"To be Japanese for a Day": The Influence of Colonial Nostalgia in Taiwanese Seniors' Travel Decision-Making Behavior

Abstract

Tourism scholars have studied the phenomenon of senior travelers' decision-making behavior. However, few studies have paid attention to the role of colonial nostalgia in senior travelers' decision-making behavior. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the importance of colonial nostalgia in senior travelers' decision-making behavior in hot springs tourism in Taiwan. The findings revealed that colonial nostalgia is indeed one of the major reasons for Taiwanese senior travelers to visit Japanese-style hot springs. Taiwanese senior travelers' fascination for Japanese-style hot springs suggested their nostalgia for the Japanese colonial period. Interestingly, the study partially implied that generally reported antipathy of Mainland Chinese towards Japan does not apply to Taiwanese, or the feeling is even opposite. The study highlighted the unique characteristics of Taiwanese holidaying in Japanese-style hot springs as cultural practices and as a total experience of the foreign culture without actually visiting the destination. Hence, future efforts to understand senior travelers' decision-making behavior should consider the importance of colonial nostalgia.

African diaspora tourism - How motivations shape experiences

“…Tourists who seek memorable experiences tend to view destination attributes positively (Kim, 2018;Prayag et al, 2017). Diaspora tourism brings memorable feelings or a second-hand sentiment of colonial nostalgia (Bandyopadhyay et al, 2008).…”

“…Diaspora tourism is connected with various domains including: migration (Cohen, 2011;Hughes & Allen, 2010), genealogy (Santos & Yan, 2010), past dark events (Bandyopadhyay, Lin, & Lin, 2008;Yankholmesa, Akyeampongb & Dei, 2009), and in/justice tourism (Higgins-Desbiolles et al, 2019). Diaspora tourism also provides a generic term for travel to an ancestral homeland (Coles & Timothy, 2004;Huang et al, 2016;Iorio & Corsale, 2013;Murdy, Alexander, & Bryce, 2018).…”

“…Tourism managers and marketers can also promote a sense of place bonding towards destinations and their people. Travel to an ancestral homeland is an emotional journey that may concern a dark history (Bandyopadhyay et al, 2008). In the case of the transatlantic slave trade the preservation of historical resources will require government financial support.…”

“…Explaining the interactions between pre-travel, in situ, and post experience evaluations, suggests that diaspora tourists can provide a vehicle to alleviate the prevalent "us against them" exclusionary attitudes between members of the diaspora and residents (Yankholmes & Timothy, 2017). Other researchers have noted that diaspora tourism provides a potential link between the past and the future (Bandyopadhyay et al, 2008;Boukhris, 2017). In this context, diaspora tourism offers a potential niche for understanding and preserving heritage and identity as well as contributing to sustainable tourism (Coles & Timothy, 2004;Yankholmes & McKercher, 2015).…”