What drives pilgrims' experiential supportive intentions and desires towards religious destinations?

Abstract

This study examines the role of pilgrim's experiential risk, experiential motivation, and experiential loyalty towards the experiential relationship quality, supportive intentions, and desires at religious destinations. For Study 1, data were collected from 374 pilgrims (Sikh community) who visited Pakistan during their religious event (Vaisakhi). For Study 2, data were collected from 381 pilgrims (Malaysian Chinese) who visited Chinese temples in Kedah, Malaysia. PLS-SEM is employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that experiential risk, motivation, and loyalty significantly impact experiential relationship quality, experiential supportive intentions, and experiential desire. Moreover, experiential relationship quality also plays a pivotal role in increasing the pilgrims` experiential supportive intentions and desires to visit the pilgrimage destination. This study contributes to the existing literature and will be helpful for the tourism authorities to reduce the consumer's experiential risk and enhance their loyalty and intention towards the holy destinations.