66 NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (4) 2022 Marković, I., Radosavljević, G., Borisavljević, K. Celebrity Endorsement Influence on Destination Image Ivana Marković a , Gordana Radosavljević b , Katarina Borisavljević b a Academy of Professional Studies, Valjevo, Serbia b University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Economics, Serbia ivana.markovic@vipos.edu.rs, gocar@kg.ac.rs, katarinab@kg.ac.rs ARTICLE INFO Original Scientific Article Article History: Received October 2022 Revised November 2022 Accepted November 2022 JEL Classification: M30, M31, Z32 Keywords: Tourist destination Destination image Celebrity endorsement UDK: 338.48:316.77 DOI: 10.2478/ngoe-2022-0024 Cite this article as: Marković, I., Radosavljević, G., & Borisavljević, K. (2022). Celebrity Endorsement Influence on Destination Image. Naše Gospodarstvo/ Our Economy, 68(4), 66-74. DOI: 10.2478/ ngoe-2022-0024. ©2022 The Authors. Published by Sciendo on behalf of University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Slovenia. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Abstract Destination image influences the tourist decision-making process, and their intention to visit, revisit and recommend. Therefore, a positive destination image is considered one of the key destination success factors. Tourists will form the image according to their own or others’ experiences and information related to the destination, one option to provide destination information is one of the most effective promotional tools called celebrity endorsement. With the assumption that a positive celebrity image will be transferred to the destination, this study will explore the effect of celebrity endorsement on destination image. The study aims to test the celebrity endorsement effect on destination image through the source attractiveness model, source credibility model, and the Match-up model. Data were collected using the online survey technique, the sample size was 204 respondents. Research hypotheses were tested by regression analysis. Results indicated that celebrity attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise, and match-up impact the destination image. The theoretical contribution is reflected in new information regarding the role of celebrity endorsement in tourism, which is limited in foreign and domestic scientific literature. As a practical contribution, the study provides information that may be useful to tourism service providers in creating a promotional campaign. Introduction In today’s competitive environment, even destinations must compete for tourists' attention. Therefore, it is crucial to understand tourists’ behavior and its determinants. There are a lot of factors that impact the tourist’s decision to travel, one of them is the destination image, which is the reason for the tourist’s affection or avoidance of the destination. Tourist service providers use different strategies to attract and interest one to visit the destination and form a favorable destination image. One of the persuasive to gain 67 NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (4) 2022 Marković, I., Radosavljević, G., Borisavljević, K. visiting intention possibility. Several predictors can influence the formation of a destination image: national characteristics, political and economic state, history and tradition, climate, people, and culture (Shankar, 2018). Destination image is formed under the influence of primary or secondary sources of information (Chaulagain et al., 2021). Primary sources refer to the information that individuals gather during their own destination experience. Secondary sources are commercial sources in a form of paid television, radio, or Internet advertising. One effective secondary source to spread information about the destination is celebrity endorsement. McCracken (1989) defined a celebrity endorser as an individual who is well-known in public and uses their recognition to promote consumer products or services. Celebrities such as actors, singers, athletes, politicians, and nowadays influencers are frequently exposed in the media (Shang et al., 2021) and have unique lifestyles, therefore they attract public attention. Using celebrities in advertising will occupy the public attention, add value to the brand, increase advertisement recall, increase brand recognition, will more likely form positive attitudes towards the brand (Glover, 2009), and raise willingness to pay higher prices (Gilal et al., 2019). Using celebrity endorsement in destination marketing has been the subject of many studies. Glover (2009, p.16) in her study established „a conceptual framework for the analysis of celebrities’ potential influence on destination image“. This study provides detailed analyses of potential celebrity endorsement influence on destination image, through three different dimensions of destination image: complexity, multiplicity, and relativity. Shang and Luo (2021) in their research explored the determinants of destination attachment. They came to the result that the credibility of the endorser has a positive influence on the destination attitude of potential tourists, the para-social relationship with the endorser, and destination source credibility. Another study examined how celebrity endorsement influence destination brand love, comparing the influence on previous and potential visitors. A study