Influential factors on brand equity of Trincomalee tourism destination

Abstract

Destination Marketing has converted a prevalent national strategy in the globalized world gradually, and numerous countries have recognized it as one of the critical national income originators. With Pricing Strategies, Advertisement, Publicity, and Positive Word of Mouth (WOM) are some of the best tactics to achieve competitive advantage and to sustain in the market. Therefore, this research is contributing to identifying the factors that are influencing Brand Equity in Trincomalee Tourist Destination. To accomplish the goals of this research, the data was collected from the convenience sample of 60 International Tourists in Trincomalee Division. The respondents have provided the data utilizing a close-ended questionnaire. SPSS Software is used for data analysis. The results of this study indicate that the Advertisement, Publicity and WOM have positively correlated with Brand Equity except for Price. 64.6% variation of Brand Equity can be explained by Price, Advertisement, Publicity and WOM. Further analyses reveal that the Price, Publicity, Advertisement and WOM individually indicate a high level of attribution, 42% of tourists expressed neutral ideas regarding the safeness of Sri Lanka. This study provides outcomes that could be valuable to the Tourism Industry for strategic planning and to compete in this industry.