Antecedents of memorable heritage tourism experiences: an application of stimuli–organism–response theory

Abstract

Purpose: Based on stimulus-organism-response theory, this study develops and tests a model of memorable heritage tourism experiences. The model proposes that experiencescape, experience co-creation, education and photography are important antecedents of memorable heritage tourism experiences, which is then a driver of place attachment.Design/methodology/approach: Data for this study were collected using a web-based questionnaire of people aged 18 years and over who had a heritage tourism experience during the previous three months (February–April 2023). The survey was distributed in May 2023 using Amazon Mechanical Turk. A survey link was posted on MTurk, which remained active for the first week of May 2023. Out of the 283 responses received, 272 were valid responses from individuals who met the participation criteria.Findings: Experiencescape, experience co-creation, education and photography were found to be positive drivers of the memorable heritage tourism experience, with a positive relationship between memorable heritage tourism experience and place attachment. Originality: Many studies linked to memorable tourism experience mainly replicate Kim et al.’s (2012) memorable tourism experience scale, regardless of the specific study context. This study offers an alternative framework through which alternative antecedents and outcomes of tourists’ memorable tourism experiences can be identified