The effect of destination brand experience and brand engagement on destination brand advocacy: A case of Çeşme

The sustainability of destinations in the global competitive environment depends on their ability to differentiate themselves from their competitors. This requires strong destination brand advocacy, brand loyalty, and brand experience. Destination brand loyalty can be strengthened through the collaboration of tourism stakeholders and the joint development of strategic plans. In this context, the aim of this thesis is to determine the destination brand experiences, destination loyalty, and perceptions of domestic and international tourists visiting Çeşme. Additionally, it aims to examine the impact of the identified experiences, loyalty, and perceptions on brand advocacy and the effect of experience on brand loyalty. The population of this study consists of domestic tourists visiting Çeşme. The research was conducted on a sample group between April 2021 and December 2021. The data analysis was performed based on 521 collected surveys, and the results were derived from this sample. The destination brand experience of tourists visiting Çeşme has a significant impact on destination brand advocacy. The levels of research variables and the significant relationships among them, as well as the effects of these relationships, were analyzed using structural equation modeling based on the responses provided by the participants regarding destination brand experience, loyalty, and advocacy. The destination brand loyalty of tourists visiting Çeşme has a significant impact on destination brand advocacy. The destination brand experience of tourists visiting Çeşme has a significant impact on destination brand loyalty. KEYWORDS: Destination, destination brand experience, destination brand engagement, destination brand advocacy.