Investigating the Transformative Power of Brand Love in Destination Crisis Recovery

This study investigates the transformative power of brand love in destinations recovering from public health crises. Grounded in dual-process theory, it proposes a model to examine both the direct effect of destination brand love on travel intention and its indirect effect mediated by resistance to negative information. It also examines the moderating effects of perceived risk and destination brand trust in the relationship between brand love and travel intention. Both experiments (Studies 1, 2, and 4) and surveys (Studies 3 and 5) were employed to test the hypotheses. Studies 1 to 5 find that resistance to negative information mediates the effect of brand love on travel intention. Studies 4 and 5 indicate that perceived risk negatively moderates this relationship. Furthermore, Study 5 shows that destination brand trust positively moderates the moderating effect of perceived risk. This study offers critical insights for responding public health crises in destinations.