Measuring Tourists’ Emotional Experiences toward Hedonic Holiday Destinations

TLDR

Destinations succeed when they recognize experiential qualities, yet research on the emotional content of destination experience remains largely underexplored. This study empirically investigates tourists’ emotional experiences toward hedonic holiday destinations. Using a rigorous scale development procedure, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified three dimensions—joy, love, and positive surprise—forming the Destination Emotion Scale. Tourists’ emotional experiences correlate with satisfaction, which significantly influences behavioral intentions, offering destination marketers insights for branding and emotional experience management.

Abstract

Destinations are more likely to be successful if they recognize the experiential qualities of their offerings. However, with some exceptions, research into the emotional content of the destination experience remains largely underexplored. This current research addresses this lacuna and empirically investigates the dimensions of tourists’ emotional experiences toward hedonic holiday destinations. Adopting a rigorous scale development procedure, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identify three salient dimensions to represent the Destination Emotion Scale, namely, joy, love, and positive surprise. In addition, tourists’ emotional experiences are related to satisfaction, which in turn has a significant influence on behavioral intentions. Findings offer important implications for destination marketers in relation to branding and emotional experience management.