PurposeThis study matches destination brand components with motives and identifies those components that are most important for the consumer during various stages of the decision process. This study also aims to classify various functional and symbolic brand components. The findings take the customers' point‐of‐view in identifying those descriptors that affect consumer choice preference and create destination loyalty.Design/methodology/approachThe research is exploratory. Through a detailed literature review, destination brand components are identified, simplified and then classified as symbolic or functional. They are also classified by motive. The review is followed by a quantitative study that uses open‐ended questions to find the relationship between destination brand components and the stage of decision making. This study also presents a conceptual model with taxonomy of brand components.FindingsFunctional brand components seem to play a major role in a consumer's description of place brands during the various decision making stages. This finding highlights the importance of stressing functional components in the destination's branding strategy.Originality/valueThis study is the first of its type and can serve as a platform for future research, practically helping destinations create more effective communication.

In a study seeking to understand destination choice, focus group participants consisting of travellers, mentioned the importance of 'bragging rights'. Additionally, tourism marketers when interviewed about destination choice also referred to bragging rights. An online search of 'travel', 'tourism' and 'bragging rights' revealed thousands of links. Despite this, bragging rights has received limited attention in tourism research. This paper defines bragging rights, discusses its relevance to tourism and proposes a conceptual model suggesting how bragging rights can be managed by destination marketers to enhance destination image and consequently increase visitation.

The Net Promoter Score (NPS®) is extensively used as a key performance indicator in practice. Although the scale was initially considered to be a predictor of growth, the literature has disproved this assertion. Despite this, it is argued here that the NPS could be used as a measure of brand health if it provided an effective representation of consumer sentiment toward the brand. This research took a respondent perspective to examine if the NPS effectively captured the consumer’s sentiment. Using a questionnaire design, participants were asked to provide a response on an NPS scale, followed by which they were asked to explain why they gave that score. Therein, a sentiment analysis approach was applied and the open-ended responses were coded based on the type and strength of the attitude. The results indicate that at an overall level, the NPS captures the sentiment participants feel toward a brand. However, caution should be used when classifying participants into detractors, passives, and promoters.

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Demand for domestic tourism in Australia is in decline, particularly for young Australian travellers (YATs) who prefer to travel overseas. Although models exist to explain destination choice, many of these have limitations, including the assumption of a rational consumer and a focus on the functional attributes of travel and tourism. Further, there has been a tendency to replicate studies, albeit in different contexts, rather than search for new insights into destination choice. With the aim of better explaining the decision of destination choice by YATs, focus groups comprising representatives from the population of interest were conducted. The approach was to examine tourism from a sociological perspective, drawing on theories of ritual, ritual inversion and fashion. The results reveal the importance of self-identity and social norms in destination selection. It is concluded that destinations that contribute to enhancing one’s self-identity, particularly when they are consistent with one’s existing or aspirational social group, are more likely to be visited by YATs.