Relationship between childhood socio-economic status and wellness tourism intention: a combined PLS-SEM and NCA methods

Abstract

Extant studies on wellness tourism have focused on tourists’ motivations and current economic circumstances, while less attention has been given to the impact of childhood socio-economic status on wellness tourism intention. Under the theoretical lens of life history theory, this study examined the influence of tourists’ childhood socio-economic status on their wellness tourism intention via questionnaire surveys (N1 = 530, N2 = 524) using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA). The PLS-SEM result attested that tourists’ life history strategy and perceived value of wellness tourism serially mediate the relationship between their childhood socio-economic status and wellness tourism intention. The NCA results showed that the perceived value is a necessary condition for wellness tourism intention. The results provide an additional explanation to the tourists’ consumption behavior in wellness tourism, which bears practical implications for marketers and operators in this industry.