Human value co-creation behavior in tourism: Insight from an Australian whale watching experience

This study explores and tests a comprehensive model of co-creation in creating value and tourist satisfaction. In addition to being the first study to empirically test the customer value co-creation behavior scale developed by Yi and Gong (2013), the present work adds to theory by revealing the importance of tourists' mental co-creation and employees' active participation in creating value and satisfaction for the customer. Factor analyses and econometric models of logit model and multivariable ordinary least squares regression are applied to a sample of 1024 whale watching tourists. The study finds that tourists' participation is more important in influencing their perceived value during the experience than their satisfaction. Employees' input is key to the experience in enhancing tourists' value and satisfaction. The main contribution of the study is the inclusion of co-creation behaviors from different human actors including tourists and employees. Opportunities for future research are outlined.     

Drivers of experience co-creation in food-and-wine tourism: An exploratory quantitative analysis

This paper aims to investigate the underlying drivers of co-creation in food-and-wine tourism experiences and, consequently, to explore how they might influence the level of tourists' active participation in related activities. An online survey was developed and sent to platforms specialised in food-and-wine related tourism experiences. A total of 243 valid responses were obtained. The hypotheses were tested using multivariate statistical analysis. The research results reveal that experience co-creation, the interaction between tourists and local residents, the interaction between tourists and frontline tourism employees, operant resources, and satisfaction influence the level of active participation in food-and-wine tourism experiences. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by proposing and testing a model that explores the drivers of co-creation in food-and-wine settings. The theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed.     

Role of constraints in Chinese calligraphic landscape experience: An extension of a leisure constraints model

The study of constraints in the leisure and tourism context has been a growing research theme during the past four decades. This article focused on participants' constraints that inhibit an experience of Chinese calligraphic landscapes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether three types of constraints existed in the context of a calligraphic landscape experience. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the fitness of the collected data for the hierarchical constraints model. This study also extended this hierarchical model to prove that some constraint dimensions do influence tourists' preference, participation and satisfaction. This research concluded that intrapersonal constraints had a negative influence on preference, while neither interpersonal nor structural dimension influenced tourists' participation or satisfaction.     

A process perspective on experience co-creation: How pre-trip involvement prompts destination loyalty

Although the existing literature has suggested that tourists' experience co-creation during or after trips benefits destination loyalty, knowledge of how pre-trip behavior impacts future behavioral intention from a process perspective is limited. To address the gaps, we develop a logic chain linking past behavior, cognition, emotion, and future behavioral intention under a stage-by-stage process of tourists' experience co-creation using the service-dominant logic of value co-creation theory and the self-consistency principle of attitude theory. Empirically, utilizing PLS-SEM and mediation analysis in a survey (n = 500) and an experiment (n = 128), we found a serial mediation pathway whereby high-degree pre-trip involvement heightened satisfaction with the co-creation of experience, which increased place identity or place dependence, and which ultimately enhanced destination loyalty. This research is the first attempt to examine the impact of past behavior on future intention for tourists’ experience co-creation from a process perspective.     

The role of co-creation experience in forming tourists' revisit intention to home-based accommodation: Extending the theory of planned behavior

This study aims to provide a theoretical framework explaining how tourists' revisit intentions to home-based accommodations are formed. It does so by inserting constructs related to co-creation experience (experiencescape, perceived value, and memorability) into the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and by considering the moderating effect of co-creation behavior. The study results (n = 413) from structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that the extended TPB has better predictive power than the original TPB. The findings also showed that all proposed paths were significant, identified the role of co-creation experience in generating intention, and verified the mediating role of study variables. Furthermore, the invariance test indicated that tourists' co-creation behavior played a moderating role between experiencescape and customers' internal factors (perceived value, memorability, and attitude). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Investigating the Structural Relationships Between Food Image,Food Satisfaction,Culinary Quality,and Behavioral Intentions: The Case of Malaysia

