Literature Review of Destination Attachment:Theoretical Framework and Research Prospects
The concept of attachment was initially proposed by the renowned psychoanalyst John Bowlby to elucidate the profound emotional bond between a mother and her child.This theory has progressively garnered attention among various disciplines and produced numerous research findings.Such theories as brand attachment,place attachment,and adult attachment have emerged.In the field of tourism,some researchers apply place attachment theory to investigate the attachment between tourists and destinations,which arises from tourists'involvement in tourism activities and satisfying experiences.From the perspective of adult attachment theory,some scholars have examined the attachment between tourists and destination residents or service personnel through interpersonal interaction and communication;they have investigated how this attachment influences such aspects as value co-creation,civic behavior,and revisiting intentions.Several studies have adopted the framework of brand attachment theory to focus on tourists'consumption experience at a destination.Those investigations have revealed that tourists utilize consumer objects and symbols consistent with their self-concept to express themselves or showcase their values.Several issues deserve consideration in research into destination attachment.First,tourists'short-term visits to destinations differ significantly from the experience of long-term residents.However,many studies on destination attachment still apply the concept of place attachment to examine the emotional connection between tourists and destinations.Second,analyzing tourists'attachment to destinations based on self-congruity theory ignores the influence of tourists'self-concept changes in unfamiliar environments.Consumption characteristics such as high opportunity cost and low repeatability affect their psychology and behavior.It is debatable whether self-congruity can be applied to explain destination attachment.Third,studying the attachment between tourists and destinations using adult attachment theory neglects the distinction between acquaintance societies and stranger societies.In unfamiliar environments,tourists'attachment to destinations building through host-guest interactions and social communication differs from residents'place attachment formed through daily-life communication or kinship in familiar settings.In conclusion,it is imperative to consolidate previous research and establish a theoretical framework while identifying current issues and future directions for destination attachment research.The present study reviewed 986 papers on destination attachment from China and overseas.Using bibliometric analysis,we investigated theoretical evolution,conceptual definitions,and the formation of destination attachment.Accordingly,we propose an analytic framework of destination attachment based on consumptive,human-land,and social relationships,and reveal the influencing factors,formation logic,and outcome effects of destination attachment.We identified the following as future research topics:1)enhancing a conceptual and research framework for destination attachment from the tourists'perspective based on consumer relationships;2)investigating the formation process and rules of destination attachment in unusual environments;3)uncovering the impact of changes in tourists'self-concept on the development of destination attachment;4)dynamically describing the stage characteristics involved in forming destination attachment;5)examining how different perceptions among tourists toward various destination types affect the formation mechanism of destination attachment;and 6)conducting research on destination attachment in the digital age.
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