Enhancing celebrity fan-destination relationship in film-induced tourism: The effect of authenticity

Academics and practitioners have focused on the importance of film-induced tourism for destination marketing. Although the relationship between authenticity and destination loyalty has been evidenced, few studies have explored the psychological mechanism through which authenticity influences destination loyalty. The present study fills the research gap by considering the role of celebrity attachment. The statistical analyses conducted in this study included confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, mediation analysis, and bootstrapping analysis. Data from 354 purposeful film tourists revealed that constructivist authenticity had a positive effect on existential authenticity but no direct influence on destination loyalty. Existential authenticity had a direct influence on destination loyalty. Celebrity attachment mediated the influences of constructivist and existential authenticity on destination loyalty. Therefore, celebrity attachment is a crucial mediator between authenticity and film destination choices for purposeful film tourists. Finally, existential authenticity had a stronger influence on destination loyalty than did constructivist authenticity.