ABSTRACT The crowding issue is making a comeback, with many destinations once again contending with this phenomenon. The study theorised a research model, grounded in cognitive appraisal theory, to examine how perceived crowding impacts tourists’ revisit intention through the mediating roles of tourism fatigue and psychological reactance. Two empirical studies employing two-wave cross-sectional data from various types of destinations were conducted to validate the proposed model. The findings indicate that while the negative impact of perceived crowding on revisit intention mediated by tourism fatigue diminishes over time, its adverse effect persists through psychological reactance. Furthermore, the results identify a full serial mediation effect, with tourism fatigue and psychological reactance linking perceived crowding to revisit intentions across diverse tourism contexts. Additionally, differences in these effects were observed between spatial and human crowding across specific tourism contexts, such as museums and recreational streets. These findings not only contribute to unravelling the intricate mechanisms underlying perceived crowding and revisit intention but also offer valuable insights for sustainable development of tourism destinations grappling with crowding issues.
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