Electronic Word of Mouth Effects on Tourists' Attitudes Toward Islamic Destinations and Travel Intention: an Empirical Study in Iran

The purpose of this paper is to study the interrelationships among electronic word of mouth (eWOM), tourists' attitudes towards Islamic destinations, and travel intention. A ten-minute pen and paper questionnaire was distributed to international tourists in Isfahan through convenience-sampling approach. Reliability and validity of the measurement scale were established through average variance extracted, Cronbach's alpha, and intercorrelation analyses. A structural equation model test with maximum likelihood estimation was performed to test the relationship among the research variables using 189 participants. The empirical results from the structural model suggest that eWOM positively influences tourists' attitudes toward Islamic destinations and travel intention. In addition, tourists' attitudes toward Islamic destinations are significantly associated with intention to travel. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Andreea Iluzia Iacob.