Consumer-based brand equity of US domestic and global wine tourism destinations from the American market perspective

Purpose This study aims to measure and compare consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) of several US and global wine tourism destinations from an American market point of view. Design/methodology/approach An online randomized experimental design was used to assign respondents to different wine tourism destination contexts and measure their perceptions and intentions. A structured survey was designed with CBBE scale items related to the most commonly studied components of CBBE, namely, familiarity, perceived quality, image, consumer value, brand value and brand loyalty. Findings The study revealed that respondents were unfamiliar with multi-regional and global wine-growing destinations and their wines, implying that wine tourists belong to different market segments that seek different experiences. Among the US wine tourism destinations, Napa Valley is the destination with the strongest CBBE, with the highest overall ratings in all five CBBE components, on average. In terms of country-level wine tourism destinations, the US has the strongest CBBE, with the highest overall ratings in familiarity and brand loyalty. Research limitations/implications Wine tourism destination CBBE is shown to include components that may not relate exclusively to wine and variations in perceptions concerning global wine-growing regions may be associated with consumer familiarity. Future studies may include respondents from different countries to determine the generalizability of the current findings. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to assess consumer-based brand equity of wine tourism destinations in the US and globally from a US resident perspective.