Discovering the perceived attributes of CBT destination travelers in South Korea: A mixed method approach

Abstract

Despite the emerging significance of community-based tourism (CBT) with its sustainable advantages, little research has examined to uncover distinctive attributes, the role of destination attachment, awareness of community benefit of CBT destination, and destination loyalty in explicating post visit behavior. This study attempted to fill this gap. We harnessed both qualitative and quantitative analytic approaches, identifying 20 attributes of a CBT destination through a psychometric process. Our results verified that local foods and restaurant, natural environment and landscape, and activity and events were significantly associated with place identity and place dependence, whereas ‘customized service and service staff’ showed positive impact on the place identity. Also, the place identity and place dependence revealed positive effects on destination loyalty. In addition, awareness of community benefit of CBT played a salient moderating role in the relationship between ‘customized service and service staff’ and ‘place identity’. Our results provide meaningful insights to destination marketers.