Diaspora tourists' emotional experience

Abstract

This article attempts to empirically test a model to explain the hypothesized relationships between important constructs such as emotional experience, personal involvement, destination image, destination satisfaction, and place attachment as antecedents of the future intentions of mature/senior diaspora tourists. The hypothesized relationships were explored using a sample of 419 mature/senior diaspora tourists visiting Ghana. A three-step process was used to explore, confirm and test the interrelationships between the constructs. The results showed that emotional experiences related to joy and love influenced personal involvement. While other hypothesized relationships were supported, unpleasantness and positive surprise did not have a direct effect on personal involvement. Future studies can apply this model to understand other types of tourism.