demonstrated that celebrity endorsement has an impact on destination emotional attachment, for both previous and potential visitors. However, the impact is not the same for these two different groups of visitors. For potential visitors, the trustworthiness and expertise of the celebrity endorsers are determinants in forming destination brand love, which is not the case with previous visitors. It is stated that tourists’ attention is to engage celebrities to endorse the destination. Celebrities are highly recognized because of their accomplishments and consequently, they are the subject of interest and admiration of the public, therefore celebrity destination endorsement could be an effective tool to form a favorable destination image. Accordingly, the focus of this study will be to examine the impact of celebrity endorsement in tourism marketing, more precisely on destination image. The paper aims to analyze the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement on destination image through the lens of the source attractiveness, credibility, and mach-up model. The overview of the current theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of research is given in the first part of the paper. The second part presents the research methodology and the sample structure. The empirical research and its results are given in the fourth part. In the final part of the paper conclusions, contributions, and limitations of the research are discussed and recommendations for future research are proposed. Literature Review Destination image is a tourist’s overall impression of the destination. Crompton (1979, p. 18) defines destination image as “the sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has of a destination”. According to Batista and others (2020), destination image represents a mental construct shaped by knowledge, ideas, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions that one has about the destination. Destination image is a multidimensional concept that consists of cognitive, affective, and conative dimensions. Cognitive image refers to the knowledge and thoughts about the destination, on the other hand, affective image relates to the feelings that one has towards the destination. In the end, the conative image represents future tourist behavior (Gartner, 1994). Xu and Ye (2016) stated that destination image can change over time and therefore be considered a dynamic concept. Destination image is important to understand tourists’ behavior (Bigne´ et al., 2001), it influences tourist retention, loyalty (Artuger et al., 2013), destination choice (Cheng et al., 2020; Su et al., 2020; Xu et al., 2016), intention to visit (Chaulagain et al., 2021; van der Veen et al., 2014), decision to visit, revisit (Stylidis, 2022), and recommend (Güneren et al., 2019) the destination. Chaulagain and others (2021) stated that a favorable destination and its product/services perception increase 68 NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (4) 2022 Marković, I., Radosavljević, G., Borisavljević, K. previous visitors rather form an emotional attachment to the destination from their own destination-visiting experience, than according to the celebrity endorsement (Zhang et al., 2020). Kim and others (2014) in their study explored the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement of Korean hotels in Japan. This study found that celebrity endorsement influence hotel image, credibility, and loyalty. Furthermore, it is stated that engaging more than one celebrity will reach a broader audience and will have greater success. Another study concluded that celebrity involvement has a positive impact on destination familiarity and visitation intentions, and that destination image and familiarity have a direct effect on visiting intention (Lee, 2008). Li and others (2022) conducted the eye-tracking method and lab experiments to explore the effect of celebrity endorsement in destination marketing with a special focus on the difference between using a local celebrity and a celebrity from tourist source countries (source celebrity). Results of this research indicated that the source celebrity in the advertisement will raise tourists’ visual attention, positive attitudes toward the destination, and intentions to visit. A study conducted in Japan had an aim to examine the impact of celebrity endorsement and consumer celebrity worship, to purchase intention with destination image as the intervening. Results indicated a positive relationship between consumer-celebrity worship and destination image. Furthermore, this study confirmed that destination images and celebrity endorsement have a positive impact on purchase intention (Adestya, 2019). According to Subhadip (2021) and others, a celebrity endorser is an effective marketing advertising tool with different effects across the globe. The effectiveness of celebrity endorsement is mostly examined through followed models: source attractiveness, source credibility, the match-up model, and the meaning transfer model. The source attractiveness refers to the celebrity’s physical appearance and its effect on communication. Studies indicated that more attractive sources in comparison to neutral or less attractive ones are more effective. People admire the celebrity’s physical attractiveness which includes similarity, familiarity, and likability. The similarity is related to the