Memorable tourism experiences: antecedents and outcomes

ABSTRACT The present study examines the specific dimensions of Kim, Ritchie, and McCormick’s [(2012). Development of a scale to measure memorable tourism experiences. Journal of Travel Research, 51(12), 12–25. doi:10.1177/0047287510385467] memorable tourism experience (MTE) scale that affects tourists’ subjective well-being to a single destination. A web-based post-holiday survey was conducted among tourists to Rovaniemi, Finland, and a valid sample of 202 tourists was used for data analysis. Structural equation modeling was applied to investigate the relationships between MTE dimensions and subjective well-being. Although the measurement appears to be highly destination specific, the results show that tourists’ subjective well-being is influenced by hedonism and meaningfulness. The moderating variables of gender, age and nationality have a significant effect on the link between most antecedent factors of MTE and subjective well-being. Managerial implications, limitations and future research directions are discussed.