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TOURIST MOTIVATION AND BRAND AWARENESS OF TOURISM DESTINATIONS IN LILIW, LAGUNA TOWARDS BRAND IMAGE ENHANCEMENT
Jerome R. Fernandez
Laguna State Polytechnic University Sta. Cruz, Laguna, Philippines
E-mail: jeromefernandez@lspu.edu.ph (Corresponding author) Received 02 November 2022
Accepted for publication 15 December 2022
Abstract
Tourism is one of the industries with the highest growth potential in many nations, and it significantly contributes to a country's economic prosperity and attractiveness. Branding is indeed a discipline that has occurred in the previous decades to become a pervasive marketing force. This study's objective is to evaluate the brand awareness of tourism destinations in Liliw, Laguna to improve their brand image, particularly in tourist motivation and brand awareness relationship. The descriptive-comparative research design was used and the respondents were the non-local residents and domestic tourists of Liliw, Laguna. The researcher used random sampling in choosing respondents. The instrument was a self-made questionnaire validated using Cronbach Alpha with 0.803 indicating that the questionnaire is acceptable. The level of tourist motivation was excellent in the brand awareness of tourism destinations. In addition, the results also showed that there was a significant positive relationship between the perceived level of tourist motivation and the level of brand awareness of tourism destinations in Liliw, Laguna. It was one of the best and most remarkable experiences to explore the various sights and destinations of Liliw, Laguna, where the traveler learned about the locality, the identity of the location, and the people. In the future, a follow-up study may be undertaken on the effect or influence of such enhancements focused on building the brand of Liliw, Laguna as a Tourism Destination.
Keywords: brand, branding, destination branding, brand identity, brand enhancement
Introduction
Tourism was among the areas with the greatest growth potential in many nations (Arshad et al., 2018). It contributes to the economic prosperity and positive appeal of a nation. The tourism industry has been shown to be an engine for both industrialized and developing nations (Manzoor et al., 2019). Not only would establishing one's location as a tourist attraction have a good effect on the economy, but it will also produce income for the local community (Bennet & Dearden, 2014).
In the Philippines, one of the destinations that benefited from tourism was the Municipality of Liliw in the Province of Laguna. It had many tourism products and services but not many travelers knew them, so it was not able to maximize the full economic benefits of tourism and establish a bigger market for all its products and services. This was because it still viewed marketing based on the traditional approach of marketing physical goods rather than experience.
In addition, Liliw was one of the towns in the Philippines known for its rich cultural heritage and tourist destination. Liliw was one of the towns with its known product of "Tsinelas"
tagging the town as the Tsinelas Capital of the Philippines (Bartolazo et al.,
2016). Since “Branding” was important in Tourism it became a discipline which has grown during the previous decades to emerge as an all-encompassing force in marketing (Davis, 2017). The researcher wanted to identify the extent of brand awareness of tourism destinations in Liliw, Laguna. This also checked the status quo of Liliw’s Tourism to be guided with regards to the brand awareness of the tourist to the municipality and enhancing the brand image of a destination will help the local community and the locality to grow.
This research will use a descriptive method to explore the attributes in terms of tourist motivation and brand awareness in Liliw and its correlation.
Based on the said discussion, the study aimed to assess the brand awareness of tourism destinations in Liliw to serve as the basis for a proposed brand image enhancement. The findings of the study will be beneficial to the Department of Tourism – Region IVA which covers tourism stakeholders, local communities in Liliw, Laguna, and future researchers. Consequently, one of its tourism products that could provide a strong pull factor in the market was the culture and heritage tourism products. With its unique cultural and heritage, Liliw, Laguna could be far from the cities and with other destinations in Laguna and the
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other provinces in Region IV-A CALABARZON or particularly to Cavite, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon Province. It needed only to communicate its tourism products and services to the right people in the market to influence their travel decisions (Middleton & Clark, 2012).
Moreover, Liliw was known as the Tsinelas capital in the Philippines. The said town produced their 'Tsinelas' product which attracted both local and foreign visitors. According to the Liliw government website, approximately 45 stores are offering "Tsinelas" or footwear products to customers. In one of its streets, there was a wide array of styles and designs to choose from, but the good quality and bargain prices of the footwear were what attracts buyers to Liliw. Since this footwear was handmade by the town's skilled shoemakers, they tend to be more
durable compared to other products.
Aside from this, Liliw is also well- known in farms like Esmeris Farm and Brenas’ Farm, churches, and cafes. This is set as a tourist spot of Liliw that feels motivated and encouraged to visit Liliw, Laguna.
