From Creativity to Commitment: The Role of Cultural Attachment in Tourist Revisit Intention

Abstract

This study examines how creative travel experiences (CTEs) and cultural attachment (CA) influence place attachment (PA) and revisit intention (RI) within creative tourism. It develops a novel framework for understanding emotional connections in tourism by conceptualizing CTEs as immersive and distinguishing CA separately from PA. Data were collected from 601 domestic tourists at creative tourism destinations in Thailand using structured surveys and analyzed through structural equation modeling with AMOS software. Findings reveal that CTEs significantly enhance CA by fostering emotional bonds through deep cultural participation. CA mediates the relationship between CTEs, PA, and RI, demonstrating that cultural engagement has a stronger influence on visitor loyalty than physical site attachment. However, the direct effects of creative experiences on place attachment remain weak. Overall, the findings underscore the primacy of cultural immersion in fostering visitor loyalty and broaden place-attachment theory by identifying CA as a separate, influential framework, offering both scholarly insight and practical guidance for managing creative destinations.

Keywords

• creative tourism
• travel experience
• cultural attachment
• place attachment
• revisit intention

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