Unveiling the Mechanism: How Smart Tourism Technology Fosters Destination Loyalty in the Chinese Context

Yi Yonghua; Suhaida Binti Mohd Amin; Ramesh A/L Krishnan

doi:10.2478/ijssis-2026-0027

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Unveiling the Mechanism: How Smart Tourism Technology Fosters Destination Loyalty in the Chinese Context

International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems

Volume 19 (2026): Issue 1 (January 2026)

By: Yi Yonghua, Suhaida Binti Mohd Amin and Ramesh A/L Krishnan

Open Access

|Aug 2026

Figures & Tables

Per capita expenditure on culture and tourism and growth rate, 2013–2023
*Source*: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, 2024.

Conceptual framework. STT, Smart Tourism Technology.

Table 1:

Sample profile

Characteristic	Category	N	Percentage (%)
Gender	Female	285	51.8
Male	265	48.2
Total		550	100.0
Age	18–25 years	126	22.9
	26–35 years	145	26.4
	36–45 years	118	21.5
46–55 years	97	17.6
Over 55 years	64	11.6
Total		550	100.0
Marital status	Single	132	24.0
	Married	126	22.9
	Widowed	131	23.8
Divorced	123	22.4
(Other/unknown)	38	6.9
Total		550	100.0
Education level	Diploma/A-level	88	16.0
	High school graduate	87	15.8
	Master’s degree	86	15.6
	Bachelor’s degree	82	14.9
Ph.D/Doctoral	73	13.3
Some college, no degree	69	12.6
Less than high school	65	11.8
Total		550	100.0

Table 2:

Measurement model

Construct	CA	AVE	CR
STT - INF	0.815	0.732	0.891
STT - ACC	0.829	0.662	0.886
STT - INTER	0.811	0.638	0.876
STT - PERS	0.820	0.650	0.881
STT - SECUR	0.734	0.653	0.849
TS	0.929	0.612	0.940
DL	0.894	0.612	0.917

[i] ACC, accessibility; AVE, average variance extracted; CA, Cronbach’s Alpha; CR, composite reliability; DL, destination loyalty; INF, informativeness; INTER, interactivity; PERS, personalization; SECUR, security; TS, tourist satisfaction.

Table 3:

Discriminant validity (HTMT ratios)

		ACC	DL	INCL	INF	INTER	PERS	SECUR
1	ACC
2	DL	0.625
3	INCL	0.309	0.385
4	INF	0.485	0.668	0.317
5	INTER	0.477	0.662	0.268	0.541
6	PERS	0.391	0.574	0.186	0.389	0.359
7	SECUR	0.465	0.668	0.230	0.480	0.526	0.423
8	TS	0.600	0.796	0.377	0.628	0.635	0.552	0.608

[i] Construct abbreviations: ACC, accessibility; DL, destination loyalty; HTMT, Heterotrait-Monotrait; INF, informativeness; INTER, interactivity; PERS, personalization; SECUR, security; TS, tourist satisfaction.

Table 4:

Summary of direct effects

Hypothesis	Path	Path coefficient	t-value	p-value	Result
H1a	INF → DL	0.090	2.682**	0.007	Supported
H1b	ACC → DL	0.102	2.791**	0.005	Supported
H1c	INTER → DL	0.084	2.426*	0.015	Supported
H1d	PERS → DL	0.087	2.824**	0.005	Supported
H1e	SECUR → DL	0.115	3.509***	0.000	Supported
H2	TS → DL	0.188	3.549***	0.001	Supported
H3a	INF → TS	0.106	2.979**	0.003	Supported
H3b	ACC → TS	0.139	3.746***	0.000	Supported
H3c	INTER → TS	0.121	3.447**	0.001	Supported
H3d	PERS → TS	0.122	3.488***	0.000	Supported
H3e	SECUR →TS	0.096	2.616**	0.009	Supported

ACC, accessibility; DL, destination loyalty; INF, informativeness; INTER, interactivity; PERS, personalization; SECUR, security; TS, tourist satisfaction.

* p < 0.05;

** p < 0.01;

*** p < 0.001.

Table 5:

Summary of mediation effects through TS

Hypothesis	Path	Direct effect	Indirect effect	Total effect	p-value	Mediation type
H4a	INF → TS → DL	0.090**	0.020*	0.110	0.020	Partial
H4b	ACC → TS → DL	0.102**	0.026*	0.128	0.024	Partial
H4c	INTER → TS → DL	0.084*	0.023*	0.107	0.011	Partial
H4d	PERS → TS → DL	0.087**	0.023*	0.110	0.013	Partial
H4e	SECUR → TS → DL	0.115***	0.018*	0.133	0.029	Partial

ACC, accessibility; DL, destination loyalty; INF, informativeness; INTER, interactivity; PERS, personalization; SECUR, security; TS, tourist satisfaction.

* p < 0.05;

** p < 0.01;

*** p < 0.001.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijssis-2026-0027 | Journal eISSN: 1178-5608

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Language: English

Submitted on: Feb 9, 2026

Published on: Aug 12, 2026

Published by: International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

Keywords:

Smart Tourism Technology,

Destination Loyalty,

Tourist Satisfaction,

Heritage Tourism,

Luoyang City

Related subjects:

Engineering,

Introductions and overviews,

Engineering, other

© 2026 Yi Yonghua, Suhaida Binti Mohd Amin, Ramesh A/L Krishnan, published by International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 19 (2026): Issue 1 (January 2026)

Unveiling the Mechanism: How Smart Tourism Technology Fosters Destination Loyalty in the Chinese Context

Figures & Tables

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Table 1:

Table 2:

Table 3:

Table 4:

Table 5:

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