Spa tourism: understanding the relationship of tourist`s emotional experience, destination image, satisfaction, and intention to recommend using an integrated model

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study intends to investigate a theoretical model looking at how particular tourist emotions, such as “joy,” “love,” and “positive surprise,” might predict their behaviour by looking at how satisfied they are with their whole experience when visiting spas, and to examine the interplay of emotional experience, destination image, satisfaction, and intention to recommend for spa tourism. The structural model was analyzed using SEM, and the path coefficients were examined to test the hypotheses. The results supported the hypotheses, indicating that specific emotions, images of the destination, and satisfaction significantly impacted tourists’ intentions to recommend Alleppey as a spa tourism destination. The study of an emotion-behaviour model of visitors participating in wellness spa tourism contributes to the field. Strong evidence is shown in this study to support the idea that behavioural intentions are directly influenced by satisfaction. Managers of tourist destinations should be aware of how essential satisfaction is in motivating visitors’ behavioural intentions. According to the literature study, and the authors` knowledge, only a limited number of studies look at spa tourism from a wellness perspective. Additionally, Alleppey is used in the study as the study's setting, providing insight into the visitor experiences of this expanding spa tourism business.