Insights into cultural tourist behavior: A mixed-methods study
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Abstract
As well as being a famous beach destination, Phuket is also a rich cultural destination where the local government has been promoting this type of special interest tourism internationally. The purpose of this research is to explore cultural tourist behavior in Phuket. This research also measures significant predictors of the behavioral intention of cultural tourists. Sequential mixed methods research is utilized. Domestic and international tourists were recruited for in-depth interviews and survey questionnaires, respectively. The in-depth interview was adopted in the first stage of the investigation and 15 domestic and international cultural tourists were approached. Then the interview data was analyzed thematically and used for the survey instrument in the second stage of the study. In the quantitative survey study, 500 questionnaires were distributed, and 403 cases were usable. It was found that cultural travel motivations include life fulfilment, wanting local cultural contact, and desiring unique local participation. These factors are significant predictors of cultural tourist behavior. The value of co-creation is suggested, and theoretical and practical implications are provided. Tourism and hospitality businesses can adopt the findings to provide services to potential customers. This will further contribute a higher level of GDP generated for a country.
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