THE ROLE OF BRAND IMAGE MEDIATION ON CONSUMER INTEREST IN CHOOSING UMRAH AND HAJJ SERVICES IN THE NEW NORMAL ERA

Lately, there has been a growing interest in undertaking sustainable global tourism destinations particularly to Saudi Arabia. The benefits can be maximized if the government is successful in attracting present pilgrims and influencing their future intentions to visit the country as tourists through service providers in Muslim countries. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to measure the interest buying of pilgrims for the holy land based on the influence of E-WOM, Price, and Brand Image through the mediation model at PT Andalas Jaya Wisata in the New Normal Era. With a purposive technique with two criteria, it is planned to distribute 99 online questionnaires and direct interviews, then analyze the data with the help of Smart PLS. the results of this study show E-WOM variable on Interest Buying variable has not an effect and Price variable on Interest Buying variable has not an effect

significant price to maintain the capability and quality of service, coupled with the complexity of the requirements to enter Saudi Arabia which very tight.
Opinion of Albetris et al., (2022) ; Baldauf et al., (2003) ; Hult et al., (2001) state brand image as a set of relationships that are memorable and remembered by consumers regarding a brand resulting from experiences and evaluative actions towards product information. Brand image helps companies in marketing efforts A Albetris et al., (2022) . According to Bagire & Namada, (2015) companies/products that have a positive image will tend to be in demand and trusted by consumers. Research results (Arimond et al., 2003;Dhar, 2015;LY Lin & Ching Yuh, 2010;Rowley & Dawes, 1999) found that brand image significantly influences consumer interest in choosing. Brands that have a positive image will also be prioritized in a purchase, because they guarantee the quality of the products/services they offer (Arif, 2019). On the other hand, research (Casaló et al., 2008;Chang & Chen, 2009;Cova & Cova, 2002;Süerdem, 2013) states that brand image encourages word of mouth communication, meaning that a person's experience in using a brand will encourage them to tell at least their immediate family, and then pour out more positive messages for their colleagues on social media.
Conversely, e-wom provides a causal effect that can significantly increase the reputation of a brand, due to the wider information and the more well-known a brand is. Asadpoor, (2017) . Several studies have used brand image as a mediator in the relationship between e-wom and consumer interest in choosing, and the majority of them found a partial contribution (Hien et al., 2020;Kazmi & Mehmood, 2016;Yulianto et al., 2021;Yunus et al., 2016). These results mean that word-of-mouth communication through chat applications and social media is significantly driven by the positive image of the company/product, and has had an impact on growing consumer interest in choosing that brand (Hien et al., 2020).
On the other hand, price is a determinant of a consumer's final decision to buy a product/service (Pratono, 2021). Consumer interest in choosing may diminish and even disappear as a result of high and unaffordable prices, because prices are very closely related to household income (Zheng et al., 2021). Someone with a low income will highly consider price in the buying process (Cravens & Piercy, 2009), whereas those with an upper middle income will be more concerned with quality, and not too concerned about the price offered (Cravens & Piercy, 2009). Razy and Lajevardi's research (2015) found that price significantly influences consumer interest in choosing, these results mean that affordability and suitability of price with benefits have driven their interest in making purchasing decisions. Meanwhile, some experts have also tested that the role of price has given an increase and encouragement to someone's interest in buying a product or service and improves the company's image, and makes it more familiar and in great demand (Bhutto et al., 2022).
The reason for this research is to contribute to saving local companies that specifically operate in Tour and Travel services that serve the public to go for Umrah and Hajj, because government policy during the COVID 19 pandemic prohibited these activities in order to overcome the increasingly widespread spread of the virus.

Literature Review Marketing
According to The American Marketing Association's (1985) Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual goals and organizational goals. This definition recognizes that marketing management is a process involving analysis, planning, implementation, and control; that this marketing management includes ideas, goods, and services; that this marketing management is based on exchange understanding; and that the aim is to produce satisfaction for the parties involved.
Marketing (marketing) according to Kotler and Armstrong (2008) is "as a process by which companies create value for customers and build strong relationships with customers with the aim of capturing value from customers in return".
According to The American Marketing Association's (2004) there are three perspectives that can represent marketing, namely: 1. Marketing as a managerial activity, or what marketers do 2. Marketing as a philosophy, as in organizations 3. Marketing as a field of study, or discipline From the definition of marketing above, it can be concluded that the marketing process is a system of business activities that are interconnected and aimed at planning, distributing and promoting goods and services carried out by companies to meet the wants and needs of consumers and aim to satisfy their customers. The main key to achieving organizational goals is to identify the needs (needs) and wants (wants) of the target market and provide satisfaction to consumers in a way that is more effective and efficient than its competitors.

