Exploring factors determining the attractiveness of railway tourism

ABSTRACT

This study explored experts' opinions on the determinants of railway tourism attractiveness (RTA). The results showed the provision of heritage railway attractions, both on-board and off-board, constitutes an essential and important component of railway tourism experience, whereas the smoothness and comfort of a rail journey play a supporting role in enhancing RTA. It is concluded that Taiwan has long history with railroads and the historical values connected to rail infrastructure represent a unique part of railway tourism experience. The integration of those assets would diversify its tourism offerings and enhance its profile as one of Asia's leading tourism destinations.

KEYWORDS:

• Taiwan
• railway tourism
• destination attractiveness
• analytical hierarchy process

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cheng-Fei Lee

Cheng-Fei Lee is an associate professor in the Department of Marketing Management at Shih Chien University, Kaohsiung Campus, Taiwan. Her research interests include special interest tourism, destination marketing and management, and tourist behavior. Address: Shih Chien University, Kaoshiung Campus, No. 200 University Road, Neimen, Kaohsiung 84550, Taiwan, ROC. Email: [email protected]

Kuan-Yang Chen

Kuan-Yang Chen is an assistant professor of Department of Tourism and Leisure, Lunghwa University of Science and Technology. His research focuses on the marketing strategy, relationship marketing, and tourism marketing. In addition to some international conference papers, his work has appeared in the Tourism Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Customer Satisfaction, Journal of the Chinese Institute of Transportation, and Journal of Outdoor Recreation Study. Address: Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, No. 300, Sec. 1, Wanshou Rd, Guishan District, Taoyuan City, 33306, Taiwan, ROC. Email: [email protected]