The Impact of Perceived Value and Sense of Place on Tourist Loyalty (Case Study: Hamedan Province)

The objective of this paper is to analyze the factors that impact tourist loyalty from two perspectives: “perceived value” and “sense of place”. The study aims to answer the following questions: Are there any relations between the dimensions of perceived value and sense of place with loyalty to the destination brand? If so, to what extent are they correlated? Which dimensions play a more important role? Sample size was determined by using Cochran’s formula. A total of 384 questionnaires were randomly destributed between tourists in Hamedan Province during summer 2016. Given the Pearson correlation coefficients, the dimensions of perceived value (Functional, emotional, and social value) and sense of place (identity, dependence, and attachment) were found to be associated with tourist loyalty to destination brand. Standardized R2 was 45.9 and nearly 45 percent of the variation in tourist loyalty was explained by the model. Perceived Functional value and sense of dependence were the strongest predictors of loyalty, followed by perceived emotional value, social value, sense of attachment, and sense of identity, respectively.