Consumer Interest Theory in choosing -Interest Buying
Interest Buying is a possibility that a consumer will buy a product or service after evaluating (Al-dweeri et al., 2017;Al-Hawari, 2014;Amin et al., 2011;ANDREASEN, 2554;Aramendia-Muneta, 2017;Baker & Crompton, 2000;Carlson & O'Cass, 2010;Cronin et al., 2000;Oliver, 1980;Stoychev, 2020;Sundaram et al., 2017) . (Hodgson, 2003;Park et al., 2007;Vermeer et al., 2019) defines intention to choose as a desire that comes to mind for someone to incur costs to obtain benefits from a product or service. Then Madahi and Sukati (2012) also provide the view that Interest Buying is an intention that exists from within a person to make purchases of services or products that they already know, whether from colleagues or family. Interest buying can also be interpreted as the possibility that consumers will purchase certain products/services (Fathy et al., 2015) Meanwhile, (Abd-El-Salam et al., 2013;Al-Dwairi & Kamala, 2009;Bansal et al., 2004;Bisimwa et al., 2019;Bolton & Drew, 1991) defines consumer interest in choosing as a process that occurs relatively before someone makes an actual purchase, this is the result of the information about the product or service they have learned. Intention to buy means that consumers can buy a product for the first time or will buy a product again after they evaluate product and think the product is the right purchase (Vinh et al., 2020). Marketing specialists need clear explanations of strategy based on a complete understanding of the reasons that drive consumers to make purchases. In a crowded market, we witness a reduction in people's purchase intention due to the negative impact of COVID 19 on the economy (Bukhari et al., 2013;Chimedtseren & Safari, 2016;Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012;Kwek et al., 1970;YH Lin et al. ., 2014;Liu & Li, 2019;Sethna et al., 2021;Sharma, 2019) , and the current phase is still considered a recovery phase where people's sensitivity increases in general, and interest in choosing them is only based on needs (Ali et al. , 2020;Alrayees & Saleh, 2019;Choi & Lee, 2012;Harris & Goode, 2010;Lee & Nam, 2021;Wen, 2012) (Bhutto et al., 2022. Interest Buying is the stage where consumers evaluate the information received (Hasan & Sohail, 2020;Hong & Cho, 2011;Kajtazi & Zeqiri, 2020;Kalia et al., 2016;Katta & Patro, 2017;Pokryshevskaya & Antipov, 2012;Rubab et al., 2018;Tweephoncharoen & Vongurai, 2019) . In this context, a person's willingness to buy has a higher probability, even though they may not actually buy it (Hsu, 2017). Experts have found several factors that influence consumer interest in choosing, including: 1. Price Price is a number of costs that will be incurred by the buyer to obtain a benefit from a product or service (Mirabi et al., 2015). Affordable and tempting prices will attract consumers' curiosity to evaluate products/services, which in turn creates their intention to buy them until they actually buy them (Mirabi et al., 2015).

E-wom
E-WOM is considered as a reference by someone before they intend to buy a product/service offered on the market (Kudeshia & Kumar, 2017). Positive opinions and good impressions shared by previous consumers will encourage other people's interest in making purchases, because one's positive postpurchase experience has been shown to influence interest in choosing others (Arif, 2019).

Brand Image
Brand image is known to consist of people's knowledge and trust in a brand, where a positive image and popularity of a brand will direct consumer interest in choosing and potential consumers to product/service companies with certain brands (Taylor & Baker, 1994), this is based on consumer trust, if a brand that has popularity is almost impossible to make consumers disappointed (Torlak et al., 2015).

Post purchase satisfaction
Interest in choosing potential customers or consumers who have made purchases before will be consistent if there is an element of satisfaction in it (Fathy et al., 2015), because the more satisfied a person is, the more loyal they will be so they intend to continue making purchases (Suchánek et al., 2014) . Meanwhile, the satisfaction of other consumers or colleagues after the purchase will grow their trust and interest in buying the same product/service.

