Travel Motivation, Destination Image and Visitor Satisfaction of International Tourists After the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake: A Structural Modelling Approach

Abstract

AbstractThis study investigates the relationships between travel motivation, destination image and overall satisfaction of international tourists visiting Sichuan province after the great Wenchuan earthquake of 2008. Did the earthquake influence tourist' motivations for visiting Sichuan either positively or negatively, and did the earthquake affect their image of the province as desirable travel destination? Survey data collected from 346 international tourists in Chengdu, the provincial capital, revealed that respondents were primarily motivated by Sichuan's traditional attractions – its scenery and the giant pandas native to the area rather than by the earthquake. Structural equation modelling revealed a statistically significant relationship between travel motivation and overall visitor satisfaction, as well as relationships between travel motivation and types of destination image. Furthermore, both positive and negative destination images seem to have an effect on overall satisfaction. This study implies that international tourists to Sichuan tend to visit for its scenery and wildlife; the 2008 earthquake has had little effect on their travel motivations and destination images; and these visitors hold positive images of the province.Key words: travel motivationdestination imageoverall satisfactionstructural equation modellingWenchuan earthquake AcknowledgementsI would like to thank my students graduated in 2011 from the Department of Tourism Development and Management, College of Tourism and Urban-Rural Planning, CDUT, who helped collecting questionnaires and conducting interviews, particularly two students: Chengjun He and Shenrui Wang for their assistance in inputting the data. My sincere thanks also goes to Prof. K.E. Foote from Geography Department, University of Colorado at Boulder, for his most helpful comments on earlier drafts of the article as well as his technical supports for producing map with GIS.