Abstract:
Branding is one of the most dominant trends in the hotel and catering industry. Various
studies have shown that brand loyalty results from many factors. Among them, perception
is one of the factors that play a significant role in rapid and active share in brand loyalty
which influences the brand choice of the people. This study seeks to contribute to the
literature on tourist’s perception of hotel brand choice; the intermediate role of brand
loyalty. The study used a quantitative approach to bridge the gap between service industry
brand loyalty and brand choice in the Sri Lankan context. Primary data were collected by
using a purposive sampling method and surveying a sample of 120 foreign tourists who
visited selected six-four and five-star hotels in Southern province. Proportionate to the
number of rooms, tourists were selected from each hotel. The main objectives of the study
were to identify the relationship between tourists’ perception and brand choice and
ascertain the intermediate role of brand loyalty. The data were analysed using descriptive
statistics, regression, correlation, and Baron and Kenny Approach for mediator analysis
with the support of SPSS. According to the findings, the brand image represented the
highest mean value of the dimension and demonstrates that the brand image as the most
influential aspect of brand loyalty, and most of the tourists were high spenders who came
from European countries. There is a strong positive relationship between the tourists’
perception and brand loyalty but the mediator effect is partially insignificant. To achieve
the highest level of loyalty from the tourist and to build up strong brand loyalty among
tourists, hoteliers can arrange effective marketing strategies like follow-up (email)
marketing. This study was limited with cross-sectional data and was conducted based on
the four and five-star hotels and therefore, it can be applied to another type of classified
hotel or restaurant.
Keywords: Tourist perception, Brand loyalty, Brand choice, Brand image
