The influence of dark tourism motivational factors on revisit intention: a moderated mediation approach

Abstract

Purpose

In India, travellers are beginning to pay attention to dark tourism recently. This study aims to empirically investigate tourists revisit intention (TRI) to dark tourism destinations (DTD) in Indian urbanscapes. Here, a comprehensive moderated mediation method was applied to enhance TRI towards DTD via dark tourism motivational factors (DTMF). Understanding history, mass and social media and curiosity are the dimensions of DTMF.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through structured questionnaires from a sample of 360 tourists’ from various DTDs in city of Kolkata, India. A structural equation modelling method was applied to investigate the hypothesis.

Findings

The findings showed DTMF dimensions enhanced the revisit intention for DTD in the city. Tourist satisfaction (TS) in dark tourism mediates the effects of DTMF on revisit intention. The mediation effects of satisfaction are diverse among high- and low-involved tourists.

Practical implications

The findings can be helpful for marketers, government and other stakeholders to make dark tourism products more feasible by identifying the DTMF, which further helps to promote dark tourism among the urban tourists.

Originality/value

This study shed light on the domain of dark tourism in urbanscapes in Kolkata, which was not previously explored. Furthermore, it suggests a moderated-mediated model for enhancing TRI to the DTD in the city, which involves TS as mediator and tourist involvement as moderator. Thus, this study enables an understanding of motivations for TRI in DTD.

Citation

Bowal, S. and Ghosh, P. (2023), "The influence of dark tourism motivational factors on revisit intention: a moderated mediation approach", International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 1046-1062. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-01-2023-0003