How Revisit Intention is Influenced by E-WOM, Informative Content, Infrastructure and Perceived Cost : Mediating Role of Destination Image

Abstract

Pakistan has abundant natural attractions that remain largely untapped and underutilized in terms of tourism potential. Limited research has been conducted in Pakistan's tourism sector, highlighting the need for further investigation. Therefore, this study carried out to explore the relationship between various variables that influence tourists' revisit intention, with a specific focus on the mediating role of destination image. Drawing insights from prior studies on consumer behavior mechanisms, role of e-WOM, informational content, perceived cost, and infrastructure accessibility in influencing customer retention for revisits by identifying the role of destination image. the aim is to test the relationships between existing and formulate hypotheses for this study. The study was quantitative and employed a survey methodology, collecting a total of 339 responses from the residents of twin cities (Islamabad/Rawalpindi). Demographics were analyzed through SPSS by IBM, while Smart PLS 4 was utilized for structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationship between the hypotheses. The findings reveal that e-WOM, informative content, and perceived cost have a positive impact on the intention to revisit. It also confirms that the destination image itself plays a significant role in influencing revisit intention. However, the results do not demonstrate that the destination image acts as a mediator between the independent and dependent variables framed in this study. The findings offer valuable insights to the government ministries and marketers involved in tourism management in Pakistan. These insights can assist in decision making processes and formulate policies and strategies aimed at enhancing the country's tourism industry and increasing revenue through higher tourist inflow. By aligning their strategies with these factors, the ministries can optimize their efforts to attract and retain tourists, ultimately fostering the growth of the tourism industry.