Journal of Heritage Tourism

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Examining experience quality as the determinant

of tourist behavior in niche tourism: an analytical
approach

Pramod Sharma & Jogendra Kumar Nayak

To cite this article: Pramod Sharma & Jogendra Kumar Nayak (2020) Examining experience
quality as the determinant of tourist behavior in niche tourism: an analytical approach, Journal of
Heritage Tourism, 15:1, 76-92, DOI: 10.1080/1743873X.2019.1608212

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JOURNAL OF HERITAGE TOURISM
2020, VOL. 15, NO. 1, 76–92
https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2019.1608212

Examining experience quality as the determinant of tourist

behavior in niche tourism: an analytical approach
Pramod Sharma and Jogendra Kumar Nayak
Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Experience quality has been emerging as the dominant construct of Received 16 November 2018
interest for the success of the tourism industry. However, while a Accepted 11 April 2019
number of studies exist on experience quality in mass tourism, empirical
KEYWORDS
investigation of experience quality in dark tourism has received less Experience quality; perceived
attention. This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of value; satisfaction; loyalty
experience quality on loyalty intentions via perceived value and intention; dark tourism
satisfaction in dark tourism. The research is conducted using data
collected from 598 tourists visiting multiple dark tourism destinations in
India. Findings confirm the presence of direct and indirect effects of
experience quality on loyalty intentions through perceived value and
satisfaction in dark tourism. Similarly, perceived value is found the more
influential mediator than satisfaction in this niche tourism. In addition,
the influence of experience quality on loyalty intentions is the strongest
in dark tourism. These findings have several strategic implications for
researchers and practitioners in dark tourism.

Introduction
Tourism literature highlights the significance of service quality in several tourist destinations (Gar-
cía-Fernández et al., 2018; Lin, Wu, & Ling, 2017). However, tourism studies have largely ignored
another nuanced and related concept termed ‘experience quality’ (Wong, 2013; Žabkar, Brenčič,
& Dmitrović, 2010). Experience quality can be defined as ‘tourists’ affective responses to their desired
socio-psychological benefits’ (Chen & Chen, 2010, p. 30). Studies consider that experience quality
has a significant effect on value and satisfaction perceived by tourists in the destination (Loureiro,
2014). In addition, experience quality also plays an important role in influencing the future behavior
of tourists (Helkkula, 2011). Thus, an in-depth examination of experience quality is important for
the better performance of tourism industry. Experience quality perceived by tourists is highly valued
due to its ability to act as the driver for the success of tourism business (García-Fernández et al.,
2018). Moreover, the concept of experience quality is more prominent in dark tourism due to the
presence of unique experience in such unique destination (i.e. feeling of death, tragedy, grief and
pain) (Light, 2017).
Dark tourism has emerged as one of the most popular forms of niche tourism (Zheng, Zhang,
Zhang, & Qian, 2017). As stated earlier, tourists visiting dark tourism have a unique kind of experi-
ence towards the destination (Cheal & Griffin, 2013). Their motives of visiting the destination range
from curiosity, moral duty, obligation, remembrance to honor and education (Farmaki, 2013;
Hughes, 2008; Hyde & Harman, 2011; Lelo & azim Jamal, 2013; Raine, 2013). Dark tourism has a
considerable internet presence with approximately 4 million hits in December 2016 (Light, 2017).

CONTACT Pramod Sharma pramodsharmaias1990@gmail.com

© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
 JOURNAL OF HERITAGE TOURISM 77

