Examining Self-drive Tourists'Emotional Experience along the South Section of Sichuan-Xizang Highway(G318):Characteristics and Influencing Mechanism
Self-drive travels,train travels,cycling,motorcycling,hiking,and hitchhiking,have increasingly adopted by tourists across the globe.Long-haul self-driving,which arguably provide tourists with adventure,freedom,privacy,personalization,and high level of uncertainty,is particularly popular.However,from the extant literature,we could see that previous empirical research rarely focus upon the antecedents and influencing mechanisms of large-scale mobility tourists'(e.g.,self-drive tourists,train tourists,and motorcyclists)emotional experience.Therefore,based upon the Landscape Perception Theory,this study aims to examine the emotional experience of tourists travelling along the south section of Sichuan-Xizang Highway(i.e.,G318,from Chengdu to Lhasa)and its influencing mechanism.We employ mixed-methods,conducting a fusion of questionnaire surveys,in-depth interviews,participant observation,and informal interviews.Specifically,three quantitative datasets were adopted respectively,namely the post-trip retrospective emotional experience of self-drive tourists along the south section of G318(Dataset 1,n=392),real-time emotional experience of self-drive tourists when visiting tourism attractions(e.g.,scenic spots/viewing platforms)along the south section of G318(Dataset 2,n=72),and the daily retrospective emotional experience of self-drive tourists along the south section of G318(Dataset 3,n=16).The findings of this study are as follows:First,the positive emotional experience of self-drive tourists along the south section of Sichuan-Xizang Highway does not reach a'strong'level.That is,the mean value of self-drive tourists'positive emotional experience in the three datasets(i.e.,measured with a 5-point Likert scale)respectively are 3.74(Dataset 1),3.30(Dataset 2),and 2.95(Dataset 3).The scores on each of the nine positive emotional items rest between 2 and 4,suggesting a level of below'strong'.Similarly,in these three datasets,the mean value of self-drive tourists'negative emotional experience are 1.48(Dataset 1),1.17(Dataset 2),and 1.10(Dataset 1),respectively,and the scores on each of the nine negative emotional items are all situated between 1 and 2.Second,the results derived from the real-time and daily retrospective data(Dataset 3,n=16),which manifest the emotional variability and emotional instability indices,indicate that self-drivers'emotional experience represent an irregular dynamic trend different from the inverted U pattern as reported in many previous studies on hedonic tourists.At the same time,the dimensions of tourists'emotional experience are found highly diversified.Third,when it comes to the underlining mechanism,we analyse it assessing the extent to which tourists'needs are satisfied before looking at the levels of their satisfaction.We unpack that the interactions(including two categories with six types of characteristics)between self-driving tourists(i.e.,human)and the environment(i.e.,nature)have facilitated the generation of tourists'diverse emotional experience.The impacts are perpetuated through continuous dynamic feedbacks.Overall,this research is theoretically significant,insofar as it has deepened our understanding of the antecedents of tourists'emotional experience and tourists'experience of travelling to Xizang.Practically,it provides management and marketing implications for destinations along the south section of Sichuan-Xizang Highway(G318)and other linear tourism routes,as well as tourism-related businesses involved in mobility travels.
self-drive touristsemotional experienceinfluencing factorsinfluencing mechanismsouth section of Sichuan-Xizang Highwaylandscape perception theory
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