From Perception to Connection: How Tourists’ Emotional Experience Links Destination Gender and Destination Attachment

The perception of a destination’s gender – characterized by traits of femininity or masculinity – plays a pivotal role in shaping tourists’ experiences and behavior toward the place. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the causal relationships between destination gender (femininity and masculinity), tourists’ emotional experiences, and destination attachment, utilizing the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework and attachment theory. Consequently, the study investigates the mediating role of tourists’ emotional experience in the relationship between destination gender and destination attachment. Since European tourists are among the most frequent international visitors to Istanbul, a major tourist destination in Türkiye, data were collected from 503 European tourists in the city. The findings reveal that the perceived characteristics of destination gender, including femininity and masculinity, significantly impact both destination attachment and tourists’ emotional experiences. Furthermore, tourists’ emotional experiences mediate the relationship between destination gender and attachment. The study is anticipated to benefit destination management organizations by encouraging them to integrate destination gender into their marketing strategies and guide the emotions they aim to evoke in their target audiences.