mohamed Y. Helal & Yasser Ahmed Mohamed & Magdy Sayed Abuelnasr & Daniel Alemshet Gebreslassie & Mon, 2023. "Tourist Behavior in the Cruise Industry Post-COVID-19: An Examination of Service Quality, Corporate Image, and Intentions to Pay and Revisit," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-21, May.
    2. Valentin C. Mihai & Diana E. Dumitras & Camelia Oroian & Gabriela O. Chiciudean & Felix H. Arion & Iulia Cristina Mureșan, 2023. "Exploring the Factors Involved in Tourists’ Decision-Making and Determinants of Length of Stay," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Gangwei Cai & Baoping Zou & Xiaoting Chi & Xincheng He & Yuang Guo & Wen Jiang & Qian Wu & Yujin Zhang & Yanna Zhou, 2023. "Neighborhood Spatio-Temporal Impacts of SDG 8.9: The Case of Urban and Rural Exhibition-Driven Tourism by Multiple Methods," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-37, January.
    4. Woohyuk Kim & Miae Lee & Chunghee Lee & Sungsoo Kim, 2022. "The Effects of Business Strategy and Organizational Culture of Korean Companies on Market Satisfaction: The Case of the African Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-10, May.
    5. Uktam Umurzakov & Shakhnoza Tosheva & Raufhon Salahodjaev, 2023. "Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development: Evidence from Belt and Road Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(1), pages 503-516, March.
    6. Mini P. Thomas & Archana Srivastava & Keerti Mallela, 2023. "Tourism Exports, Digitalisation, and Employment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Indonesia," Working Papers DP-2023-19, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    7. Marie Kris Giango & Rodel Hintapan & Michael Suson & Ivy Batican & Looverville Quiño & Ludimie Capuyan & Jose Marie Anoos & Jannen Batoon & Joerabell Lourdes Aro & Fatima Maturan & Kafferine Yamagishi, 2022. "Local Support on Sports Tourism Development: An Integration of Emotional Solidarity and Social Exchange Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-26, October.
    8. Cardoso, Lucília & Dias, Francisco & de Araújo, Arthur Filipe & Andrés Marques, Maria Isabel, 2019. "A destination imagery processing model: Structural differences between dream and favourite destinations," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 81-94.
    9. Olena STRYZHAK & Ramazan SAYAR & Yılmaz Onur ARI, 2022. "Geopolitical risks, GDP and tourism: an ARDL-ECM cointegration study on Ukraine," CES Working Papers, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 14(1), pages 85-113, May.
    10. Muhammad Atif & Afaq Ali Khan & Sibghatullah & Saeed Ahmed & Muhammad Yaqoob, 2024. "Socio-Economic Inclusion and Sustainable Economic Growth: An Evidence from Pakistan," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 13(1), pages 70-77.
    11. Ángel Acevedo-Duque & Gonzalo R. Llanos-Herrera & Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas & Selene Simón-Isidoro & Agustín Pablo Álvarez-Herranz & Rina Álvarez-Becerra & Lisette C. Sánchez Díaz, 2022. "Scientometric Analysis of Hiking Tourism and Its Relevance for Wellbeing and Knowledge Management," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-21, July.
    12. Gangwei Cai & Min Zhang & Xiandu Zhang & Huijian Xi & Zhong Chen & Chao Liu & Kang Liu & Ke Liu & Shiwen Xu & Zuoping Yu, 2023. "Promoting Green Buildings and Low-Carbon Design Strategies of Green B&B Rooms for Sustainable Tourism after COVID-19," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, March.
    13. Nripendra Singh & Jongsik Yu & Antonio Ariza-Montes & Heesup Han, 2023. "Exploring the impact of functional, symbolic, and experiential image on approach behaviors among state-park tourists from India, Korea, and the USA," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
    14. Lee, Richard & Lockshin, Larry & Cohen, Justin & Corsi, Armando, 2019. "A latent growth model of destination image's halo effect," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    15. Xiaoping Gu & Carter A. Hunt & Xiang Jia & Lijun Niu, 2022. "Evaluating Nature-Based Tourism Destination Attractiveness with a Fuzzy-AHP Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-23, June.
    16. Qurrota Ayu NINDIEN & Arivina Ratih Yulihar TAHER & Asih MURWIATI & I Wayan SUPARTA & Neli AIDA, 2024. "Direct And Indirect Effect Of Globalization On Economic Growth In Indonesia," Scientific Bulletin - Economic Sciences, University of Pitesti, vol. 23(1), pages 33-44.
    17. Woohyuk Kim & Sung-Bum Kim & Eunhye Park, 2021. "Mapping Tourists’ Destination (Dis)Satisfaction Attributes with User-Generated Content," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-16, November.
    18. Hyunjoon Kim & Jinkyung Jenny Kim & Muhammad Asif, 2019. "The Antecedents and Consequences of Travelers’ Well-Being Perceptions: Focusing on Chinese Tourist Shopping at a Duty Free," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-22, December.
    19. Mohd Azhar & Ruksar Ali & Sheeba Hamid & Mohd Junaid Akhtar & Mohd Nayyer Rahman, 2022. "Demystifying the effect of social media eWOM on revisit intention post-COVID-19: an extension of theory of planned behavior," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-16, December.
    20. Mark Ian J. Soriano & Ayroso, Krisel Joy C. & Estrella, Ma. Fatima T. & Meneses, Michelle M. & Pascual, Fhevie Jane Y. & Rivera, Mae Angela, 2024. "Malico, Nueva Vizcaya as a Sustainable Tourism Destination," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(8), pages 3026-3057, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:24:p:16601-:d:1295064. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.