The Effects of Visit Status on Guests’ Attitudes and Visit Intentions in the Theme Park Context

ABSTRACT

The need for status has been recognized as a significant consumer motive. Although the literature discusses the main antecedents of guests’ attitudes and behavioral intentions, the phenomenon of status-seeking in the theme park context has not received enough empirical attention. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic altered guests’ attitudes, and safety-related procedures became the most important antecedents of attitudes and behavioral intentions. This study aims to explore the effects of the perceived status of the visit and safety measures undertaken by theme parks on guests’ attitudes and visit intentions by using experimental design. The results indicate that the perceived status of the visit positively influences guests’ attitudes and visit intentions, while safety measures undertaken by theme parks have significant effects on guests’ perceptions.

KEYWORDS:

• Need for status
• theme parks
• conspicuous consumption
• safety measures
• behavioral intentions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).