Exploring the Effect of Tour Guide Cultural Interpretation on Tourists’ Loyalty in the Context of the Southern Journey by Emperor Qianlong

Lei Shi, Jing-Yan Ma and Chul-Ok Ann ()
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Lei Shi: Department of Global Business Start-Up, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Republic of Korea
Jing-Yan Ma: Department of Supply Chain and Logistics, College of Social Sciences, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Republic of Korea
Chul-Ok Ann: Department of Global Business Start-Up, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Republic of Korea

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-19

Abstract: The southern journey by Emperor Qianlong left behind a wealth of cultural resources in the Jiangnan region. While elucidating the intricate facets of these diverse cultures, the tour guide adeptly fulfills the elevated cultural expectations of the tourists. This, in turn, fosters a deeper sense of attachment and loyalty towards the destination among the tourists. This study investigates the influencing mechanism of tour guide cultural interpretation (TCI) on tourists’ loyalty in the context of the southern tour by Emperor Qianlong. The research was conducted with 416 tourists from tour groups visiting Huishan Ancient Town Scenic Area. The results show that TCI has a direct effect on revisit intention (RI) and has an indirect effect on intention to recommend (IR); both memorable tourism experience (MTE) and place attachment (PA) mediate and serially mediate the association between TCI and tourists’ loyalty. The findings enrich the research on the relationship between tour guides’ interpretation and tourists’ loyalty by including MTE and PA as mediating variables.

Keywords: tour guide cultural interpretation; memorable tourism experience; place attachment; tourists’ loyalty; southern journey by Emperor Qianlong (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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