E-WOM and heritage tourism image formation: Young tourists’ perceptions of Bangladeshi world heritage sites

Electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) significantly enhances young Bangladeshi tourists' perceptions of heritage destination images, particularly for UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Bagerhat. The study, leveraging the Goal-Directed Behavior Model (GDBM), found that e-WOM strongly influences cognitive and affective image formation, as well as travel desire, with path coefficients of .552, .493, and .615 respectively. Heritage image and travel intention acted as key mediators in tourist behavior, revealing how online evaluations and emotional interactions shape young tourists' preferences. The research extends the GDBM by integrating e-WOM and heritage images, offering actionable insights for marketers to engage tech-savvy youth through positive digital narratives.

Ahmed, T., Shuvo, M., & Nidhi, U. (2025). E-WOM and heritage tourism image formation: Young tourists’ perceptions of Bangladeshi world heritage sites. ??????? ?????? ??????????? ????????? ?????? ??????? ????, 75(3), 365–381. https://doi.org/10.2298/ijgi241206011a