feeling of the audience’s closeness to the celebrity. Familiarity represents the recognition of the celebrity as a consequence of frequent presents in public. Furthermore, likability is attachment to the celebrity caused by his or her physical appearance, behavior, or other personal traits (Pornpitakpan, 2003). According to Roozen and Claeys (2010) physically, attractive individuals evoke excitement and sensuality which influence a better information understanding. The source attractiveness model, with regard to destination marketing can be interpreted as follows: the audience attracted by the physical appearance of a celebrity will receive relevant information about the destination which can contribute to the favorable destination image. Accordingly, the first research hypothesis is formulated as follows: H1: Celebrity attractiveness has a statistically significant positive influence on destination image. The source credibility model consists of two dimensions - trustworthiness and expertise. Trustworthiness is related to the degree of trust that a celebrity can evoke in the audience. The receiver’s willingness to accept the message sent by a celebrity depends on the level of trustworthiness that the celebrity enjoys in public (Pornpitakpan, 2003). The second credibility dimension is expertise, this dimension refers to the level of the sender’s capability to bring out valid claims (Erdogan, 1999). When consumers have a perception of the high level of celebritis expertise they demonstrate a higher capability to accept the celebrity’s recommendations (Stracevic, 2013). The source credibility model, with regard to destination marketing, can be interpreted as followed: the audience is prone to receive information and recommendations regarding the destination from celebrity who is trustworthy and an expert, furthermore, this can contribute to the favorable destination image. Respectively, the second and third research hypotheses are formulated as followed: H2: Celebrity trustworthiness has a statistically significant positive influence on destination image. H3: Celebrity expertise has a statistically significant positive influence on destination image. The Match-up model examines the fit between the celebrity and brand and its effect on communication (Seiler et al., 2017). In other words, product type and endorser should match. The high congruence between the endorser and brand will reflect a favorable attitude towards advertising, intention to buy, trust, and commitment to the endorsed product (Yang et al., 2022). According to Friedman and Friedman (1979) celebrities should endorse luxury goods such as perfumes and jewelry, but not ordinary consumer goods such as cleaning products. The transfer meaning model is an extension of the credibility, attractiveness, and congruence models 69 NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (4) 2022 Marković, I., Radosavljević, G., Borisavljević, K. (Subhadip et al., 2017). This model examines the transfer of meaning that a celebrity has (such as personal characteristics and values, lifestyle, status, class, gender, country of origin, and personal achievements) to the endorsed brand with the assumption that people will consume the brands associated with the celebrity image. Meaning transfer occurs through three phases, the first phase defines celebrity image, in the second phase celebrity image transfers to the brand, and finally, in the third phase, the meaning from the brand transfers to the consumer (Erdogan, 1999). The Match-up model through destination marketing lenses could be interpreted as follows: the congruence between the celebrity and the destination will impact the favorable destination image. Based on this, the fourth research hypothesis is formulated as followed: H4: Match-up has a statistically significant positive influence on destination image. Sample Structure and Research Methodology Data has been collected using a survey method, through an online interview. The first three questions were related to the respondent’s socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, and education level). The fourth was the filter question, respondents were asked to provide information if they are inhabitants or visitors of the city of Valjevo (Serbia). In the fifth question, a list of very well-known celebrities (actors, singers, and athletes) who are born in Valjevo city was given, and respondents were required to choose one who would be in their opinion the best choice for destination endorsement. The rest of the survey were statements, 3 out of 25 were related to celebrity attractiveness, 4 to celebrity trustworthiness, the next 4 to celebrity expertise, 5 to the congruence between celebrity and Valjevo city, and 6 to the destination image. Respondents used a five-degree Likert scale to express their attitudes (1- Do not agree at all, 5- Completely agree). Statements included were taken from the relevant literature and adjusted accordingly. Thus, statements related to attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise were taken from the study of Ohanian (1990), statements regarding congruence between celebrity and destination were taken from Ha and Lam (2017), and statements concerning destination image from the research of Shankar (2018). The online survey was conducted in the period from October 3 th until October 10 th , 2022. The total number of