Memorability of a previous travel experience and revisit intention: The three-way interaction of nostalgia, perceived disappointment risk and extent of change

Abstract

Memorable travel experiences are of utmost importance for tourist destinations. Despite the flourishing research on experience creation, less is known about how the memorability of a travel experience influences tourists' revisit intentions over time and what factors may affect this process. The present study fills this research gap and reveals that the memorability of a previous travel experience increases revisit intention through evoking nostalgia. This mediation is contingent upon tourists' perceived disappointment risk. The effect of nostalgia on revisit intention is suppressed when tourists perceive a high level of disappointment risk about a repeat trip. Moreover, the suppression effect of perceived disappointment risk only exists when tourists perceive a major change in the tourist destination. This study contributes to the travel and tourism literature by revealing the underlying process connecting the memorability of a travel experience with revisit intention and identifying the boundaries of this effect. This study provides valuable insights for destination practitioners in terms of designing and implementing effective strategies to manage past tourists’ expectations and promote their revisit intentions. • Memorability of an experience increases revisit intention through evoking nostalgia. • The mediation is contingent upon tourists' perceived disappointment risk. • Extent of change of a destination moderates the above effect. • The suppression effect of disappointment risk exists when there is a major change.