Creating Customer-Based Brand Equity and Measuring Brand Perception of Tourists who Travel for Thermal Tourism: Balcova S

Abstract

Creating customer-based brand equity is one of the most effective tools for achieving competitive advantage in term of thermal tourism businesses that operating under fierce competition in the last years. The aim of the study is to measure customerbased brand equity perception of customers who accommodate in thermal tourism facilities and identify relationship between brand equity dimensions and size with the other dimensions of each. The survey was conducted on 216 domestic and 184 foreign tourists staying at Balcova Thermal Resort which is located in the Balcova Thermal Destination. Exploratory Factor Analysis and Path Analysis was applied the data. Findings show that there are significant and positive relationship between the size of each customer-based brand equity dimensions. In additions, in order to create customer-based brand equity for thermal resorts, some recommendations developed on micro, macro and academic level.