Understanding golf tourists' memorable tourism experiences emphasizing the double mediating effects and moderating effects: the case of East Asia

Abstract

PurposeAlthough much of the research has examined the positive relationship between memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) and tourist satisfaction, little research has attempted to analyze the double mediating effects of cognitive and affective responses and the moderating effects of tourism motivation on the relationship. To address these gaps, this study developed a theoretical framework including MTEs, cognitive response, affective response, tourism motivation and tourist satisfaction with golf tourism using a stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory.Design/methodology/approachThe author collected data from domestic and international tourists that attended amateur golf tournaments for non-commercial purposes as amateur athletes in Jeju and Gunsan, South Korea, in 2022. Construct validity of the measurement scale was verified by confirmatory factor analysis, factor loadings, average variance extracted and construct reliability. The reliability of the measurement scale was verified by Cronbach's analysis. The current study utilizes structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation to analyze the positive relationships and double mediating effects. Jamovi statistical software was also used to conduct a moderation analysis.FindingsThe findings displayed the significant impacts of MTEs on cognitive response, affective response, and tourist satisfaction, and the positive impacts of cognitive response and affective response on tourist satisfaction. Moreover, cognitive and affective responses were found to partially mediate the aforementioned relationships and golf tourism motivation moderated the aforementioned paths.Originality/valueThe current study shows that there is a double mediating role of the cognitive and affective responses and moderating role of tourism motivation on the relationship between MTEs and tourist satisfaction and explores golf tourists who participate in an amateur golf tournament for non-commercial purposes as amateur athletes, which has largely been ignored in golf tourism research.