Developing a Multidimensional Measurement Scale for Diaspora Tourists’ Motivation

Abstract

Despite its increased recognition among tourism planners and destination governments, a lacuna exists regarding the motivation of diaspora tourists travelling to a destination they regard as an ancestral homeland. Thus, in the current research, we seek to develop and validate a scale that measures the motivations of diaspora tourists. The result of a rigorous seven-stage scale development procedure generates a five-factor structure for diaspora tourists’ motivations. The scale is successfully verified through various reliability and validity tests. This multidimensional scale of diaspora tourist motivations contributes to our understanding of the nature of diaspora tourism.

Diaspora tourists' emotional experience

“…Second, the quality of the emotional experiences of love and joy in the diaspora homeland directly enhances the sense of involvement of visitors and is strongly correlated with their sense of attachment. Therefore, promoting a strong sense of these attributes (love and joy) during the diaspora events may foster social identity, which is valuable to diaspora tourists' motivation to travel (Otoo, Kim, & Choi, 2021).…”

“…The increasing research interest in diaspora tourism can be attributed to greater awareness of the social, cultural, and emotional bonding to a migrant or ancestral homeland (Huang et al, 2016; Li & McKercher, 2016a; Mathijsen, 2019; Otoo, Kim, & Choi, 2021; Weaver et al, 2017). However, little attention has been devoted to understanding the emotional experiences of diaspora travelers, despite anecdotal evidence that diaspora travel can arouse deep emotional responses related to a tragic past (Boateng et al, 2018; Otoo, Kim, & King, 2021).…”

Influence of Transnational Leisure on Diaspora Tourism among Contemporary Migrants

“…Specifically, enjoying Chinese cuisine, learning Chinese culture, and visiting interesting attractions were perceived to be the most important by diaspora tourists. Another study by Otoo, Kim, and Choi (2020) generated a five-factor scale of diaspora tourism motivation, with a focus on older African diaspora tourists. The five domains include escaping, connectedness, memorable experience, diaspora events, and spirituality, and a sense of pride and learning.…”

Motivation-based segmentation of Chinese senior travelers: The role of preferences, sociodemographic, and travel-related features

“…Varied tourist preferences, such as choice of travel mode and lodging, service choice, and choice of travel companion, are associated with tourist motivations (Kim and Prideaux, 2005; Otoo et al, 2020a; Tiago et al, 2016; Tran and Ralston, 2006). Therefore, the results imply that seniors’ travel preferences are distinctive.…”