This study was designed to test a theoretical model determining the relationships among tourists' perceived food image, food satisfaction, culinary quality, and behavioral intentions. The structural relationships between the variables were examined by adopting a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach, and the empirical data was collected in Malaysia. Analysis of findings revealed that (a) tourists' perceived food image played a role in directly influencing food satisfaction and quality of culinary experience (culinary quality); (b) food image influenced tourists' behavioral intentions through culinary quality; (c) tourist satisfaction with their food experience directly affected perceived quality of their culinary experience and behavioral intentions; and (d) tourists' behavioral intentions were directly affected by their evaluation of culinary quality. This study concluded that food was an imperative contributor in destination tourism due to its capability in influencing tourists' perceived image, food satisfaction, culinary quality, and consequently impacting tourists' behaviors in the selection of a travel destination.     

Managing the experience co-creation process in tourism destinations: Empirical findings from Naples

The aim of this study is to investigate the main antecedents and consequences of experience co-creation in tourism. Based on an in-depth literature review, a survey was designed, and data was collected from 385 tourists visiting Naples, Italy. A path analysis revealed that the interactions among tourists and tourism service providers and the active participation of tourists are antecedents of experience co-creation in the tourism industry. Experience co-creation positively affects the satisfaction of tourists, their level of expenditures, and their happiness. Study results also revealed that the attitude of tourists of sharing their experiences with others does not influence experience co-creation. As one of the first studies in this area in the field of tourism, this study contributes to the body of knowledge by proposing and empirically testing a model that shows three antecedents and three consequences of experience co-creation in tourism.     

Satisfaction and Destination Loyalty

ABSTRACT

First-time and repeat tourists engage in different tourism experience with a destination. Based on previous studies, the main purpose of this research is to investigate how tourists' previous experience with a tourist destination influences on the satisfaction evaluation, destination loyalty and destination attractiveness. An empirical study is carried out among 806 tourists visiting Calpe, a Spanish tourist destination, in the summer of 2000. Research findings evidence that the level of satisfaction and the number of past visits considerably influence tourists' intentions to make repeat visits.     

Bringing the past to life: Co-creating tourism experiences in historic house tourist attractions

This ethnographic study concentrates on the co-creation of experiential value between the tourist and tour guide in a single historic tourism site; Huntingdon Castle, Ireland. Built upon the principles of service dominant logic, the research explores how storytelling acts as an engagement platform and value enhancing strategic resource. In doing so, it impels the value co-creation journey and shapes the tourist's experience. Observation is coupled with qualitative interviews to capture the dual perspective of both guides and tourists. Findings exhibit the co-creation process through the performance of stories; how and when people derive pleasure (value); the influencing aspects of the environment or place; and guide/tourist perspectives on how they feel and think during the experience. The research contributes by taking a practical operational view of how co-creation occurs. It goes beyond the guide's perspective and exhibits the importance of co-creation of lived experience in the story enhanced tourism experience framework.     

Image Transformation for Mazu Pilgrimage and Festival Tourism

The aim of this article is to examine image transformation among tourists in regard to Mazu pilgrimage tourism in Taiwan. The focus is on examining the transformation in organic, induced and complex image dimensions targeting tourists; this study adopts one factor within-subjects ANOVA and systematic sampling as the methodology. A total of 297 samples studied shows that tourists exhibit significant differences in relation to the formation of 33 organic, induced and complex image items of Mazu pilgrimage. A summary of differential trends shows that tourists' perception of unique images (such as the 10 major ceremonies) is enhanced with information stimulation and tourists' actual visitation. Furthermore, tourism information stimulation has a significant effect on “psychological–common–individual attribute” images.     

