Developing and testing a model explaining cultural consumption: the case of Mauritius

Abstract

Goal and objectives of the dissertationGoalTo develop and test a model explaining cultural consumption in an island economy.ObjectivesUsing an integrative approach, the first objective of the study is to develop a structural model to understand the factors determining the behavioural intentions of tourists to visit cultural tourism attractions by integrating the following constructs: 1) felt authenticity, 2) motivation, 3) information search behaviour, 4) destination imagery and 5) behavioural intentions to consume cultural attractions. The second objective of the study is to empirically test the interplay of relationships among these constructs in a small island economy.MethodologyData were collected (N=620) at selected cultural and natural heritage sites in Mauritius, an island with a land area of around 1860 square kilometres situated in the Western Indian Ocean, offthe South East Coast of Africa. The modelling objective impelled a preliminary first stage qualitative survey to elicit important dimensionalities of cultural behavioural intentions of tourists. A qualitative survey was conducted with 40 tourists consuming selected natural and cultural heritage sites of the island. The preliminary findings were used to develop the main survey instrument. Measurement scale items, adopted from well-established studies in literature were slightly modified in the light of the qualitative findings to fit the context of the study. A pre-test of the measurement instrument was hence deemed necessary to validate the items in the scales. The survey instrument was pre-tested on 115 cultural tourists visiting Le Gorges National Park, a renowned natural and cultural heritage site of the island. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to ensure unidimensionality and internal consistency of the constructs. The final version of the questionnaire survey design was developed and administered in English, French and German.The main phase of data collection was undertaken in the months of January, February and March 2009 involving all weathers. The structured questionnaire, designed for self-completion was administered to tourists visiting 10 selected natural and cultural heritage sites of the island. They were approached on a next person basis and the purpose of the study explained to them. Exit surveys at all sites were considered impractical. To avoid statistical bias, 20 questionnaires with missing data were eliminated (Hair, Anderson, Tathan & Black, 1998). This resulted in 600 surveys retained for the analysis with almost equal proportions of male (49.5%) and female (50.5%) respondents. More than half of the respondents were between 30 and 35; the age distribution was 26.2% (20-29), 22.8% (40-49), 10% (50-59), 9% (60+) and 2.7% (19 or younger). The vast majority were from Europe (87.2%) with France (45%) being the dominating market.ResultsStructural Equation Modelling (SEM) and Hierarchical Multiple Regression (HMR) were used to test the proposed structural model. The sample was randomly split into two halves with the first sample (N=291) used for the model estimation, and the second half (N=309) to validate the model. First, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed on the first half of the sample (N=291) to determine the underlying factors of each of the measurement scales. Confirmatory factor analysis was further employed to produce empirical evidence of construct validity. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between felt authenticity and cultural behavioural intentions of tourists. This confirmed the centrality of the concept of authenticity and its significant role in its function in destinations as a determinant of tourists' cultural behavioural intentions. Another key finding was the moderating effect of felt authenticity on the respective relationships between motivation, information search behaviour, destination imagery and cultural behavioural intentions of tourists. …