INFORMATION ABOUT THE MASTER'S THESIS
1. Student's full name: Giap Thi An
2. Gender: Female
3. Date of birth: November 6, 1980
4. Place of birth: Bac Ninh
5. Decision number for student admission:Decision No. 5915/QD-XHNV, dated October 28, 2024By the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
6. Changes in the training process: None
7. Thesis title:The influence of destination brand assets on international tourists' intentions to choose culinary tourism.
8. Major: Tourism, Code: 8810101
9. Scientific supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Long - Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi; Dr. Duong Thi Hien - Hong Duc University.
10. Summary of the thesis results:
This thesis, researching the influence of destination brand equity on international tourists' intentions to choose Hanoi for culinary tourism, has fully achieved its objectives. This was accomplished through a close combination of foundational theoretical frameworks and quantitative empirical research methods on a sample scale.Based on a study of 201 international tourists, the following insightful conclusions were drawn:
The study successfully systematized and applied the destination brand equity model specifically to the culinary tourism segment. Through rigorous Cronbach's Alpha reliability testing and exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the raw data was objectively restructured from the initial theoretical concepts into a streamlined, completely cross-loaded structure of four independent factors, including: Brand Awareness, Destination Brand Image, Brand Loyalty, and Value.feel.
The results of the multiple linear regression analysis yielded extremely valuable and objective empirical findings. The overall model achieved good explanatory power and completely avoided multicollinearity. Of the four proposed direct impact hypotheses, the model validated and accepted three, while rejecting one specific hypothesis.: (1)Brand loyalty plays the most powerful role, confirming that foreign tourists' decision to choose Hanoi is ultimately driven by word-of-mouth and the unwavering trust of those who have visited before.(2) The experiential value holds the second most direct impact, demonstrating that the inherent appeal of the diversity of specialties and the genuine uniqueness of Hanoi cuisine are the core behavioral drivers. (3) Destination brand imagery contributed in third place, confirming that a sharp, authentic visual identity system still possesses the ability to penetrate psychological barriers and directly shape tourist choices. Conversely, the hypothesis of a direct impact of Brand Awareness was rejected by the model due to a lack of statistical significance. This indicates that purely superficial identification information, if not linked to depth of experience, can be problematic.Empirical experiments are completely ineffective in promoting direct behavioral intentions.
11. Practical applications:
Based on the experimental results presented above, this thesis has contributed a system of practical, strategic, and synchronized solutions for destination managers in the capital city.HanoiThe solutions range from standardizing food products, ensuring hygiene and safety, transparent pricing, improving multilingual information infrastructure, to changing marketing mindsets. The focus is on translation.transferThis includes effective communication methods, integrating visual imagery into cultural storytelling, investing in enhancing the quality of core experiences on-site, and especially focusing on nurturing a base of returning tourists to maximize the power of word-of-mouth marketing.
12. Future research directions:First, since the 'Brand Awareness' factor does not have a direct impact, future studies should apply Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine the indirect impact of this variable. Second, adding moderating variables such as cultural characteristics, nationality, or travel experiences such as first-time visitors and returning visitors will help clarify the specific behavior of each segment. Third, because loyalty and word-of-mouth are the strongest influencing factors, a deeper analysis of the power of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is needed. Finally, combining qualitative research such as in-depth interviews or cross-comparing Hanoi's culinary brand assets with those of other destinations will provide a more comprehensive theoretical and practical framework.
13. Published works related to the thesis:
1. Giap Thi An, Pham Hong Long, Duong Thi Hien (2026). Destination branding associated with heritage through bibliographic and content metrics.Journal of Art EducationIssue 62, 2026.
MASTER THESIS'S INFORMATION
1.Full name:Giap Thi An
2.Gender:Female
3.Date of birth:November 6, 1980
4.Place of birth:Bac Ninh
5.Admission Decision No.:5915/QD-XHNV, dated October 28, 2024, by the Rector of VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
6.Changes during the academic process:None
7.Thesis title: Examining the influence of destination brand equity on international tourists' intention to choose Hanoi culinary tourism.
8.Major:Tourism,Code: 8810101
9.Supervisors:Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Long - Faculty of Tourism Studies, VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities; Dr. Duong Thi Hien - Hong Duc University.
10. Main findings:
The thesis investigating the impact of destination brand equity on international tourists' intention to choose Hanoi's culinary tourism has fully achieved its set objectives. Through a tight integration of theoretical foundations and quantitative empirical research methods on a sample of 201 international tourists, the study has drawn the following profound conclusions:
The research successfully systematized and applied the destination brand equity model tailored specifically for the culinary tourism segment. Through rigorous Cronbach's Alpha reliability testing and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the raw empirical data objectively reconstructed the initial theoretical concepts into a streamlined structure of 4 distinct, independent factors with absolutely no cross-loading. These include Brand Awareness, Destination Brand Image, Destination Brand Loyalty, and Perceived Value.
The results of the multiple linear regression analysis yield highly valuable and objective empirical findings. The overall model achieved high explanatory power and strictly avoided multicollinearity issues. Among the 4 proposed hypotheses on direct impacts, the model validated and accepted 3 while rejecting 1 specific hypothesis: (1) Destination Brand Loyalty acts as the most powerful driving factor, affirming that foreign tourists' decision to choose Hanoi is supremely guided by word-of-mouth effects and firm trust from previous visitors. (2) Perceived Value holds the second strongest direct impact, demonstrating that the intrinsic appeal of diverse specialties and the actual uniqueness of Hanoi's cuisine serve as the core behavioral lever. (3) Destination Brand Image ranks third in contribution, verifying that a sharply and authentically built visual identity system still possesses the capacity to penetrate psychological barriers to directly shape tourists' choice behavior. Contrary, the hypothesis regarding the direct impact of Destination Brand Awareness was rejected by the model due to a lack of statistical significance. This indicates that pure surface-level identity information, if disconnected from the depth of empirical experience, is entirely ineffective in stimulating direct behavioral intentions.
11. Practical applicability:Based on the aforementioned empirical results, the thesis contributes a strategic and synchronized system of practical solutions for destination managers in Hanoi Capital. These solutions range from standardizing culinary products, ensuring food safety and hygiene, and practicing price transparency to improving multilingual information infrastructure and shifting marketing mindsets. The focus lies on transitioning communication methods, integrating visual imagery into cultural storytelling, investing in enhancing core on-site experiences, and placing special emphasis on nurturing past visitors to maximize the power of word-of-mouth.
12. Future research directions:First, since the 'Brand Awareness' factor has no direct impact, future studies should apply Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine the indirect effect of this variable. Second, adding moderating variables such as cultural characteristics, nationality, or travel experience (eg, first-time vs. repeat visitors) will help clarify the specific behaviors of each segment. Third, because Brand Loyalty and the word-of-mouth effect are the most dominant drivers, it is necessary to conduct an in-depth analysis of the power of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Finally, combining qualitative research, such as in-depth interviews, or conducting cross-comparisons of Hanoi's culinary brand equity with other destinations will provide a more comprehensive theoretical and practical framework.
13. Publications related to the thesis:
1. Giap Thi An, Pham Hong Long, Duong Thi Hien (2026). Destination branding associated with heritage through bibliometric and content analysis.Journal of Arts EducationIssue 62, 2026
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