Effect of Social Media Sharing on Destination Brand Awareness and Destination Quality

Abstract

This study examines the effect of social media sharing on tourism destination brand awareness and destination natural and service quality and also examines the moderating roles of country of origin (COI; macro and micro) image on destination natural and service quality. Data were collected from 568 domestic and international tourists who have visited Alanya, Turkey. Relationships in the study were examined through structural equation modeling. As one of the components of social media sharing, participant sharing positively affects destination brand awareness, whereas any significant effect of nonparticipant sharing on destination brand awareness was not found. Destination brand awareness positively influences tourist perceptions of both destination service quality and destination natural quality. COI image moderates most of the relationships.