Consumer trust
Consumer confidence is the self-confidence to choose, buy and consume after they have evaluated the information about the products/services they need (Phan, 2013). This consumer trust can be generated by the experiences of other people after they have consulted to study the product/service before making a purchase or even from the positive image and popularity of a brand (Santoso et al., 2020). Consumer interest in choosing helps business actors to predict and calculate their future sales levels (El-Said, 2020). directed at the object under study, including: 1. Desire to purchase services 2. Interest in service information 3. Desire to use this service compared to other places

Electronic Word of Mouth Theory
E-WOM is a form of direct consumer communication that is transformed through social media and the internet regarding the experience of using products/services or even information about products/services (Atmojo et al., 2019) . Opinion (Cohen et al., 2016) defines E-WOM as an act of reviewing or commenting on someone's experience using a product or service that is shared with others through today's digital messages. Meanwhile, E-WOM is also expressed as a genuine desire from within a person to provide information about products/services as a form of their loyalty (Chase & Apte, 2007) . Furthermore, Nuseir's opinion (2019) states that E-WOM is a direct marketing action that helps a brand or company in terms of marketing costs for potential customers carried out by current potential customers. E-WOM is also defined as any statement made by future, present or previous customers about a product or company, whether positive or negative, and can be accessed by anyone online (Bambauer -sachse & Mangold, 2011). Views (Gupta & Harris, 2010) define E-WOM as any internet-based communication about the use or characteristics of a product, service, or company. This is usually done on social media platforms that are actively used by consumers, and can also be shared via the DirectChat application that currently exists (Teja Harmoko et al., 2018) .
According to (Setiawan & Eka, nd) E-WOM communication support/recommendations are classified into two categories. The first is subjective, namely the type of recommendation that is addressed or received through family, co-workers, to fellow alumni while at school (Satria & Pandjaitan, 2020) . Both are subjective, namely recommendations that are addressed or received through expert opinion, television advertisements and social media (Kajtazi & Zeqiri, 2020) , or even online comments that are intended to motivate and direct recommendations on services or products that have been used or consumed by information providers (Sabrina & Rahmi, 2019 ).
According to (Kaur, 2020) E-WOM is usually based on the quality of trust from consumer preferences, and is used as a promotional tool by almost all groups. E-WOM in a positive function will have an impact on psychological encouragement to potential consumers for product-related information (López & Sicilia, 2014) (Kudeshia & Kumar, 2017. Jalilvand and Samiei's research (2012) argues that if someone has wisdom, they will be able to become a reference point to talk about experiences and facts that they have felt, where their desire to spread their pleasure and satisfaction is very high in the current era, because of easy access on social media. media (Raguseo & Vitari, 2017) . According to research by Farzin and Fattahi (2018) efficient ways to retain and add potential customers on an ongoing basis, namely by making existing customers satisfied and impressed, because with that satisfaction they will automatically go through E-WOM, potentially reducing costs. costs to attract new potential customers (Farzin & Fattahi, 2018).
Meanwhile Isyanto et al (2020) considers that the positive actions of E-WOM are a representation of one's loyalty to a product or brand. Regarding consumer choices, E-WOM communication actions play an important function in consumer actions to determine what they should choose ( Dinh & Lee, 2021), information from E-WOM is very accurate and reliable, and has been shown to be seven times more effective than advertising in newspapers, banners and corporate social media (Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012). Meanwhile, when compared with personal selling, E-WOM has been proven to be four times more effective than advertisements on television and radio (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Word of mouth communication that utilizes today's technology is mostly carried out via WhatsApp messages, telegrams, and directchat on social media platforms (Guha et al., 2021).
E-WOM has played an important role in cost-effective marketing of products or services to potential new customers (Kazmi & Mehmood, 2016), because of its significant impact on consumer choices, which has made E-WOM an effective step for developing a business (Yunus et al., 2016). E-WOM can be created through customer satisfaction with purchasing services or products, and then that satisfaction will encourage these customers to share their experiences with people around them or even upload them on social media for a wider network (Khairawati, 2020).

Price Theory
Price is defined as the value of a product for buyers in making purchases based on certain considerations. The opinion of Kotler and Keller (2016) states that price is the amount of money charged to prospective buyers for a product or service. The view of Cravens and Piercy (2009) defines price as the value exchanged by buyers to obtain the benefits they expect from sellers. Price is also said to be a sacrifice incurred by someone to get something they want (Wilson & Giligan, 2005). According to Setiawan (2016), today's business competition is inseparable from the price charged, because it is related to the economic ability of that person.
Affordable and reasonable prices will have an impact on feelings of not being burdened (Kemala, 2015), while high prices will have an impact on the few buyers of the products or users of the services offered (Arif, 2019). Companies must know the purpose of pricing the products/services to be offered (Setiawan, 2016). Appropriate price is one of the marketing mixes that influences consumer interest in choosing service products, because price is the most important attribute that they evaluate before deciding to buy (Rahardian Ali Oetomo and Rini Nugraheni, 2012). Price plays an important role in the consumer's final purchase decision, because the price difference will be a highly emphasized consideration in the current economic downturn (Benhardy et al., 2020). Razy and Lajevardi (2015) state that the affordability of prices offered by sellers has been proven to attract more consumers to use the service.
Price plays an important role in marketing programs, where it is a signal for buyers, a means to improve the company's financial performance, an instrument of company competition and a substitute for other marketing program functions (Cravens & Piercy, 2009). Cravens and Piercy (2009) also emphasized that the role of price in a business can be more clearly detailed as follows: Economic difficulties during COVID 19 are still felt by many people in this New Normal era (Pratono, 2021), where consumer sensitivity increases and they are very concerned about the benefits offered by sellers, and price is considered one of the important factors evaluated by consumers (Pratama et al. al., 2021). Therefore, price measurement must be related to current consumer feelings, where the indicators used refer to Stanton's research (1998) which has been revised by Arif (2019), this indicator consists of four statements including, price eligibility, price suitability with service quality, competitive prices and prices according to benefits.

