PENGARUH CITY BRANDING DAN ONLINE REVIEW TERHADAP MINAT BERKUNJUNG ULANG DENGAN KEPUTUSAN BERKUNJUNG SEBAGAI VARIABEL INTERVENING PADA WISATAWAN IJEN GEOPARK BONDOWOSO

ABSTRACT
The present study stems from the phenomenon of fluctuating visitation patterns at Ijen
Geopark Bondowoso, underscoring the imperative to investigate the variables that influence
tourists' choice to visit and their inclination toward repeat visitation. The research aims to
examine the effects of city branding and online reviews on visit decisions and revisit intention.
Employing a positivist approach with a quantitative method, the study involves a population
of 224,595 tourists with a sample of 400 respondents determined using Slovin’s formula and
purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using SEM-PLS with the WarpPLS 8.0 application.
The results show that both city branding and online reviews have significant effects on visit
decisions, while these two variables also significantly influence tourists’ revisit intentions.
Visit decisions play a crucial role in strengthening tourists’ desire to return. Furthermore, city
branding and online reviews exert indirect effects on revisit intention through visit decisions
as a mediating variable. These findings imply that enhancing destination branding strategies
and optimizing digital review management are essential to maintaining visitor stability and
increasing tourist loyalty to Ijen Geopark Bondowoso. Strengthened promotional efforts and
improved online engagement are expected to support sustainable tourism development in the
region.
Keywords: city branding, online review, visit decision, revisit intention, Ijen Geopark