Figure 1 illustrates the relationships among the variables. The researcher explores the tourist motivations in particular the physical, status and prestige, cultural, and interpersonal motivation (Kim & Eves, 2012); and brand awareness of the non-local residents of Liliw, Laguna, and the domestic tourists in terms of natural, man-made, cultural attractions and tourism products (Petroman, 2015) will explore of the researcher towards the brand image enhancement of Municipality of Liliw. These variables will look at their relationship to enhance the brand image of Liliw, Laguna.
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework
Research Problem
The purpose of this study is to assess the brand awareness of nonlocal residents and the domestic tourists of Liliw, Laguna towards the enhancement of brand image as a tourist destination. Particularly, the researcher aims to answer and explore the following questions;
1. What is the Level of Tourist Motivation in terms of;
1.1. physical motivation
1.2. status and prestige of motivation
1.3. cultural motivation and 1.4. interpersonal motivation
2. What is level of Brand Awareness in particular to;
2.1. Natural Attractions, 2.2. Man-made attractions, 2.3. Cultural Attractions, and 2.4. Tourism Products
3. What is the relationship of the tourist motivation and brand awareness in Liliw, Laguna?
113 Literature Review
Destination personality describes the human characteristics associated with a certain location. It has become a significant concept as tourism destinations seek to comprehend consumer preferences to differentiate their location in an increasingly competitive industry (Ye, 2012). On the other hand, the brand consists of nothing more than a title and a symbol.
People, images, cultures, styles, perceptions, labor, messages, opinions, and the news media developed and shaped a brand. Similar to when a child is born as well as given a name, a brand needs nurturing, support, development, and ongoing care to flourish and expand. Several brands used to have a cycle time and aged similarly to humans. Some brands are ageless and never die, are "reborn" or reinvented, whereas others have a brief but powerful existence and a lasting legacy (Vairamuthu & Krishnan, 2017).
In addition, Pride and Ferrell (2018), the American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "name, word, sign, logo, or design, or a mix thereof, intended to distinguish and differentiate the products and services with one seller or group of sellers from those of the competitors." The importance of a brand is when
consumers decide to consume or try the product or services, he/she will look for the identity of the product. It was a strong representation of the product and services that the company or the municipality sell to the market or the consumers. Conversely, the brand was also one of the factors that identify the product of destinations that helped the local community to engage with the consumers. It was very important to know what brand to take, some branding caught the attention of the buyers or the consumers because it was strong information or identity of a product (Valjaskova & Kral, 2019).
The fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) identified the important qualities used in the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) research to illustrate that brand equity exerts direct and indirect effects on marketing approach and travel motivation. The utilization of the ANP or the analytic network process using global weighting further demonstrates that travel intent is the most important aspect of tourism (Liu & Chou, 2016).
The effect of destination awareness, destination attributes, and tourist motivation on tourists' intention to return is substantial (Junaedi &
Harjanto, 2020). Further, it explored the preeminence of increasing tourism destination publicity in fostering brand loyalty. The study revealed that brand
image represents the most important variable that must be improved to increase brand loyalty for a tourism destination. Next comes brand awareness and perception of brand quality. If there is an agreeable brand the tourism brand, favorable brand awareness will be developed and the moment of truth experiences' perception will be boosted (Chigora &
Zvavahera, 2015).
Moreover, creating a deep connection to a destination is a crucial destination branding challenge in the current tourism business. Indeed, destination reliability and destination image may influence tourist impressions of destination satisfaction in the context of destination engagement. In addition, this study confirms the mediation effect of destination engagement and destination image. The results have significant implications for tourist organizations and operations (Veasna et al., 2013). This research examines, from the viewpoint of tourists, the factors of brand equity and the significance of destination familiarity affecting travel inclinations in culinary tourism. In culinary tourism, the results reveal a direct positive association across brand equity as well as travel inclinations. In addition, the research acknowledges the moderating effect of destination awareness, which positively mediates the impact of brand loyalty as well as
value perception on travel inclinations (Horng et al., 2012).
Methodology
Research Design
The design of this study was quantitative using a descriptive approach. The objective of descriptive research is to describe people, situations, or conditions by examining them in their natural state. Instead, of manipulating any of the attributes, the researcher merely reports the sample and/or variables. Descriptive research can investigate several variables, but it's the only approach that can also investigate a single variable.
Descriptive research examines the population characteristics, identifies problems within a unit, organization, or population, or examines differences in features or practices across organizations or even countries (Siedlecki, 2020). This research design will help the current study to explain and explore the situations of Liliw, Laguna in tourist motivation and brand awareness based on the answers of the respondents.
