Memorable ethnic minority tourism experiences in China: a case study of Guangxi Zhuang Zu

ABSTRACT

Based on the memorable tourism experience theory and previous studies on ethnic minority tourism, this study attempts to extend the memorable tourism experience to its contents of ethnic minority tourism and develop the measure scales of the Memorable Ethnic Minority Tourism Experiences (MEMTE). The Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis is performed to evaluate the influences of three MEMTE dimensions (scenery, ethnic interaction, and ethnic entertainment) on the tourist overall satisfaction, Word-of-Mouth (WOM) and intention to revisit in a sample of 248 ethnic minority tourists visiting Zhuang Zu in Guangxi Autonomous Region. The results indicate that all of the three MEMTE dimensions are positively related to tourist overall satisfaction, WOM, and intention to revisit. Moreover, tourist overall satisfaction is positively related to WOM and intention to revisit. These findings enrich our understanding of ethnic minority tourism, assist destination managers in generating MEMTE, and provide directions for future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Memorable ethnic minority tourism experiences
• tourist overall satisfaction
• word-of-mouth
• intention to revisit
• Zhuang Zu

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Jose Weng Chou Wong, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and program director in the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Macau University of Science and Technology. His research interests include memorable tourism experience, value co-creation and hospitality management. His work has appeared in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Tourism Research, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change and Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research.

Professor Ivan K.W. Lai is a professor in the Faculty of International Tourism and Management at the City University of Macau. He has published research papers in various journals such as Tourism Management, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, and International Journal of Hospitality Management. His current research focuses on the research methods for hospitality and tourism studies.

Zhang Tao, PhD, is a lecturer in the School of Logistics Management & Engineering at Nanning Normal University, China. His research interests include tourism supply chain management, sustainable supply chain, and optimization of tourism operation. His work has appeared in Cluster Computing, Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, and Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society.

ORCID

Jose Weng Chou Wong http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3557-1829