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Keeping your audience: Presenting a visitor engagement scale

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  • Taheri, Babak
  • Jafari, Aliakbar
  • O'Gorman, Kevin

Abstract

Understanding visitors' level of engagement with tourist attractions is vital for successful heritage management and marketing. This paper develops a scale to measure visitors' level of engagement with tourist attractions. It also establishes a relationship between the drivers of engagement and level of engagement using Partial Least Square, whereby both formative and reflective scales are included. The structural model is tested with a sample of 625 visitors at Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow, UK. The empirical validation of the conceptual model supports the research hypotheses. Whilst prior knowledge, recreational motivation and omnivore-univore cultural capital positively affect visitors' level of engagement, there is no significant relationship between reflective motivation and level of engagement. These findings contribute to a better understanding of visitor engagement in tourist attractions and a series of managerial implications are proposed.

Suggested Citation

  • Taheri, Babak & Jafari, Aliakbar & O'Gorman, Kevin, 2014. "Keeping your audience: Presenting a visitor engagement scale," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 321-329.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:42:y:2014:i:c:p:321-329
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2013.12.011
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    7. Wenrui Wang, 2023. "The Ways that Digital Technologies Inform Visitor's Engagement with Cultural Heritage Sites: Informal Learning in the Digital Era ," GATR Journals gjbssr628, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
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    15. Heesup Han & Linda Heejung Lho & Hyeon-Cheol Kim & Elena-Nicoleta Untaru, 2021. "Sustainable Choices and Behaviors among Eco-Friendly Museum Travelers: Exploring the Drivers of Sacrifice, Visit, Pay, and WOM Intentions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-16, January.
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    17. Lin, Hongxia & Zhang, Meng & Gursoy, Dogan & Fu, Xiaorong, 2019. "Impact of tourist-to-tourist interaction on tourism experience: The mediating role of cohesion and intimacy," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 153-167.
    18. Jiang, Jingxian & Ellis, Gary D. & Ettekal, Andrea V. & Nelson, Chad, 2022. "Situational engagement experiences: Measurement options and theory testing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 223-236.
    19. Itani, Omar S. & El Haddad, Rania & Kalra, Ashish, 2020. "Exploring the role of extrovert-introvert customers’ personality prototype as a driver of customer engagement: Does relationship duration matter?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    20. Wells, Victoria.K. & Taheri, Babak & Gregory-Smith, Diana & Manika, Danae, 2016. "The role of generativity and attitudes on employees home and workplace water and energy saving behaviours," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 63-74.
    21. Lea Susanne Faerber & Dennis C. Ahrholdt & Oliver Schnittka & Zeinab Rezvani, 2021. "Visitor characteristics matter: how the positive impact of visit duration on visitor satisfaction at visitor attractions is moderated," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(3), pages 333-351, April.

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