115 Respondents of the Study
The respondents of this study were the non-local residents of Liliw, Laguna and domestic tourists. The non-local residents pertain to tourists from other countries or dual citizens and domestic tourists are the people who travel to places of attractions or well-known within their own country. The researcher used random sampling. The target number of respondents for this study was 200 based on Slovin's computation guided by 2020 Liliw, Laguna tourism data. Anyone can answer the survey form as long as the respondents have already visited Liliw and had an idea on the different products and tourist destinations of the place.
Instrument
The research instrument utilized was a researcher-made questionnaire. The researcher read articles from existing literature and studies to contextualize the needs of the study. A survey type of questionnaire employed pilot testing to assess the validity and reliability of the instrument. This was tested on the 30 non-local residents and domestic tourists from Pila, Laguna who also build tourist destinations. The Cronbach alpha was utilized to determine the tool's internal consistency. The Cronbach alpha from
the pilot test was 0.803, demonstrating that the questionnaire is appropriate and acceptable.
Data Gathering
The researcher obtained the communication letter requesting permission to conduct the study from the office of tourism and the mayor's office. The researcher briefed the respondents on the aims and instructions for completing the provided survey questionnaire. The researcher also explained the focus of the study which was about the tourist motivation and brand awareness of Lilw, Laguna. The questionnaire is a 5- point Likert scale. The questionnaires were administered and provided to non-local residents and domestic tourists who would provide the necessary data by responding to the questionnaire. The quantitative method is applied to the analysis of study results and interpretation of acquired data.
Statistical Treatment of Data
A descriptive approach was utilized in the study to make a meaningful analysis of the data collected. Mean was used. A dataset's mean represents the average value. The mean is significant because it indicates where the center value in a
dataset is situated and it is also significant since it contains information from each observation in a dataset. To explore the relationship between tourist motivation and brand awareness, a Pearson r moment correlation was used.
The data gathered from this study were interpreted, tallied, and analyzed based on the scale to determine the conformity in the items found in the questionnaires.
The scoring used was as follows.
Table 1. Verbal Interpretation
Results and Discussion
In this phase, the researcher interprets and analyzes the gathered data from the respondents that will help to enhance the brand image of Liliw, Laguna.
Table 2. Perceived Level of Tourist Motivation
The level of tourist motivation in terms of physical status and prestige, cultural, and interpersonal motivation is shown in Table 2. Its composite mean is 4.45 and a verbal interpretation was extremely evident based on the responses of the tourists both non-local and domestic. This level of motivation is evident from the following: In physical motivation, the statement “I can choose different sites of tourism in Liliw, Laguna based on my interest” is having highest mean with 4.54, while in status and prestige, they choose Liliw, Laguna to make them relax and
recharge and feeling of increasing positivity which pegged at the mean of 4.42. Likewise, in cultural motivation, the statement “Traveling to Liliw, Laguna increases one’s awareness about its beauty, culture and tourism heritage” has a mean of 4.53, and “Visiting Liliw, Laguna is a form of escape and relaxation” which has a mean of 4.51 in interpersonal motivation.
Why do visitors travel and what’s their primary reason when selecting destinations? It is essential to understand the travelers’ objectives
because they motivate tourist behavior.
In addition, motivational variable might be used to categorize tourists (Šimková
& Holzner, 2014). In Physical Motivation, the tourists choose the tourist destination based on their interest and this indicator received the highest mean among all indicators in tourist motivation. Understanding the variables that motivate travelers to engage (or not) in specific activities is beneficial to the industry’s marketing and customer service efforts (Mehmetoglu & Normann, 2013).
Likewise, marketing tactics can utilize the motivating mechanisms and elements examined in this scenario. In addition, the findings of the research give a solid foundation for the relevant tourism authorities to reconsider the essence of their tourism industry (Chen
& Tsai, 2021). This shows that tourist motivation has an impact on the decisions of tourists in choosing the place they will visit. The areas that make them relax, comfortable, and recharge. With this, the knowledge of the respondents also increased when they visited the places that encourage and feel them to see and explore.
Moreover, the concept of interpersonal motivation
represents the desire of visitors to meet more people, visit family and friends, escape the monotony of daily life, or make new acquaintances (Streimikiene
& Bilan, 2015). In addition, the antecedents of tourist loyalty within creative tourism, include guest satisfaction, perceived benefits, contentment, and motivation, and the mediating function of motivation mostly in the growth of visitor loyalty (Suhartanto et al., 2020).
