This study investigates the relationships among three main concepts: celebrity's media exposure, celebrity's image, and country image. Additionally, the moderating role of tourists' (i) motivations, (ii) culture, and (iii) country attachment was investigated. To this end, 938 real tourists visiting Spain from 3 nationalities were approached: the UK, France, and Germany. An international market research company provided the data using an online questionnaire among its panelists. Structural equation modelling with JAMOVI, based on R, was used. Our results showed the relevance of both media activities and the image of sports celebrities to enhance the perceived image of the country they represent and, in turn, tourists' intention to revisit and buy national products. First, the image of sports celebrities could improve Spain's brand, mainly (i) among those who travel for sports motives, (ii) from England, and (iii) being highly attached to Spain. Second, the country's image will augment tourists' intention to revisit the country, mainly (i) among non-sports travellers, (ii) from France, and (iii) low-attached tourists. The effectiveness of celebrities' media exposure was confirmed, supporting the Symbolic Communication Theory. Also, sports celebrity endorsement on destination image has been probed, strengthening the usefulness of the Image Transfer Theory. Lastly, the relationship between perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours has been demonstrated, as stated in the Theory of Planned Behavior. To conclude, Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) could invest in communication using sports celebrities as the campaign's backbone to improve the Spanish destination image. This policy will work better among (i) those who travel for sports motives, (ii) those from England and (iii) those who are highly attached to Spain.

中文翻译：

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国家品牌塑造中的体育偶像：动机、文化和国家归属感的相互作用


本研究调查了三个主要概念之间的关系：名人的媒体曝光率、名人的形象和国家形象。此外，还调查了游客 （i） 动机、（ii） 文化和 （iii） 国家依恋的调节作用。为此，我们接触了来自 938 个国家/地区的 3 名访问西班牙的真实游客：英国、法国和德国。一家国际市场研究公司通过其小组成员的在线问卷提供了数据。使用了基于 R 的 JAMOVI 结构方程建模。我们的结果表明，媒体活动和体育名人的形象都与提升他们所代表的国家的感知形象相关，进而影响游客重访和购买国家产品的意图。首先，体育名人的形象可以提升西班牙的品牌，主要是 （i） 在那些出于运动动机旅行的人中，（ii） 来自英格兰，以及 （iii） 对西班牙的高度依恋。其次，该国的形象将增强游客再次访问该国的意愿，主要是 （i） 非运动旅客，（ii） 来自法国，以及 （iii） 低依恋者。名人媒体曝光的有效性得到证实，支持了符号传播理论。此外，还探讨了体育名人对目的地图像的代言，加强了图像迁移理论的有用性。最后，正如计划行为理论中所述，感知、态度和行为之间的关系已经得到证明。总而言之，目的地营销组织 （DMO） 可以投资于传播，将体育名人作为活动的支柱，以改善西班牙目的地的形象。 这项政策将在 （i） 那些出于运动动机旅行的人，（ii） 来自英格兰的人和 （iii） 那些对西班牙高度依恋的人中效果更好。