Tourist satisfaction, willingness to revisit and recommend, and mountain Kangyang tourism spots sustainability: A structural equation modelling approach

Abstract

The rapid development of society and economy has imposed insurmountable pressure on the urban population, and many people suffer from sub-health conditions. Kangyang tourism (KT), which combines the concepts of health preservation, ecological resources, and tourism activities, has developed rapidly in China since the concept was first introduced. Although previous studies have examined the relationship among experience, satisfaction, and intention, there is a lack of study of experience value’s impact on Mountain Kangyang Tourim Spots’ Sustainability, that is, willingness to revisit and recommend to other potential tourists. Consequently, an “experience value (functional value, contextual value, emotional value, cognitive value, economic value), satisfaction and post-trip willingness to revisit and recommend” framework is suggested to examine mountain Kangyang tourism (MKT). Data were collected from 500 tourists after visiting five well-known MKT destinations in Panzhihua city. Using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, the results suggest that tourist satisfaction plays an important role in experience value as well as willingness to revisit and recommend the MKT spots after their revisits. Our research offers some practical suggestions for MKT destination operators when they design and provide MKT destinations. The results would be useful for governments and non-profit organizations which attempt to promote MKT.