The Impact of Religious Freedom Laws on Destination Image

Religious Freedom Laws (RFL), aimed at prohibiting laws that burden a person’s freedom of religion, have become a source of contention in the United States. Drawing on boycott literature, this article tested a structural model involving five constructs: egregiousness, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) support, self-enhancement, boycott, and destination image. A three-path mediation model was adopted to explore how the tourist’s perception of egregiousness against RFL leads to a destination boycott decision via LGBT support and self-enhancement. The results were based on a sample of 306 respondents. The findings revealed two paths, direct and indirect, to boycott decisions from perceived egregiousness. This suggests boycott decisions in terms of RFL were determined by individual tourists’ perceptions of the egregious act and the intrinsic rewards of self-enhancement from supporting the LGBT movement. In addition, boycott decisions led to a negative destination image. The implications for researchers and destination marketers were discussed.