respondents who participated in the survey was 209, after incomplete and irrelevant surveys were rejected, the total sample size was 204. The sample was segmented according to age, gender, and level of education. In simple out of the total number, 62 respondents were male (32%), and 140 were female (68%). In terms of age, 34% of respondents were people aged between 18 to 30, 19% between 31 and 40, 29% between 41 and 50, 14% between 51 and 60, and 4% were above 60 years As regards the level of education, 1% of respondents had primary education, 33% had secondary education, while the majority of respondents 66% had at least a bachelor’s degree. Furthermore, 40% of respondents were Valjevo inhabitants and the majority (60%) were visitors. The statistical software package SPSS was used to analyze the survey data. As for statistical analyses, descriptive statistical analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analyses were conducted. Research Results Descriptive analysis was conducted to examine the favorability and homogeneity of the respondents' attitudes to the given statements, therefore arithmetic mean and standard deviation was calculated and an overview of the results is given in Table 1. The most positive attitude relates to variable Expertise, more precisely to the statement: “I think this celebrity is skilled”. The most unfavorable attitude is related to the variable Attractiveness and the statement “I think this celebrity is attractive.” The reliability of the measuring scale has been analyzed using Cronbach’s Alpha. Values of this factor range between 0 and 1. When the value of this factor is higher than 0.7, the scale is considered reliable and consistent (Hair et al., 2014). The results in the Table 1 are proving high internal consistency. Furthermore, the final variables attractiveness, trustworthy, expertise, match-up, and destination image are constructed by computing a subscale score from items in a survey given in Table 1. The overview of the correlation analysis is given in Table 2. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated to examine the relationship between variables. According to the results, it can be concluded that all five variables have a statistically significant positive relationship at the 0.01 level. To test the research hypothesis, a simple regression analysis was conducted. Results are presented in Table 3. Test results for Hypothesis 1 show that the dependent variable Attractiveness has a statistically significant positive influence on the independent variable Destination 70 NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (4) 2022 Marković, I., Radosavljević, G., Borisavljević, K. Table 1 Descriptive analysis Mean Std. Deviation Crombach Alpha Attractiveness 0.911 alluring 3.75 1.143 good looking 3.75 1.143 attractive 3.72 1.211 Trustworthy 0.972 reliable 4.00 1.174 honest 4.05 1.187 sincere 4.04 1.175 trustworthy 3.93 1.176 Expertise 0.981 expert 4.38 1.172 experienced 4.30 1.214 qualified 4.24 1.207 skilled 4.39 1.234 Match-up 0.930 It makes sense that this celebrity endorse city of Valjevo. 4.24 1.154 The image of a celebrity is associated with the city of Valjevo. 3.72 1.167 The image of the celebrity can be transferred to the image of the city of Valjevo. 3.97 1.161 There is a logical connection between celebrity and the city of Valjevo. 3.81 1.215 I believe that because of celebrity endorsement tourists would visit the city of Valjevo. 4.01 1.135 Destination image 0.941 I believe that the city of Valjevo has a pleasant atmosphere. 4.03 1.334 I think that the city of Valjevo has a relaxing atmosphere. 3.89 1.355 I think that Valjevo is a beautiful city. 4.22 1.223 I think that Valjevo is an interesting city. 4.09 1.255 I believe that Valjevo exudes a friendly atmosphere. 4.13 1.254 I believe that Valjevo is a charming tourist destination. 4.25 1.194 Source: Authors’ calculations image, 17.1% of the variability of the dependent variable has been described through this regression model. The first hypothesis is thus confirmed. This result is in line with the Source attractiveness model, it can be concluded that attractive celebrities will attract audience attention, which will influence appropriate information acquisition and impact the destination image. According to the testing results of the second hypothesis, the effect of the independent variable Trustworthy on the dependent variable Destination image is positive and statistically significant, and 17.7% variability of the 71 NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (4) 2022 Marković, I., Radosavljević, G., Borisavljević, K. dependent variable is explained by the regression model. Therefore, the second hypothesis is confirmed as well. The third regression model indicates that the dependent variable Expertise has a statistically significant positive influence on the independent variable Destination image, 24.7% of the variability of the dependent variable has been described through this regression model. With this, the third hypothesis is confirmed. These two results are in line with the source credibility model, and it can be concluded that a celebrity who is trustworthy and an expert will impact the tourist’s capability to receive information and recomentadition about the destination which will form a positive destination image. The fourth regression model indicates a positive and statistically