Table 3. Level of Brand Awareness of Tourism Destinations in Liliw, Laguna
Table 3 shows the level of brand awareness of tourism destinations in Liliw, Laguna. It has a composite mean of 4.51 and a verbal interpretation of extremely evident. This illustrated that the level of brand awareness of tourism
destinations in Liliw, Laguna is extremely evident in the perception of the respondents. This level of brand awareness is supported by the statements, “I enjoy the view of natural attractions of Liliw, Laguna and it gives
me good experience” and “has a good ambiance and gives full relaxation”
which has a mean of 4.59 under natural attractions. In man-made attraction, the resorts of Liliw, Laguna gives comfort and relaxation which is pegged at 4.48 mean. On the other hand, the cultural attractions of Liliw, Laguna provide information about the way of living of the local community with a mean of 4.50. While the tourism products of Liliw, Laguna provide an image of the locality or the municipality with a mean of 4.62.
The relationship between brand usage experience and brand awareness suggests that, in certain context, experience precedes awareness.
Moreover, it indicates that a correlation between brand awareness and brand equity. In conclusion, the recent study demonstrates the importance of circulating and sales promotions for establishing brand awareness in some kind of classification of customer goods (Huang & Sarigollü, 2014) which the tourism products of Liliw have its image for the municipality that makes them well-known in unique. Likewise, the tourist destinations of Liliw exploring various attributes as perceived and experienced by the respondents. The brand identity was crucial for businesses to distinguish themselves from competitors. A brand signature enables organizations and
brands to create an image with key constituents, strengthening their company reputation (Foroudi, 2019).
Furthermore, brand recognition is vital for the growth of a strong brand (Buil et al., 2014), separates the brand from rivals and drives the preferred brand (Carayannis et al., 2014), and influences the strength of the client product associations (Alkhawaldeh et al., 2017).
Table 4. Relationship Between the Perceives Level of Tourist’s Motivation and Level of Brand Awareness of Tourism Destinations in Liliw, Laguna
A Pearson r moments of correlation was conducted to explore the relationship between the perceived level of tourist motivation and the level of brand awareness of tourism destinations in Liliw, Laguna which was shown in Table 3. Based on the results, there is a significant positive relationship between the perceived level of tourist motivation and the level of brand awareness of tourism destinations in Liliw, Laguna. It indicates that an
increase in tourist motivation will increase the level of brand awareness.
That is, a high level of perceived level of tourist motivation is associated with a high level of brand awareness of tourism destinations in Liliw, Laguna.
Further, the strength of these significant positive relationships ranges from strong to very strong.
As the perceived level of tourist motivation in terms of physical, status and prestige, cultural, and interpersonal
motivation had a composite overall mean of 4.43 and a verbal interpretation of outstanding, it was determined that the perceived level of tourist motivation was very evident in the experience and perception of the respondents.
Regarding the brand recognition of tourism spots in Liliw, Laguna. It had an overall composite mean of 4.51 and an excellent verbal interpretation. This indicated that Liliw, Laguna's tourism locations enjoy a high level of brand recognition. There was a substantial positive link between the perceived level of tourist motivation and brand awareness of Liliw, Laguna's tourism hotspots. This indicates that an improvement in the level of visitor motivation was connected with a consistent positive change in the level of brand awareness of Liliw, Laguna's tourism sites.
Conclusion and Recommendation Conclusion
In the light of the findings of the study based on the results, motivation affected the decision and status of a person in the result and findings, the main goal or reason why people travel was to escape from daily routine or activities for a short period of time for
relaxation and forget the burdens of work. The tourist gained information about the locality, the identity of the place, and the community, it was one of the excellent and unremarkable experiences to visit the different sites and destinations of Liliw, Laguna. In addition, the study also revealed that there was a significant relationship between the perceived level of tourist motivation and the level of brand awareness of tourism destinations in Liliw, Laguna. And there was a significant correlation between the variables. Finally, for brand image enhancement for Liliw, Laguna tourism destinations, the result was the basis of a brand plan that enhances the identity of Liliw, Laguna as one of the promising tourism destinations of the province.
Recommendation
In light of the findings and conclusions, the following was recommended: The Local community may improve and provide interesting activities that enhance physical health and may encourage other people to visit the place that will showcase the beauty of the place and identity of the local community as the results showed that the decisions of the tourists were based from the personal interest. With this, the improvement of the place will
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encourage people to visit often. The researcher may suggest the local community strengthen the community involvement of the tourists to gain so much information about the way of living of the local community and when the products represent the identity of the locality. It also helps to create the brand image of the municipality as they show the characteristics of its people not just in Liliw Capital of Laguna but also the Promising Tourism Destination of the Province. Moreover, future studies may be considered using a qualitative research design. Also, upon compliance with the above recommendations, a follow-up study in the future may be conducted on the effect or impact of such improvements focusing on brand enhancement of the Tourism Destination of Liliw, Laguna.
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