Nostalgic tourists acquiring resilience and emotional solidarity through self-congruity and functional congruity

Abstract

From the perspective of stimulus–organism–response theory (S-O-R), this study explores whether self-congruity and functional congruity cause tourists to form positive nostalgic emotions toward heritage destinations and whether the nostalgic emotions elicited by tourists’ experiences at heritage destinations promote their physical and mental health resilience, as well as their emotional solidarity with local residents. Data were collected from Daxi Old Street, Lukang Old Street, and Anping Old Street, located in northern, central, and southern Taiwan, respectively. A total of 959 respondents were collected. The research results reveal that self-congruity and functional congruity positively impact tourists’ nostalgic emotions in heritage destinations. Product involvement does not moderate self-congruity's effect on nostalgia, but it does moderate functional congruity's impact. The study also supports the positive influence of nostalgic emotions on both tourist resilience and emotional solidarity in heritage tourism. These findings are crucial for governments and stakeholders planning and managing heritage tourist destinations.