International K-pop fans’ involvement in fandom : Examination of identity salience

In the field of leisure and tourism research in the twenty-first century, a new phenomenon known as "special interest tourism" emerged, primarily among tourists who travel to see their favorite celebrities. This study aims to examine international K-pop fans' involvement in fandom, attachment to celebrity, commitment to celebrity and its final effect on loyalty towards fandom using salient fan identity as a mediator to examine the relationship among these factors. This study employed a theoretical background derived from Tajfel's (1981) social identity theory. The empirical results of this study showed positive relationships between fandom involvement, psychological attachment to celebrity, commitment to celebrity, identity salience and loyalty towards celebrity. This study presents the importance of salient identity on fans' lives and their decision to choose Korea as a travel destination where they can participate in fandom activities of their favorite K-pop celebrities. This study will provide valuable contributions to the tourism literature and to industry practitioners who need to create effective marketing tools and develop Korean tourism with K-pop.