Tourist’s Length of stay: the perspective of flow experience theory

Abstract

AbstractThis study initiates an investigation into an underexplored topic, aiming to understand the mechanism of conceptual elements of flow experience theory: enjoyment, control, focus, and clear goals drive the tourist’s length of stay (LOS). To enhance understanding, this study investigates the impact of destination value and destination love as additional outcomes of flow experience and examines how these variables contribute to the relationship between flow experience and LOS. The data in this study was collected from domestic and worldwide tourists visiting various tourist destinations in Indonesia using an English-language online questionnaire. A variance-based structural equation model (PLS-SEM) is used to evaluate each set of relationships between variables. The present study identifies that enjoyment, control, attention, and clear goals significantly influence the length of tourist stays through the experience of flow. Additionally, the experience of flow generates both value and a meaningful love with the destination. Moreover, destination love stems from destination value, further contributing to the relationship between flow experience and LOS. This exploratory study constructs a comprehensive model, offering a valuable resource for destination managers aiming to increase LOS and optimize benefits from tourist arrivals.

Keywords

• Tourist’s length of stay
• flow experience
• tourist destination
• tourist behavior
• destination value
• destination love