Tourism Sector Development Through Destination Brand Authenticity in Pakistan

Abstract

In this modern era, tourists focus more on famous destinations, not ordinary ones. It’s time to develop famous destinations as an authentic brand in tourism. In Pakistan, the tourism sector's main problem is that the government doesn’t pay attention to famous destinations, and no one has helped to highlight the famous destinations as a destination brand for tourists. The present study shows tourism destinations as a destination brand's authenticity. Current research focuses on developing a conceptual framework and highlighting Pakistan's famous destination as a brand for tourist managers, trip advisors, tourism websites, and the government. It is qualitative research, data collected through questionnaires from Pakistani tourists who visit different tourist destinations. For data collection total of 650 questionnaires were distributed through personal and online surveys. In the end, 410 valid questionnaires were collected. For data analysis, IBM SPSS statistics and AMOS software were used. Several hypotheses were established and tested through SEM (structural equation modeling). CFA (confirmatory factor analysis) is used for measures of construct that are consistent with the research. In the end, research revealed a positive relationship between destination brand authenticity and destination brand familiarity and revisit intention as well as destination brand self-congruence with destination brand familiarity and recommendation intention. The most visited destinations in Pakistan are Murree, Narran Khagan, and Hunza Valley. Research findings are essential for the Pakistani government because the government should work more on these destinations to secure them and to develop them more attractive to tourists.