| Author: | Huang, Songshan Sam |
| Title: | The effects of motivation, past experience, perceived constraint, and attitude on tourist revisit intention |
| Degree: | Ph.D. |
| Year: | 2007 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations. Tourism -- China -- Hong Kong -- Marketing. Tourism -- Psychological aspects. |
| Department: | School of Hotel and Tourism Management |
| Pages: | xviii, 354 p. : ill. ; 31 cm. |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding tourist revisit behavior in the context of mainland Chinese travelers to Hong Kong as the destination. The study investigated the effects of motivation, past experience, perceived constraint, and attitude on revisit intention by employing structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis on data collected from mainland Chinese who had visited Hong Kong in the past. Based on a comprehensive literature review, the main research constructs selected to form the theoretical framework of the study were tourist motivation, past tiavel experience, perceived constraint, attitude, and revisit intention. In the proposed model, tourist motivation, past travel experience, and perceived constraint were designated exogenous variables, while attitude and revisit intention were endogenous variables. Based on the literature, past travel experience was operationalized to include 2 constructs: overall satisfaction based on past travel experience, and past visitation measured by the number of past visits. Following SEM principles, it was hypothesized that each exogenous variable may have direct or indirect effects on the endogenous variables, but that only free correlations exist among the exogenous variables: causal relationships do not. After a thorough analysis of past studies, interrelationships among the research constructs in this study were hypothesized as follows: (1) motivation has a direct effect on both attitude and revisit intention; (2) past travel experience has a direct effect on both attitude and revisit intention; (3) perceived constraint has a direct effect on revisit intention; (4) while influenced by motivation and past travel experience, attitude has an effect on revisit intention, thereby playing a mediating role between motivation and past experience as exogenous variables and revisit intention as an endogenous variable. That is, because attitude impacts revisit intention and is concurrently influenced by motivation and past experience, motivation and past experience not only have direct effects on revisit intention, but also have indirect effects on revisit intention through their direct influences on attitude. A telephone survey was conducted to collect data from residents of Beijing, resulting in a total of 501 usable cases. The resulting data were analyzed using SPSS and LISREL. In the context of this study, travel motivation was found to have 4 underlying factors: Novelty, Knowledge, Relaxation, and Shopping. Perceived constraint was found to have 3 underlying factors: Structural, Interpersonal, and Disinterest Constraints. Satisfaction, attitude, and revisit intention were confirmed to be unidimensional. Parameters adapted from past studies were reliable indicators of their respective constructs. According to the results of this study, the structural relations can be described as the following: (1) novelty had a positive effect (.26) on attitude, but its effect on revisit intention was insignificant; (2) knowledge did not have an influence on either attitude or revisit intention; (3) relaxation had a positive effect (.25) on attitude, but its effect on revisit intention was insignificant; (4) although shopping did not significantly affect attitude, it did have a positive effect on revisit intention (.17); (5) past visitation, as measured by the number of past visits, did not influence attitude, but its effect on revisit intention (.20) was significant; (6) satisfaction during past travel had a positive effect on both attitude and revisit intention, with the effect on attitude (.42) being much stronger than that on revisit intention (.23); (7) neither the structural nor the interpersonal constraints dimension had a significant effect on revisit intention; (8) disinterest had a very strong negative effect (-0.57) on revisit intention; and (9) attitude was found to have a positive effect (.17) on revisit intention, thereby playing mediating roles among motivation, past travel experience, and revisit intention. The results showed that the squared multiple correlations (R2) associated with the 2 endogenous variables, attitude and revisit intention, were .48 and .59 respectively. Thus, the final structural model could explain 48% of the variance in attitude and 59% of the variance in revisit intention. The statistical power of the model as a predictor of tourist intention was high. The study contributed to the advancement of tourism inquiry in a number of important ways. Firstly, it provided a tenable model for understanding tourists' revisit behavior to a destination. Secondly, it enhanced the understanding of tourist motivation - an important concept in tourism research - by incorporating tourist motivation into a comprehensive framework in order to explain its influence on travel intention. Thirdly, it identified the role of perceived constraint in tourist behavior. In this study, perceived constraint was integrated into the proposed model as a determinant of revisit intention. By investigating the effect of perceived constraint on revisit intention, the study enhanced the theoretical base of constraint research in tourism. Fourthly, the results of the study have important implications for industry practitioners. The revisit intention of mainland Chinese travelers should be a major concern of Hong Kong tourism marketing organizations. This study yielded critical information and insights that will enable Hong Kong tourism marketers and developers to launch effective marketing strategies and develop tourism products of appeal to mainland Chinese repeat visitors. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | open access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b20940348.pdf | For All Users | 5.75 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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