Reconciling unsatisfying tourism experiences: Message type effectiveness and the role of counterfactual thinking

While attracting new tourists is an important issue in destination marketing, it is also imperative to manage tourists' experience post-trip, particularly in cases of unsatisfying experiences. Yet, the questions of how to rectify unsatisfying tourism experiences received little attention in tourism scholarship. In the present research, we investigated the effectiveness of different forms of marketing messages and the role of counterfactual thinking in the ability of a marketing message to improve tourists' attitudes towards the destination and intentions to recommend, when a tourism experience was not up to tourists' satisfaction. A scenario-based experiment was conducted with 480 respondents. The results showed that user-generated messages and the messages employing emotional appeal were more impactful than destination-generated or rational messages. Respondents who engaged in downward counterfactual thinking, that is imagining the situation in which their experience could have been worse, was shown to have a greater positive effect on unsatisfied tourists.     

What Facilitates a Festival Tourist? Investigating Tourists’ Experiences at a Local Community Festival

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of festival attributes and tourism facilitators on tourist satisfaction. The results of this study show that festival attributes has a positive and significant effect on tourists' satisfaction. Data analysis also revealed a positive and a significant effect of intrapersonal facilitators and structural facilitators on tourists' satisfaction. However, interpersonal facilitators do not allow a significant impact on tourists' satisfaction in the festival context. One of the most important findings is that festival commercialization is the strongest predictor of tourists' satisfaction. Structural facilitators are regarded as of primary importance in determining the satisfaction of festival tourists. Future research is needed to investigate other important antecedents of tourists' satisfaction across other festivals or locations, and to identify the complex nature of festival tourists' satisfaction. Finally, a longitudinal approach will better elucidate the relationships between measurement variables and their antecedents.     

Tourists’ cultural competence: A cosmopolitan perspective among Asian tourists

Cultural tourism has received increasing attention. Tourists play a crucial role in constructing rewarding intercultural experiences and cultural understanding. The current study explored the concept of tourists' cultural competence from a cosmopolitan perspective and proposed a framework for understanding the mechanism of tourists' interactions with cultural experience environment. A total of 33 participants were interviewed and data were analyzed using grounded theory. Cultural openness, understanding, consciousness, and participation were identified as elements of tourists' cultural competence, which can facilitate positive cultural behavior. This research contributes to the literature of cosmopolitanism and tourists’ cultural behavior. Managerial implications for tourist management and education are also discussed.     

Sustainable Mi'kmaw cultural tourism development in Nova Scotia,Canada: examining cultural tourist and Mi'kmaw perspectives

This study assessed tourists' motivations and satisfaction in participating in authentic Mi'kmaw tourism activities in Nova Scotia, Canada, as well as the ideas, perceptions and components of sustainable cultural tourism development from the Mi'kmaw perspective. To solicit the tourists' perspective, surveys were administered to tourists visiting the existing Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sites in Nova Scotia, while the Mi'kmaw perspective was obtained through key informant interviews. The results of the survey suggest that tourists visiting the Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sites were highly educated and deeply interested in learning about culture and participating in authentic cultural experiences. Tourists were also highly satisfied with their experience and were interested in participating in aboriginal tourism again. Findings regarding the Mi'kmaw perspective indicate a focus on cultural tourism's ability to educate both tourists and the Mi'kmaw people on the Mi'kmaw culture as well as provide economic opportunities for Mi'kmaw communities. Of greater importance to the Mi'kmaw people is the preservation and protection of the Mi'kmaw culture. Conclusions drawn from the research include recommendations for the future success and sustainability of the Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sector. This study's findings may also inform other Canadian aboriginal communities seeking to develop robust and sustainable cultural tourism in their own settings.     

旅游公共服务价值共创:概念模型、驱动因素与行为过程--以杭州市社会资源国际访问点为例

与商业服务领域相似,旅游公共服务近年来也经历了由产品主导逻辑向服务主导逻辑演变的过程,由公共服务供需双方共创价值的实践现象已经出现。文章以杭州市社会资源国际访问点为案例,通过扎根理论的方法,探索性地提出旅游公共服务价值共创的概念,剖析了由政府、企业、居民、游客等不同社会主体参与的旅游公共服务价值共创现象,识别了制度保障、增权激励、信息透明、技术摄入、文化契合是实现旅游公共服务价值共创的驱动因素与前提条件。而不同主体间耦合形成的服务生态系统,其内部各要素的互动与整合是旅游公共服务价值共创实现的中介要素。此外,旅游公共服务价值共创的行为过程包括价值主张提出、共创环境营造、社会成员嵌入、社会价值共识、公共价值创造和社会影响输出。文章拓展了价值共创理论在旅游公共服务领域的应用,揭示了共创的内部机理与行为规律,为旅游目的地公共服务发展与供给模式创新提供了理论工具。     

