As expat communities grow, they play an increasing role in how tourism destinations are perceived. Woosong's Endicott College of International Studies professor, Dr. Umer Zaman, along with two colleagues, designed a study looking at how expat communities' cultural intelligence affects tourist destinations and their brand equity in their article "Examining destinations’ personality and brand equity through the lens of expats: moderating role of expat’s cultural intelligence"

The team observed how expatriates' cultural intelligence throughout Korea and Turkey affected their country's perceived destination personality and the resulting effect on destination brand equity.  

This study found a significant correlation between a country's destination personality and its destination brand equity. However, the positive correlation was heavily influenced by expatriate's cultural intelligence. The study's findings also offer strategic suggestions for destination marketers to reassess when considering boosting a country's destination brand equity, especially considering how much more of a role expat cultural intelligence plays over general tourists.  

These findings should help tourism marketers better understand the role expats play in creating a positive destination personality and increasing destination brand equity. It could also help in creating a better living situation for expats around the world.  

The full article, "Examining destinations’ personality and brand equity through the lens of expats: moderating role of expat’s cultural intelligence," was published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, an A-class journal with an impact factor of 2.23.

< https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10941665.2021.1925314 >