Antecedents of Attachment to a Cultural Tourism Destination: The Case of Hakka and Non-Hakka Taiwanese Visitors to Pei-Pu, Taiwan

Abstract

This article explores the antecedents of place attachment within the context of cultural tourism destinations. The proposed model is examined on two samples of cultural tourists with different cultural backgrounds. One sample consists of Hakka tourists, the same ethnic group as the hosts, and the other consists of tourists from a variety of non-Hakka ethnic backgrounds. The results indicate that both enduring involvement and destination attractiveness have a direct effect on place attachment, and that there is also an indirect effect of enduring involvement on place attachment mediated by destination attractiveness. Cross-group validation of the proposed model revealed that the structure fit both ethnic categories. A subsequent detailed examination, however, showed meaningful differences in the strengths of path coefficients between the two groups. These findings suggest that the meaning and formation of attachment may differ depending on the ethnic background of the tourists. Implications for theory and practice are provided.