What Drives Tourists to Return? Revisiting Destination Attributes, Destination Image, and Tourist Satisfaction in Halal Culinary Tourism

Abstract

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the roles of destination attributes, destination image, and tourist satisfaction in shaping revisit intention within the context of halal culinary tourism in an urban destination. Methodology/approach – A quantitative research design was employed using a cross-sectional survey of Muslim tourists who had experienced halal culinary tourism in Bandung, Indonesia. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to evaluate the proposed relationships among destination attributes, destination image, tourist satisfaction, and revisit intention. Findings – The findings indicate that destination attributes do not have a significant direct effect on tourist satisfaction, suggesting that Islamic destination attributes function as baseline expectations rather than primary satisfaction drivers in mature urban destinations. In contrast, destination image has a strong and significant effect on tourist satisfaction, highlighting the importance of perceptual and affective evaluations related to Islamic compliance, safety, and trust. Furthermore, tourist satisfaction is found to significantly influence revisit intention, confirming its role as a key post-visit evaluative outcome in halal culinary tourism. Novelty/value – This study contributes to the halal tourism literature by demonstrating that the influence of destination attributes on tourist satisfaction is context-dependent in urban halal culinary destinations. The findings emphasize the dominant role of destination image and tourist satisfaction in explaining revisit intention, offering practical insights for destination managers and policymakers to strengthen halal culinary tourism competitiveness through image-building and experiential strategies rather than reliance on functional attributes alone.