Brand Image Theory
Brand image is defined as a set of relationships stored in consumers' memories related to a brand as a result of experiences and evaluative actions towards related information (Cravens & Piercy, 2009). Research by Laroche et al (1996) says that brand image is a consumer preference and perception of a brand that sticks in their memory among the various brands they know. Brand image is referred to as an important competitive advantage, which helps product providers create different values (Benhardy et al., 2020). Previously, research by Hamann et al (2007) defined brand image as a form of differentiating a brand from other brands, and a reason for consumers in making purchasing choices.
In the past, many companies invested in formulating their brand, because this helped differentiate them from competitors (Bruhn et al., 2012), helped in terms of company reputation and discretion to go to the target market (Kazmi & Mehmood, 2016). Marketers work hard to embed their brand in customer memory (Guha et al., 2021). A stable brand image in the minds of consumers will be very useful in today's increasingly competitive era of competition (Yulianto et al., 2021), where brand image can be considered as an important means of providing information that helps direct consumers in the decision-making process, and reduces uncertainty. information (Guha et al., 2021).
Projection of brand image to consumers has become a priority in the world of marketing in this decade, and it is important to design a precise strategy in its formulation (Moslehpour et al., 2021). Brand image places trust in the consumer's brain for information about the product to be released. Research by Seo and Park (2018) states that brand image will form a physical structure in the minds of consumers that directs them to provide willingness to wait. In the future, the brand image that has been embedded in the minds of consumers will be accompanied by consumer expectations for the product itself (Isyanto et al., 2020). This is the basis of fully built consumer trust, when the brand can meet their expectations continuously (Guha et al., 2021).
Brand image is said to be similar to consumer self-image, because in principle consumers associate themselves with a brand (Farzin & Fattahi, 2018). In this highly competitive environment, brand image is very important for almost every business (Vinh et al., 2020). To create a brand and position it very well, companies play a very important role in success strategies (Kwon et al., 2020). The emotional state of consumers towards a brand is based on their identification with the brand image (Farzin & Fattahi, 2018). According to Balakrishnan et al (2014) brand image is an overall personality in the minds of consumers, and it depends on the assessment of the products/services provided. Brand association with consumer minds communicates expectations, and its creation is considered important for customer attraction and retention (Hafez, 2021). Consumer purchasing decisions most often depend on brand image rather than brand physical characteristics (Vinh et al., 2020).
In addition, the issue of brand strategy has been considered as the main capital for many industries, where a strong brand can increase customer trust in the product or service purchased (Cravens & Piercy, 2009), and enable them to better visualize and understand this intangible factor (Cravens & Piercy, 2009). Benhardy et al., 2020.

Research structure
The type of research used is explanative research using a quantitative approach. This study is intended to test the hypotheses that have been formulated previously. The data used in this study are primary data and secondary data. The population in this study are prospective buyers of services at Ajwa Tour and Travel who have relatives or relatives who have made purchases before, where the prospective buyers are those who have never made a purchase. The sampling technique used is non-probability sampling, the data analysis method used is the structural equation model (SEM) analysis technique, and uses the help of Smart PLS 3 software (Hair et al., 2014),

Figure 1. Framework
Based on the description above, in this study several hypotheses were made as follows: Hypothesis 1 : Electronic Word of Mouth has a significant effect on Interest Buying Hypothesis 2 : Price has a significant effect on Interest Buying Hypothesis 3 : Electronic Word of Mouth has a significant effect on brand image Hypothesis 4 : Price has a significant effect on brand image Hypothesis 5 : Brand image has a significant effect on Interest Buying Hypothesis 6 : Electronic Word of Mouth has a significant effect on Interest Buying with Brand image variables as intervening variables. Hypothesis 7 : Price has a significant effect on Interest Buying with Brand image variables as intervening variables.