Warfare tourism experiences and national identity: The case of Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek,the Netherlands

This paper examines through an analysis of Dutch warfare tourism whether there is a relationship between the subjective perceived salience of Dutch identity and heritage tourists' motives, emotions and overall satisfaction. Using a social identity theory framework, this study provides a view of motives for Dutch warfare heritage tourism and the ways in which this specific variant of heritage tourism evokes different emotions and satisfaction evaluations in visitors. Specifically, we found that visitors who identified strongly as ‘being Dutch’ (the ‘in-group’) have stronger self-enhancement motives compared to those who identify less strongly, and that edutainment features strongly in the museum experience. Visitors seeking initiative/recognition express feelings of disappointment suggesting that the museum's symbolic function as a place of national in-group identity could be more highlighted. We demonstrate that an affirmative and engaged experience can manifest at nationally symbolic sites through positive historical narratives and entertainment, and through ‘in-group’ self-enhancement activities.     

Exploring the influence of tourists’ happiness on revisit intention in the context of Traditional Chinese Medicine cultural tourism

Based on how tourists interpret the destination experience and on attachment theory, this study investigates the influencing mechanism of tourists' happiness on revisit intention for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) cultural tourism destinations. Three tourist samples confirm the three dimensions of tourists' happiness: positive emotions, engagement, and meaning. Two surveys were conducted to test the direct and indirect influence of tourists' happiness on revisit intention and the moderating role of tourists' health consciousness. The results show that tourists' happiness promotes memorable tourism experience and place attachment, in turn stimulating revisit intention. The results also support health consciousness as a significant moderator between happiness, place attachment, and revisit intention. The findings enrich theoretical understanding of tourists’ happiness and provide marketing and management advice for TCM cultural tourism destinations.     

Connecting tourists to musical destinations: The role of musical geographical imagination and aesthetic responses in music tourism

While the value of music in connecting tourists to destinations is recognized, its mechanism remains unclear. This study adopts aesthetic responses to explore how musical geographical imagination influences tourists' place bonding and subsequent behavioral intentions. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study: 1) elucidates the connotation and effects of musical geographical imagination integrating with aesthetics in tourism research; 2) shows that tourists' aesthetic cognitive and affective responses to musical geographical imagination strengthen place bonding, and buttresses the importance of affective responses in leveraging behavioral intentions; and 3) indicates that tourists’ responses to musical stimuli differ in direct and indirect destination experience contexts, demonstrating that musical stimulus context moderates on associations of imagination with cognitive responses, and affective responses with behaviroal intentions. This study empirically expands the imagination from individual auditory spaces to a destination and advances tourism aesthetics research; it guides using music in tourism sensory marketing and tourism soundscape design.     

Ancient poetry in contemporary Chinese tourism

Classical poetry is an important part of Chinese culture. This study explores its roles in contemporary Chinese tourism based on participant observation of tourist destinations in the Three Gorges and surrounding area along the Yangtze River and content analysis of tourism guidebooks. Classical poetry is used to guide Chinese tourists in terms of what to gaze at and how to gaze. Specifically, first, poets and their poems create historical and cultural value for a place, which forms an essential foundation for its attractiveness as an object for Chinese tourists gaze. Second, poems may be used to enhance tourists' aesthetic appreciation of a landscape along the spatial and temporal dimensions, creating transcending poetic experiences. Such influence of classical poetry exemplifies the cultural continuity in China that should be well understood and considered in contemporary tourism. Implications in tourism development and marketing, aesthetic experience creation, environmental interpretation, and literary tourism are discussed.