Why Return? Birdwatching Tourists’ Revisit Intentions Based on Structural Equation Modelling

Abstract

Birdwatching tourism is a model of ecotourism that is beneficial to the sustainable development of developing regions and is growing rapidly in China. In order to explore the development path of birdwatching tourism, this study constructs and tests a model of revisit intention from the birdwatching tourists’ perspective and aims to understand the factors influencing tourists’ revisit intention for birdwatching destinations. The researchers collected 328 valid questionnaires from birdwatching tourists in Mingxi County, Fujian Province, China, and used structural equation modelling to validate the relationships among the study constructs. Cognitive image had the largest influence on revisit intent (0.219), followed by tourist satisfaction (0.172), and perceived image (0.155). Tourist motivation indirectly affects revisit intention through the full mediating effect of the cognitive image. This study provides some insights and references for policymakers and tourism project managers to design or adjust the construction plan of birdwatching-tourism sites.