Memorable tourism experience in the context of astrotourism

Abstract

Astrotourism is a niche tourism that has been emerging in the last years. This type of tourism evolves a diversity of activities developed at night, being necessary a deeper knowledge about the cognitive process and emotions tourists have during an experience of this nature which lead to a memorable experience and loyalty.Based on the insights from 304 questionnaires applied at an astrotourism event, it is explored how (i) astrotourism stimuli are associated to cognitive states designed by knowledge and involvement, (ii) cognitive states enhance emotional states of hedonism and refreshment, and (ii) emotional states generate response as recommendation and loyalty. This study contributes to extend the S-O-R framework by integrating the cognitive appraisal theory and incorporate stimuli and above all cognitive and emotional states not employed in prior research, usually devoted to dominance, pleasure and arousal. Recommendations for astrotourism destination managers are also discussed.

Toward a Better Understanding of Memorable Souvenir Shopping Experiences

“…In the S-O-R theory, stimuli refer to factors that influence an individual's internal states, generally conceptualised as an influence stimulating an individual (Eroglu et al, 2001). In empirical investigations in tourism, constructs such as authenticity (Kim et al, 2020), novelty and meaningfulness (Rodrigues et al, 2022), servicescape (Durna et al, 2015) and perceived quality (Jang & Namkung, 2009), have been widely adopted as stimuli. In this study, objective authenticity, substantive staging of the servicescape, experience co-creation, involvement and shopping satisfaction are considered stimuli.…”

“…In the S-O-R model, response, as the consequence component, has been conceptualised as consumers' final outcomes and/or decisions, originally referred to as consumers' 'approach or avoidance behaviours' (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). Some tourism studies have often adopted revisit intention (Rodrigues et al, 2022) and word-of-mouth intention (Durna et al, 2015;Wu & 6 Li, 2018) as response constructs, while nostalgia, destination attachment and revisit intention are used as the response construct in this study.…”

Memorable Tourism Experience Research: A Systematic Citation Review (2009–2021)

“…This is because most previous studies focused on the government’s role in positioning a memorable destination, which ignored the vital function of government in creating memorable festivals and events (Todd et al, 2017). Furthermore, more new forms of tourism are emerging, such as astrotourism (Rodrigues et al, 2023), virtual tourism (Lu et al, 2022), or photogenic spot tourism (Y. Kim & Son, 2018).…”

A Netnography Study on Memorable Cultural Tourism Experiences: Insights from Asian Cultural Heritage Site Tourists

“…However, in recent literature, researchers have called for additional research to examine predictors of memorable tourism experiences (Wei et al, 2019). Subsequently, many niche market segments have been investigated, such as memorable coffee tourism experiences (Chen et al, 2021), astrotourism and memorable tourism experiences (Rodrigues et al, 2022), selfie tourism and memorable tourism experiences (Trinanda et al, 2021), and memorable ethnic minority tourism experiences (MEMTEs) (Wong et al, 2020), to mention a few. Considering the scope and application of a memorable tourism experience across a range of tourism settings, a generic scale is insufficient to cover all the factors that make an experience memorable to a tourist.…”