Fast-disappearing destinations: the relationships among experiential authenticity, last-chance attachment and experiential relationship quality

Abstract

This paper explores the relationships among experiential authenticity, the dimensions of last-chance attachment (last-chance dependence, last-chance identity, last-chance affect and last-chance social bonding) and the dimensions of experiential relationship quality (experiential trust, experiential satisfaction and experiential loyalty). A convenience sample of 505 tourists in Malé, Banana Reef, Artificial Beach and Sun Island of the Maldives was surveyed. The results indicate (a) a positive effect of experiential authenticity on last-chance dependence, last-chance identity, last-chance affect and last-chance social bonding, respectively; (b) positive effects of last-chance dependence, last-chance identity and last-chance affect on experiential satisfaction; (c) a positive effect of experiential satisfaction on experiential trust; and (d) positive effects of both experiential trust and experiential satisfaction on experiential loyalty. The implications of this study for academics and fast-disappearing destination management are discussed.

Keywords:

• Experiential authenticity
• experiential relationship quality
• fast-disappearing destinations
• last-chance attachment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Department of Education of Guangdong Province (Grant Number 2018WTSCX214).

Notes on contributors

Hung-Che Wu

Hung-Che Wu is an Associate Professor at Business School in Nanfang College of Sun Yat-Sen University, China. He receives his PhD in marketing from Lincoln University and has published his works in Journal of Applied Economics and Business Research, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Current Issues in Tourism, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, Tourism Management, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Industrial Management & Data System, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Innovative Marketing, Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Review International, Tourism Review, Tourism Analysis, International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Tourism Planning and Development, Journal of Tourism, Hospitality & Culinary Arts, Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, Journal of Convention and Event Tourism, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Event Management, Journal of Foodservice Business Research, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, International Journal of Tourism Research, International Journal of Tourism Sciences, British Food Journal, Multimedia Tools and Applications, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, International Journal of Tourism & Hospitality Administration, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Journal of China Tourism Research, Tourism and Hospitality Research, and Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, among others. He is currently working as an editor-in-chief for Probe – Business Management, a reviewing editor for Journal of Physical Education and Sport Management, Heliyon, Journal of Hospitality Management and Tourism, and Cogent Business & Management, and the editorial board members for Journal of Business Administration Research, SCIREA Journal of Sociology, International Journal of Tourism & Hotel Business Management, New Construction Technology, JResLit Journal of Science and Technology, International Journal of Tourism & Hotel Business Management, International Journal of Business and Systems Research, Probe - Environmental and Waste Management, Probe - Business Management (OA Journal), Environments (OA Journal), Sensors (OA Journal), Foods (OA Journal), Composite Materials Research, Environment and Social Psychology, Sustainability (OA Journal), Cognitive Neuroscience Journal, Tourism Analysis, International Business Research, Journal of Tourism & Hospitality, International Journal of Business and Management, International Journal of Marketing Studies, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, Science Journal of Business and Management, and Business and Management Studies. His research interests include green marketing, hospitality management, service quality, customer satisfaction and consumer behavior. Dr. Hung-Che Wu is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: [email protected]

Ching-Chan Cheng

Ching-Chan Cheng is an Associate Professor at Department of Food and Beverage Management in Taipei University of Marine Technology, Taiwan. He receives his PhD in technology management from Chung Hua University and has published his works in Tourism Review, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Journal of China Tourism Research, British Food Journal, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, Tourism Management, Event Management, International Journal of Tourism & Hospitality Administration, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Journal of Convention and Event Tourism, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Tourism Analysis, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Tourism Review International, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Tourism Research, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting, and Current Issues in Tourism, among others. His research interests include services marketing, consumer behavior and total quality management.

Chi-Han Ai

Chi-Han Ai is an Assistant Professor at Department of International Tourism Management in Tamkang University Lanyang Campus, Taiwan. She receives her PhD in management from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Paris (French: École des hautes études en sciences sociales, EHESS). She has published her works in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Tourism Review, Tourism Management, Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Industrial Management & Data System, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Tourism Management, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Journal of China Tourism Research, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Event Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, and International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, among others. Her research interests involve tourism management, regional economic and industrial economics development in China.

Tsung-Pao Wu

Tsung-Pao Wu is a Professor at School of Accounting and Finance in Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhuhai, China. He receives his PhD in finance from Feng Chia University and has published his works in Journal of Applied Economics and Business Research, Current Issues in Tourism, Journal of China Tourism Research, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, Applied Economics, International Journal of Tourism Research, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Tourism Analysis, Applied Economics, Applied Economics Letters, Applied Financial Economics, Global Economic Review, Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting, Empirical Economics, Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies, Economic Modelling, Tourism Planning and Development, Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management, International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies, Japan and the World Economy, and International Economic Journal, among others. His research interest focuses on tourism economics.