Abstract

This study focuses on the consumers' brand equity of the tourism development Giga project in Saudi Arabia, specifically the Qiddiya project's perspective. Tourism in Saudi Arabia one of the pillars of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, to contribute to diversifying the base of the national economy, attract investments, increase sources of income, and provide job opportunities for citizens, as the sector is witnessing rapid growth thanks to plans to promote the tourism sector. The Vision 2030 is a social and economic strategic long-term program by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to diversify the nation's economy and stimulate numerous changes in its social and economic sectors. This study measures the Qiddiya project's brand equity (Authenticity, Association, Awareness, Image, and loyalty) between males and females in Saudi Arabia to understand Qiddiya brand equity and ways to develop the tourism sector. This study has been chosen because Saudi citizens are experiencing the Qiddiya project in Riyadh and tourism development in the country. The sampling target for this study included only Saudi citizens who have traveled abroad in the past three years for leisure and 18 years or older. The findings of this study focus on providing a view of Qiddiya's brand equity and determining if there are significant differences between males and females. These results showed significant differences between males and females regarding brand awareness, perceived quality, perceived value, and brand loyalty (Intention to Visit and Recommend). However, no significant differences were found regarding brand authenticity, brand association, and brand image. This significant contribution of this study is the advancement of the theoretical and practical viewpoints of brand equity for a Giga Tourism Project in Saudi Arabia. Especially since previous tourism in Saudi Arabia mainly examines either the impacts of tourism development or religious tourism. This study also contributes to the body of knowledge by considering the residents' perception of a new experiential product for domestic visitors that engage with Qiddiya. The study also provides recommendations to tourism stakeholders to manage brand equity between males and females given their differences in perceptions. In addition, this study provides useful information for destination managers to better understand citizens' perceptions of new domestic tourism experiences in Saudi Arabia and their intention to consume.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2021

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Rivera, Manuel

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Department

Hospitality Services

Degree Program

Hospitality and Tourism Management

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0008848; DP0026127

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0026127

Language

English

Release Date

December 2024

Length of Campus-only Access

3 years

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Campus-only Access)

Location

Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Download

Restricted to the UCF community until December 2024; it will then be open access.

Share

COinS