Antecedents and Consequences of Destination Brand Love (Case Study: Gilan Province)

Tourism is known as one of the most creative industries, which not only attracts tourists, but also increases economic development. So, the purpose of this study was to design and develop a model of the antecedents and consequences of Destination Brand Love for Guilan province. The present study was a qualitative research based on thematic analysis using interviewing tools. The research is based on Guilan province as a destination for tourism and the statistical population of the study includes 12 professors and experts in the tourism industry of Gilan province. Snowball sampling method and theme analysis technique was used for data analysis. After analyzing the data, 7 factors: brand experience, brand service quality, brand infrastructures, brand media communication, brand authenticity, brand image and brand trust were identified as causal factors of destination brand love. That will be reinforced if the love for the destination brand exists. Also, three factors: loyalty, positive word-of-mouth advertising, and willingness to pay more were identified as consequences of destination brand love.