Questionnaire design and distribution
This research questionnaire sets on travel agency practitioners ( PT Andalas Jaya Wisata or AJWA tour) as the research object, and the respondents fill in the Google electronic form and paper form. The survey period is from January 3 to May 3, 2023. Based on the principle of confidentiality of personal information, the questionnaires will be filled anonymously. A total of 99 questionnaires were distributed and returned, and 100% were effectively recovered.

Result and Discusssion
The results showed that the reliability and construct validity values were as follows; Based on table 1. Cronbach's Alpha value which has a value above 0.7 in the reliable category illustrates that the reliability test has met the requirements or is in the reliable category and the Average Variance Extracted value has a value above 0.5 which means the data is valid . The relationship between latent variables and their constructs and also the relationship between latent variables is shown in Figure 2 below;

Figure 2. Construct Variable Test Results
Based on the guidelines presented by Ghozali (2006), Figure 2 shows that the variables with indicators that have a loading factor value below 0.7 indicate that there is no problem with the feasibility of the data or in the reliable category. Yamin (2011) stated that in research on the development of new models or indicators, the loading factor value between 0.5 -0.6 is still acceptable. The next step is to look at the magnitude of the Collinearity Statistics (VIF), which gives an idea of whether the data has multicollinearity or not. The results of the VIF outer loading values can be seen in table 2.  The results of the path coefficient calculation based on table 3 show that; 1. Brand Image variable on Interest Buying variable has an effect because the P value is 0.000 or less than 0.05, then the relationship between these variables is said to have an effect. 2. E-WOM variable on Brand Image variable has an effect because the P value is 0.000 or less than 0.05, then the relationship between these variables is said to have an effect. 3. E-WOM variable on Interest Buying variable has not an effect because the P value is 0.071 or More than 0.05, then the relationship between these variables is said not to have an effect. 4. The price variable on Brand Image variable has an effect because the P value is 0.000 or less than 0.05, then the relationship between these variables is said to have an effect. 5. Price variable on Interest Buying variable has not an effect because the P value is 0.393 or More than 0.05, then the relationship between these variables is said not to have an effect.
The bootstrap results also produce a result table for the outer loading which describes the ability of reflection and the significance of the indicator on its variables, as shown in the outer loading value in table 4 below;  Table 4 shows the outer loading value of Bootstrapping results, which shows that each indicator has a significant influence on its variables, so it can be seen that each indicator is able to reflect the variables it forms. Figure 3 is the bootstrap result which displays the outer loading value as shown below; Bootstrapping results also show the indirect influence of Independent variables Is Electronic Service Quality, dependent Variable is Electronic Loyalty with Corporate Image and Electronic Trust as intervening variables, which can be seen in table 5 below; The results of the coefficient path calculation to see indirect influences based on table 5. It shows that; Testing the magnitude of the R-square value as a result of the goodness of fit model test is seen from the magnitude of the R-square value number, the results of running calculating endogenous construction variables of Brand Image and obtaining numbers of 0.264 or 26.4 % and on endogenous variables Interest Buying obtained by 0.349 or by 34.9 %. The figures show that the magnitude of the influence of data diversity that can be explained by the model is 34.9%, the remaining 65.1% is explained by other variables that have not been contained in the model and include errors. These results give the meaning that this research model is a relatively good model, according to Chin (1998) in Ghozali as in the criteria for PLS.

Conclusion
An increase in brand image can be built through several E-WOM indicators, namely reading online reviews of other consumers, gathering information from product reviews from consumers, consulting online, feeling worried when someone does not read online reviews before purchases and an increase in brand image after reading online reviews. the better the brand image, the greater the influence on consumer interest in buying. This means that an increase in consumer interest can be built through several brand image indicators, namely brand memory, product image, quality and uniqueness so that brand image is able to increase consumer interest in buying the products offered.
It is expected that Online Travel Agents can always provide the best prices which is one of the dominant factors in the interest in buying hotel reservations online. And it is also hoped that consumers will be more active in providing the latest quality news and reviews by downloading these comments on the online reservation service site so that it makes it easier for other consumers to search for information. For Online Travel Agents, they can help introduce the world of Online Booking to the common people by realizing the services and facilities of the use of online reservations. So it is hoped that Online Booking can become a lifestyle that can facilitate the reservation process which is easily accessible to all people and groups. For future research, this research should add other variables, such as service quality and consumer behavior which are thought to influence purchase intention. So that further research can still conduct research with the same topic but with different aspects of research.