Exploring the Effect of Social Media Marketing and Destination image on Destination Loyalty in Covid-19 Times: Sequential Mediating Role of Brand Love and Brand Loyalty

The basic concern for the tourism sector is to retain customers during Covid-19 time. In this regard, it is important to examine the role of social media marketing and destination to develop brand love and loyalty which lead to sustainable competitive advantage. This study used a cross-sectional research design and a quantitative approach to collect data from the respondents. The data were collected from the customers of hotels in UAE. 450 respondents were approached by convenience sampling. The response rate of this study was 55.9 percent. For the analysis of the collected data, PLS-SEM was used. The results of the study support the proposed hypotheses. Besides, the mediating role of brand love and loyalty was also supported.