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Understanding Memorable Tourism Experience: Long-Term Memory System and Revisit Intention Cover

Understanding Memorable Tourism Experience: Long-Term Memory System and Revisit Intention

European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation
Volume 13 (2023): Issue 2 (December 2023)
By: Danni Wang,  Adrienne Tingyao Liu and  Catherine Cheung  
Open Access
|Jan 2024

Figures & Tables

Figure 1:

Research Methodology
Research Methodology

Figure 2:

Retrieval of MTEs by the Long-Term Memory System (Modified from Tung et al., 2017)
Retrieval of MTEs by the Long-Term Memory System (Modified from Tung et al., 2017)

j_ejthr-2023-0011_apptab_002

Theme I: Attraction and Atmosphere Impressiveness

  • Destinations: Lake District, London, Penzance, Highlands, Cotswolds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, York, Cornwall, Weymouth, Grassholm, Bristol, Swansea, etc.

  • Features: forest, lake, stone city, architecture, beach, museum, castle, cathedral, exhibition, animal farm, festival, fireworks, sea, sky, etc.

  • Memorable Scenes: Rainy day in the Highlands, Ancient and traditional architecture in Edinburgh, Llama farm near Sheffield, Interior design of York Cathedral, Stone houses in Cotswolds, etc.

  • Emotions: fresh, clean, rural, unique, historical, distinctive, novel, sunny, traditional, typical, quiet, isolated, beautiful, blue, rainy, modern, aged, windy, lively, indulged, exotic, decent, touristy, niche, diverse, similar, disappointed, etc.

Theme II: Activities and Events Engagement

  • Christmas market

  • Christmas service in the cathedral

  • Football match

  • Balloon festival

  • New Year fireworks

  • Sunset with white houses

  • British afternoon tea (British Museum and library-themed cafe)

  • British food (black pudding, Yorkshire pudding, etc.)

  • Cycling by the beach in Swansea

  • Lodging inside the Lake District

  • Countless collections in the British Museum

  • Emotions: meaningful, free, romantic, lazy, surprised, amazed, unforgettable, easy life, slow, expensive, cheap, tasteless, boring, interesting, self-beneficial, exclusive, special, rare, extraordinary, vivid, long-lasting, grand, rocked, thrilled, etc.

Theme III: Relationship and Friendship Development

  • Communication with the local people

  • Travel with unfamiliar people

  • Cooking at Airbnb with travel partners

  • Happy moments with friends

  • Walking long distances with luggage and girlfriend

  • Family traveling together

  • Dinner with Airbnb host

  • Lifestyles of local people

  • Emotions: happy, connected, friendly, tired, stress relief, relaxed, full rest, away from normal life, relieved, warm, comfortable, valuable, familiar, closer, etc.

Revisit Intention to MTE Destinations (Binary Logit Model)

Independent variablesRevisit intention to MTE destinations (n = 151)VIF
Constant1.105**
MTE factors (odds ratio)
Relationship and Friendship Development0.77* (1.464)1.158
Attraction and Atmospheric Impressiveness−0.017ns (0.983)1.027
Activity and Event Participation0.094ns (1.099)1.021
Recollection and Vividness of Experience0.442** (1.556)1.060
Demographic and travel characteristics (odds ratio)
Male0.339ns (1.404)1.072
Length of MTE trip0.160** (1.173)1.023
Frequent travellers (once a week during the study time)−1.444* (0.236)1.047
Experienced COVID-19 pandemic when studying in the UK0.626ns (0.535)1.188
26 to 30 years old−0.551ns (0.576)1.199
−2 log likelihood (full model)148.366
Nagelkerke’s pseudo-R-square0.163
Chi-square18.531**

j_ejthr-2023-0011_apptab_001

CharacteristicFrequency
Gender
  Male8
  Female15
Age
  20–259
  26–3011
  31–353
Occupation
  Full-Time Work17
  Others6
Current Marital Status
  Single16
  Married6
  Unrevealed1
Level of Program attended (Cumulative)
  High School and Foundation3
  Undergraduate9
  Postgraduate23
Average Year of Study in the UK2.6
Average Year after leaving the UK2.3

