THE MEDIATING ROLE OF "ATTITUDE TOWARDS EWOM ABOUT FOREIGN COUNTRIES" IN THE RELATIONSHIP OF ETHNOCENTRISM AND CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE WITH FOREIGN DESTINATION TRAVEL INTENTION

Study objective: In this study, "ethnocentrism and cultural intelligence" are discussed as characteristics unique to individuals and the mediating effect of the attitude towards EWOM, which consists of the thoughts of others about foreign countries, on the relations of these characteristics with the intentions of individuals to go on vacation to foreign destinations.Methodology: Results that can be evaluated in theory and practice have been obtained by investigating the effect of online comments and their attitudes towards these comments, which have become very important in tourism experiences in recent years. With the online survey, the data obtained from 357 participants with different demographic characteristics from different provinces of Turkey were analyzed with SEM.Originality/Relevance: There are few studies examining the relationship between cultural intelligence and ethnocentrism. Ang et al. (2007) stated that ethnocentrism affects cultural intelligence, while Triandis (2006) stated that cultural intelligence affects enthocentrism. Harrison (2012) determined that there is a negative relationship between the two concepts. Cultural intelligence and ethnocentrism have a negative association, according to Young, Haffejee, and Corsun (2017).Main results: According to the analysis results, the EWOM attitude has a partial mediating effect in the relations of ethnocentrism and cultural intelligence with the intention to visit foreign destinations for vacation.Theoretical/methodological contributions: In this study, the mediating role of the attitude towards EWOM comments about these countries in the relations of these two concepts with the intention to visit foreign destinations for holiday purposes was examined and the partial mediation effect of EWOM was found.