Perceived Tourism Brand Equity, Trust, And Memorable Visitor Experience in a Mountain Resort and Wildlife Sanctuary in the Philippines

Abstract: A mature economy's growth heavily depends on tourism, necessitating a thorough understanding of factors influencing destination choices to improve offerings. A descriptive-comparative and correlational design, using the median and interquartile range, this study evaluated the perceived tourism brand equity, trust, and memorable visitor experiences at a resort and wildlife sanctuary. Surveying 377 respondents through quota sampling indicates high ratings for tourism brand equity, trust, and memorable visitor experiences. Significant differences were found in trust when grouped by sex, and memorable visitor experiences differed by age, which were analyzed using the Kruskal Wallis Test. Likewise, employment status groups significantly differed in brand equity, as determined by the Mann-Whitney U and Dunn's Test. Trust also varied based on travel purpose, employment status, and travel companions. Similarly, memorable visitor experiences also differed by employment status and travel companions. Moderate, positive, and significant relationships were identified between brand equity and trust, brand equity and memorable experiences, and unforgettable experiences and trust.The resort and sanctuary were perceived as a high-quality destination with appealing landscapes, accessible facilities, tourism-friendly policies, and hospitable staff. The study highlights the importance of enhancing brand equity to improve trust and visitor satisfaction. It recommends developing an improvement plan based on these insights and conducting further research, including regression analysis, to identify predictive variables. Keywords: Hospitality Management, Perceived Tourism Brand Equity, Trust, Memorable Visitor Experiences, Descriptive-Comparative and Correlational Research Design, Central Philippines