The role of attachment to K-celebrity from a destination marketing perspective

Purpose Although there is a growing body of literature on how celebrity involvement impacts the effectiveness of destination marketing, the underlying mechanisms of that relationship are still underexplored. Based on the affect transfer and meaning transfer theories, this study aims to examine the impact of celebrity attachment on customer delight toward K-culture and K-culture attachment, affective and cognitive images of Korea, and the intention to visit Korea. Design/methodology/approach Online survey data were collected from 2,614 US residents, representing various demographic characteristics. For the data analysis, the partial least squares-structural equation modeling was conducted to evaluate the structural model and test the hypotheses. Findings The results showed that celebrity attachment is positively related to customer delight toward K-culture and K-culture attachment, which, in turn, positively influences affective and cognitive images of Korea. Additionally, K-culture attachment positively influences cognitive and affective images of Korea, which are positively related to the intention to visit Korea. Research limitations/implications By using the affect transfer theory and meaning transfer theory, this study provides valuable insights into how consumer’s attachment to celebrities has spillover effects on the decision-making process. This study also adds a new concept, customer delight connected to cultural experience, in the context of destination marketing. Practical implications By understanding the importance and influence of people’s intimacy with media characters, practitioners can apply parasocial relationship theory, affect transfer theory and meaning transfer theory to their marketing strategies. Originality/value As one of the few empirical studies that examines the impact of celebrity attachment on consumers’ perceptions and behaviors, this study can make significant contributions to the destination marketing literature.