Assessing Visitors’ Memorable Tourism Experiences (MTEs) in Forest Recreation Destination: A Case Study in Xitou Nature Education Area

Abstract

Providing memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) plays a crucial role in determining the competitiveness and sustainability of a destination for not only the business sector, but also the environment. Therefore, destination managers face a challenge in identifying, facilitating, and maintaining memorable tourism experiences among visitors. Although MTEs have been increasingly studied, research of the effects of MTEs on word-of-mouth and revisit behavior intentions is still at an early stage of development, particularly in the forest recreation context. The objectives of this study were twofold: To assess visitors’ MTEs in a selected forest recreation destination and to examine the effects of MTEs on word-of-mouth and revisit intentions. This study identified key memorable experiences of visitors in Xitou Nature Education Area (XNEA), Taiwan (R.O.C.), and examined the relevant relationships among MTEs and behavioral intentions. The results revealed that both refreshment and involvement experiences received the highest scores from the respondents, whereas perceived local culture received the lowest score. Refreshment, local culture, and involvement positively influenced the word-of-mouth intention of visitors. Additionally, hedonism, local culture, and involvement significantly positively influenced the revisit intention of visitors. This study provides additional insights into MTEs in nature-based tourism. The study results underline the importance of MTEs in forest recreation destinations that can encourage more word-of-mouth and revisit intentions of tourists.

Gastronomy tourism experiences: the cooking classes of Cinque Terre

“…Participating in tourism activities is one of the ways by which individuals seek meaning about life and experiences that give them a sense of physical, emotional or spiritual fulfilment (Yu et al, 2019). Meaningful experiences are sought by tourists as an inner journey of personal growth and development, self-discovery and inner transformation (Sheldon, 2020).…”

“…Novelty indicates unique, never-before, once lifetime and new experiences (Kim et al, 2012). Such experiences are remembered and recalled more than ordinary familiar experience (Yu et al, 2019). The opportunity to sample novel foods is a major reason why tourists engage in gastronomy.…”

“…Refreshment means a break from everyday mundane activities and is one of the key motivations in tourism (Sthapit & Coudounaris, 2018). A refreshing holiday is engaging and emotionally intense, and helps the individual feel relaxed, recharged and escape from the boredom of daily life (Yu et al, 2019). As Kim et al (2012) note, it is an enduring aspect of a holiday that makes the experience unforgettable.…”

Effects of memorable tourism experience on tourist’s satisfaction and revisiting

“…Some found that memorable travel experiences play a crucial role in increasing tourist satisfaction and tourist loyalty (Azis, Amin, Chan & Aprilia, 2020). These suggest that the MTE implicitly stems from a satisfying psychological status, and the positively affective nature of such experience has been proved to have impacts on revisiting (Yu, Chang & Ramanpong, 2019). Along with widely reported acceptable reliability and validity of the MTE construct and associated instrument, it had been widely adopted in exploring tourist behavior that is associated with satisfaction and behavioral intentions (Kim & Ritchie, 2014;Chandralal et al, 2015;Zhang, Wu & Buhalis, 2018;Yu et al, 2019).…”

Những Giá Trị Tác Động Đến Trải Nghiệm Du Lịch Đáng Nhớ Của Du Khách Về Danh Thắng Ngũ Hành Sơn, Thành Phố Đà Nẵng

“…Trong nghiên cứu này, tác giả kế thừa thang đo trải nghiệm đáng nhớ của Kim et al (2012) bởi 07 thành phần đo lường đã được nhiều nhà nghiên cứu sử dụng ở các bối cảnh khác nhau và đã chứng minh được sự phù hợp của thang đo qua các kết quả nghiên cứu [10]- [15]. Cụ thể các thành phần được hiểu như sau: Sự hưởng thụ là những cảm giác thú vị đem lại sự hứng thú cho du khách; sự mới lạ là cảm giác mới mẻ từ những trải nghiệm mới; văn hóa bản địa là sự tương tác xã hội giữa du khách và người dân địa phương; sự thư giãn là một trạng thái được làm mới, được tiếp thêm sức sống; sự ý nghĩa là cảm giác về vai trò và giá trị; sự tham gia là mức độ tham gia của du khách trong hoạt động du lịch; kiến thức là những thông tin, sự kiện hoặc kinh nghiệm mà du khách nhận được.…”