Abstract:
Stakeholders such as local communities and service providers have long been engaged in tourism plann
ing,
however, there is rare insights into stakeholder collaboration in destination branding (Pike and Pag
e, 2014).
This study examines whether st
akeholder roles: Leadership, Brand Association, Brand Uniqueness, Co
-
creation and Perceived quality have a significant role as a mediating variable, between destination
branding
and competitive advantage. The study used random sampling of three hundred and
eight tourism related
business sectors across Nairobi, Nakuru, and Kisumu counties in Kenya. The Main Findings of the stud
y are
(i) Mediation effect of Leadership, brand association, Brand Uniqueness, Co
-
creation and Perceived Brand
Quality with respect
to independent and dependent variable are significant because their normal theory test
for direct has a p value less than 0.05. This Concludes that Mediators referred to as Leadership, br
and
association, Brand Uniqueness, Co
-
creation and Perceived Brand Qu
ality are partial mediators because there
is reduction (not total elimination) from .6788 to .5709, .6788 to .5701, .6788 to .6088, .6788 to .
6136, .6788 to
.5476 of coefficient of X variable respectively. The results of the study will help with establish
ing strategies
for the incorporation of the various stakeholders in destination branding strategies in the tourism
industries.