Participant Profile (n=184)

Demographic CharacteristicsFrequency%
Age
  18–2010.5
  21–253820.7
  26–308847.8
  31–354625.0
  36–4052.7
  41–4563.3
Gender
  Female12567.9
  Male5932.1
Marital Status
  Single11763.6
  Married without child(ren)2815.2
  Married with child(ren)3519.0
  Divorced42.2
Occupational Status
  Full-time employment16489.1
  Study105.4
  Unemployed105.4
Travel Frequency During Study Time
  Once a week84.3
  Once every 2 to 3 weeks3016.3
  Once a month4021.7
  Once every 2 to 3 months6133.2
  Once every 4 to 6 months2915.8
  Once every 6 to 12 months116.0
  Once a year or more than a Year52.7
Length of the MTE trip (n = 176 with 8 missing values)
  Weekend trips (3 days or less)6637.5
  Short trips (4–7 days inclusive)8347.2
  Vacations (8–15 days inclusive)2011.4
  Longer period leave (more than 15 days)74.0
Travel companion of MTE trip(s)
  Solo168.7
  With partners179.2
  With family members94.9
  With friends8345.1
  With schoolmates5932.1

Factor Development by Principal Component Analysis (n=184)

MTE FactorsFactor Loadings
Factor 1Factor 2Factor 3Factor 4
Relationship and Friendship Development
I enjoyed the trip very much because I was with a wonderful group of travellers. c0.873
The trip enhanced my existing bonds with my travel companions. c0.851
I highly enjoyed the comradeship amongst my travel companions during the trip. c0.814
It was an unforgettable trip for my travel companions and I. a0.801
I met friendly people during the trip. a0.770
I always mention this trip with my travel companions until now. a0.665
I made friends with my travel companions or other people in this trip. a0.634
Attraction and Atmospheric Impressiveness
I learned a lot about the UK from what I saw on this trip. a 0.776
I saw awe-inspiring landscapes. b 0.772
The destination(s) had typical British features. a 0.756
The destination(s) had unique characteristics, which I could not find in other places. a 0.700
I visited the places where I wanted to go. c 0.619
The destination(s) was safe and clean. a 0.618
Activity and Event Participation
I attended interesting and special events in the destination(s). b 0.802
I closely experienced actual local cultures from the activities.c 0.777
I attended activities that I cannot usually participate in in my mundane life. b 0.762
I could immerse myself in local festivals and other cultural ceremonies. c 0.722
I engage in activities that I wanted to do. c 0.615
Recollection and Vividness of Experience
I still remembered the scenario of that event or activity I went to. a 0.820
The event or activity I attended provided me various emotions and memories. a 0.735
The event or activity was meaningful to me. a 0.719
The event I attended was an unforgettable experience. a 0.686
The event or activity was exclusive to the destination(s). a 0.672
Eigenvalue9.1923.1331.9651.109
% variance explained20.26316.48615.29514.909
Cronbach’s alpha0.9050.8480.8790.882
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ejthr-2023-0011 | Journal eISSN: 2182-4924 | Journal ISSN: 2182-4916
Journal RSS Feed
Language: English
Page range: 125 - 141
Submitted on: Jun 7, 2023
Accepted on: Aug 16, 2023
Published on: Jan 31, 2024
Published by: Polytechnic Institute of Leiria
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 2 issues per year
Keywords:
Memorable tourism experience,
Attraction and atmospheric impressiveness,
Activity and event engagement,
Relationship and friendship development,
Recollection and vividness of experience,
Alumni tourists
Related subjects:
Business and economics,
Business management,
Business management, other,
Industries,
Tourism, hospitality, travel,
Event industry, leisure industry,
Sports and recreation,
Sports and recreation, other

© 2024 Danni Wang, Adrienne Tingyao Liu, Catherine Cheung, published by Polytechnic Institute of Leiria
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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