A model proposal for destination loyalty in the context of destination experience, familiarity and attachment: The case of Fethiye

The aim of this study is to address the concept of loyalty used to express coherence in purchasing behaviors on a touristic destination basis. For this purpose, a model that directly and indirectly influences in the formation process of destination loyalty of tourists, which makes it easier to market destinations by revisiting destinations and also recommending them to others, has beeb examined within a model. In the constructed structural equation model, the affects of destination experience, destination familiarity and destination attachment on destination loyalty have been tested by drawing path analysis. In order to be able to perform the analysis, the data of the research have been collected by using the questionnaire technique from 395 tourists who visit Fethiye. The results of the research show that destination attachment and destination familiarity have mediating effect in the affect of destinastion experience on destination loyalty and destination attachment has a mediating affect in the affect of destination familiarity on destination loyalty. Moreover, the destination attachment, which is regarded as a antecedent behavior of destination loyalty, is influenced by the destination experience and this is mediated by the destination familiarity.