The Impact of Tourism Destination Brand Experience on Value Co-creation by Focusing on the Mediating Role of Destination Brand Love

The aim of this study is to explain the role of tourist experience of the tourism destination brand on value co-creation in the destination by focusing on the mediating role of destination brand love. The statistical population of the study is domestic tourists from May 2019 to February 2020. In order to collect data, purposive sampling method was used to select tourism destinations. Then, using the convenience non-random sampling method, 495 tourists were questioned to answer a researcher-made questionnaire. Content validity and the reliability of the questionnaire (with Cronbach's alpha 91%) were confirmed. Structural equation modeling with partial least squares approach was used to analyze the relationship between research variables. The results show that destination brand experience with its three dimensions, i.e., mental experience, emotional experience, and behavioral experience, have a positive effect on destination brand love. Moreover, the mediating variable of destination brand love has a positive effect on the dimensions of value co-creation, including: participation, interaction, and knowledge sharing.