Theme park hotel experience, experiential satisfaction and behavioral intention: examination of visitors' experiences

Abstract

Purpose

This research uses the experience economy theory and tourism experiences to explore how different types of experiences in theme parks influence visitors' experiential satisfaction and behavioral intention.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected from visitors of different nationalities at a theme park hotel. The R program and JASP were used to analyze the data of the multinational sampling. JASP was used for the structural equation modeling (SEM) and the R program for the analysis of the measurement invariance.

Findings

The results highlight the existence of different visitor behavior in the experience economy, tourism experience and experiential satisfaction among visitors of several nationalities. However, the results highlight the existence of common visitor behavior on behavioral intention among visitors of these nationalities. This study reveals that visitors of different nationalities can have both diverse experiential and cultural motivations.

Practical implications

The results show that managers should apply a plan and strategy according to the differences between the nationalities. By examining visitors from different nationalities, the study was allowed to be interpreted from a wider perspective in terms of academia and industry.

Originality/value

This study makes a difference in the literature in terms of focusing on cross-national differences by examining the experiences of visitors from different nationalities by using experience economy theory and tourism experience elements in the same research model.

Citation

Akel, G. and Cakir, E. (2023), "Theme park hotel experience, experiential satisfaction and behavioral intention: examination of visitors' experiences", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 1419-1440. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-08-2022-0325