Information agents and cultural differences as determinants of country’s reputation and its subsequent effects on tourism prospects of a country in sustained crises

Abstract

The current study aims to examine the influence of information agents and cultural differences in reputation building of Pakistan and its subsequent effects on tourism prospects of the country. The data were collected from foreign and local students studying in Chinese and Malaysian universities. The results determined that the perceptions attributed to Pakistan vary considerably around the world, with more favorable views in China, Middle East, and Africa and the least affirmative views in Europe and North America. The media and the Pakistani diaspora had statistically significant but a diametrical relationship with Pakistan’s reputation. Pakistani diaspora are playing an instrumental role in cultivating a favorable reputation of Pakistan, as affirmative impressions of Pakistan were determined in the foreign audience through them. On the other hand, the perceptions constituted through media have a strong negative influence on the reputation of Pakistan. Lastly, social appeal, cultural appeal, and physical appeal of Pakistan are optimistically received and influence the people’s intention to visit Pakistan, but Pakistan has a very low leadership appeal, which does not allow it to communicate an appealing vision of the country to the world. For policy makers and academicians, it is recommended that a reality-induced framework would work best for countries suffering from sustained crises instead of an advertising-led marketing model of country branding. Thus, the present study bears theoretical and practical relevance by adding to the branding theory of countries in crisis.