significant effect of the dependent variable Match-up on the independent variable Destination image, 63% of the variability of the dependent variable has been described through this regression model. The fourth hypothesis is confirmed and it implies that the congruence between the celebrity and the destination will have a positive effect on the destination image. According to the research results discussed above, it can be concluded that celebrity endorsement is an effective marketing communication tool that has a positive influence on the destination image, this conclusion is in line with statements of many authors such as McCracken (1989), Erdogan (1999), Glover (2009), Zhang and others (2020), Seongseop and others (2014), Lee (2008), Yaoqi and others (2022), Adestya (2019) and Subhadip (2021). Conclusion This paper aimed to explore the effect of celebrity endorsement on destination image. First, the effect of celebrity endorsement was examined through the attractiveness model and it was concluded that the endorser’s physical appearance will attract the audience and enhance the effect of the message about the destination. Second, through the credibility model, it was identified that the destination celebrity endorser should be a reliable, honest, qualified, and skilled person in order to gain the trust of the potential destination visitors. Finally, according to this research and in line with the match-up model, the celebrity destination endorser has to be connected, related, and associated with the destination. When this consistency is achieved tourists will likely accept the celebrity recommendation and Table 2 Correlation analysis Attractiveness Trustworthy Expertise Match-up Destination image Attractiveness 1 0.778** 0.731** 0.566** 0.414** Trustworthy 1 0.804** 0.549** 0.421** Expertise 1 0.637** 0.497** Match-up 1 0.630** Destination image 1 Note: **Value considered significant at 0.01 Source: Authors’ calculations Table 3 Results of the simple regression analysis Variables R² B t Significance (p) Standard error Attractiveness – Destination image 0.171* 0.414 9.643 0.000* 0.258 Trustworthy – Destination image 0.177* 0.421 6.617 0.000* 0.063 Ekspexpertise – Destination image 0.247* 0.497 8.161 0.000* 0.058 Match-up – Destination image 0.630* 0.630 11.552 0.000* 0.058 Note: *Value significant at 0.01 Source: Authors’ calculations 72 NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (4) 2022 Marković, I., Radosavljević, G., Borisavljević, K. encourage destination visiting intention. Therefore, it can be concluded that celebrity endorsement can be used to accomplish a favorable destination image. This paper provides new information about the celebrity endorsement and destination image relationship, this topic has been insufficiently studied in foreign and even less in domestic literature. The paper has as well practical application and social contribution. It provides insight into how to effectively use celebrity endorsement in promotional and destination image strategy which is very useful for tourist service providers. This study, like much other social science research, has certain limitations. The first limitation is related to the sample structure, as a consequence of the online survey nature, the sample does not include all segments of respondents. Second, this research focuses on one destination and celebrities who are born in the destination, therefore results cannot be generalized. 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The effect of celebrity endorsement on destination brand love: A comparison of previous visitors and potential tourists. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 17, 100454. DOI: https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100454 74 NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (4) 2022 Marković, I., Radosavljević, G., Borisavljević, K. Vpliv podpore znanih osebnosti na podobo destinacije Izvleček Podoba destinacije vpliva na proces odločanja turistov in na njihovo namero, da destinacijo obiščejo, ponovno obiščejo in priporočijo. Zato pozitivna podoba destinacije velja za enega ključnih dejavnikov uspeha destinacije. Turisti si ustvarijo podobo glede na lastne izkušnje ali izkušnje drugih in informacije, povezane z destinacijo; ena od možnosti za zagotavljanje informacij o destinaciji je eno od najučinkovitejših promocijskih orodij, ki se imenuje podpora slavnih osebnosti. Ob predpostavki, da se bo pozitivna podoba slavnih osebnosti prenesla na destinacijo, bo ta študija preučila učinek podpore slavnih osebnosti na podobo destinacije. Cilj študije je preveriti učinek podpore slavnih osebnosti na podobo destinacije s pomočjo modela privlačnosti vira, modela verodostojnosti vira in modela ujemanja. Podatki so bili zbrani s tehniko spletne ankete, vzorec so sestavljali 204 anketiranci. Raziskovalne hipoteze so bile preverjene z regresijsko analizo. Rezultati so pokazali, da privlačnost slavnih osebnosti, zanesljivost, strokovnost in ujemanje vplivajo na podobo destinacije. Teoretični prispevek se odraža v novih informacijah o vlogi podpore slavnih osebnosti v turizmu, ki je v tuji in domači znanstveni literaturi omejena. Kot praktični prispevek študija zagotavlja informacije, ki so lahko koristne ponudnikom turističnih storitev pri oblikovanju promocijske kampanje. Ključne besede: turistična destinacija, podoba destinacije, podpora zvezdnikov