The soundscape and tourism experience in rural destinations: an empirical investigation from Shawan Ancient Town

Abstract

Abstract Rural tourism is becoming more valued by different tourist destinations along with the expansion of its market, especially, ancient town tourism, as one of the special rural tourism destinations, has become popular in recent years. This study aims to take Shawan ancient town as a case to comprehend the role of soundscape perceptions in affecting both flow experience and memorable tourism experience and further influence future behavioral intentions. The method of systematic sampling was performed, and finally, 394 samples were retained for further PLS-SEM analysis. The results show that both natural soundscape perceptions and human-made soundscape perceptions have significant effects on flow experience and memorable tourism experience, and natural soundscape perceptions have a stronger effect on tourism experience. In addition, both flow experience and memorable tourism experience were found to influence behavioral intention positively, and flow experience shows the stronger impact. Findings provide managerial implications suggesting that destination managers should cleverly integrate natural soundscape elements into the design of ancient towns and reduce interference from human-made soundscapes. Additionally, practical implications are provided for destination managers in designing soundscapes in the ancient town.