Journal of Tourism and Development

Journal of Tourism and Development

Explaining the effectiveness of memorable experiences from rural tourism destinations on the future behavioral intentions of tourists (case study: rural destinations of Mashhad, Neyshabur and Torghabe Shandiz counties)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
zahra Soleymani 1
Hamdollah Sojasi qeidari 2
Hamid Shayan 3
Siamak Seyfi 4
1 Ph.D. Candidate; Department of Geography, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad; Iran
2 Associate Professor; Department of Geography, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad; Iran
3 Professor; Department of Geography, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad; Iran
4 Assistant Professor, Geography Research Unit, University of Oulu, Finland
10.22034/jtd.2024.435135.2882
Abstract
Enhancing the positive and memorable experiences of tourists is considered as a competitive advantage in the contemporary tourism market. For this reason, memorable tourism experiences are essential for destination competitiveness; Because these experiences potentially affect the customer's decision and choice of future destination. The current research is applied research in terms of its purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of data collection. In order to collect data, both the library method using documents and the field method through questionnaires have been used. 384 questionnaires were completed by tourists who had traveled to the tourist villages of Mashhad, Neyshabur and Torghabeh-Shandiz counties. According to the results obtained from the structural equation model, the memorable experiences of tourists from rural destinations have a 61% effect on the behavioral intentions of tourists, i.e., loyalty and place attachment. memorable experiences of learning and uniqueness, new taste and experience of nostalgic feeling are the most influential in place loyalty and attachment. In general, it can be said that one of the most important effects of providing memorable experiences to tourists is their impact on the behavioral intentions and future decisions of tourists, which consequently leads to the sustainability and expansion of the rural tourism industry.
Keywords
memorable experiences
tourism destinations
behavioral intentions
rural destinations

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