LUXURY TRAVEL IN SICILY: THE CUSTOMERS' BRAND IDENTIFICATION AND THE DETERMINANT OF CHOICE WITH HOTELS

The present study aims to explore the relationships between the consumer brand identification (CBI) construct and the antecedent factor of the determinant of choice (Drivers): Desire, Subjective norms, Attitude toward act and Behavioral intention. In particular, the research presents different implications on the identification and brand of the brand loyalty literature in the context of the hotel industry. Sicily is a rich land and a place of great tourist destination. It is important to define the reasons and possibilities that a luxury hotel industry can have in the territory. The study involved 271 customers (125 male, 146 female), mainly aged between 26 and 45 years (71.3%). In reference to reasons to why customers were travelling, the 47% mentioned culture and 32% leisure. Half of them have university degree (51.3%). Finally, 32% of customers chose a five-star luxury hotel, while the remaining (68%), a four-star hotel. The results confirm previous studies that consider the phenomenology of the consumer's interaction with brands and the three addictional antecedents factor as predictive of consumer brand identification. We found that Desire, Subjective norms and Attitude toward act have had a positive impact on Behavioral intention through CBI. The Path diagram shows how the brand identification of customers who choose luxury hotel in Sicily is able to mediate the relationship between the antecedents (drivers) and the outcome in terms of intention to re-purchase the product.