India offers an avenue for dark tourism in various forms such as prison tourism, genocide tourism,
grief tourism, disaster tourism, pagan tourism, and suicide tourism (Stone, 2016). Examples include
Jallianwala Bagh (genocide in Amritsar), Cellular Jail (political prison in Andaman and Nicobar
Island), Bhuj (earthquake site in Gujarat), and Bhopal (a gas tragedy in Madhya Pradesh). Though
a rich avenue for visiting dark tourism is available is India, the proportion of tourists visiting/ revi-
siting such destination is less. Moreover, there is the scarcity of studies investigating experience qual-
ity of tourists visiting dark tourism in India. Thus, studying experience quality and its influence on
post consumption variables such as perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty intentions would pro-
vide much help in the growth of dark tourism.
Accordingly, this research examines the direct and indirect influences of experience quality on
loyalty intentions via perceived value and satisfaction in dark tourism. Similarly, the contributions
of this research are twofold. First, this research contributes by exploring the significant role of experi-
ence quality perceived by tourists in dark tourism. This would help practitioners in improving the
experience quality of tourists in dark tourism. Second, this paper clarifies the relationships between
experience quality, value, satisfaction and loyalty intentions in such niche tourism. This would help
academicians and researchers in better understating the relationships between experience quality,
value, satisfaction and loyalty intentions in dark tourism literature. Similarly, this would also contrib-
ute in improving the literature on the above constructs in dark tourism.

Literature review
The nature of dark tourism
A number of studies have researched the rapidly emerging dark tourism market (Allar, 2013; Bird,
2013; Forsdick, 2014; Sharpley, 2009). ‘Dark tourism is the form of tourism related to death, suffer-
ing, atrocity, tragedy or crime’ (Light, 2017, p. 277). In other words, Stone (2006) defined dark tour-
ism as ‘an act of travel to sites associated with death, disaster, act of violence, tragedy, scenes of death
and crime against humanity’ (p. 146). Several studies have focused on the definitions of dark tourism
(Johnston, 2015; Stone, 2016; Tarlow, 2007); motives driving tourist to dark tourism (Brown, 2016;
Cheal & Griffin, 2013; Hyde & Harman, 2011; Le & Pearce, 2011); range of sites (Austin, 2002; Bald-
win & Sharpley, 2009; Beech, 2001; Bird, 2013; Casella & Fennelly, 2016; Murphy, 2015; Yankovska
& Hannam, 2014); development of typologies (Dunkley, Morgan, & Westwood, 2007; Raine, 2013;
Sharpley, 2005; Stone, 2006) and so on. While much knowledge of dark tourism can be obtained
from these research, previous studies have scarcely investigated the effects of experience quality in
dark tourism (Freeman, 2014; Miller & Gonzalez, 2013). This includes the assessment of experience
quality of tourists visiting the place of tragedy, sorrow, suffering and death (Naef, 2014; Schäfer,
2016).
Tourism literature illustrates that the studies investigating the relationships between experience
quality, perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty intentions are scarce in dark tourism (Baldwin &
Sharpley, 2009; Fallon & Robinson, 2017). Similarly, studies also found that experience quality is
complicated by subjectivity, dynamism and intangibility (Aho, 2001; Jayanti & Ghosh, 1996). This
is because experience quality in dark tourism incorporates a unique blend of tangible, objective
and functional components as well as symbolic, emotional, hedonic and subjective components
(Laws, 2013; McEvoy, 2016). The complexity of tourists’ experience quality is studied in various
forms of tourism spread across different geographies (Chang & Horng, 2010; Levey, 2014). However,
there is little research concerning the understanding of tourists’ experience quality and its connection
with the concepts such as value and satisfaction especially in dark tourism (Buda & Shim, 2017; Isaac
& Ashworth, 2011).
Studies observed that dark tourists are curious about exploring the sites of disaster, grief, suffering,
and death (Mowatt & Chancellor, 2011; Podoshen, 2013). They spend their substantial amount of
funds in expediting dark tourism destinations (Farmaki, 2013; Hyde & Harman, 2011). Dark tourists
78 P. SHARMA AND J. K. NAYAK

are often discerning and demanding visitors (Miller & Gonzalez, 2013). They visit some of the
extreme, remote and painful destinations to satisfy their novelty, emotional and tragic needs (Cough-
lin, 2014). Thus, understanding the dimensions of tourists’ experience quality has substantial
impacts on improving the value perceived by tourists visiting dark tourism. Furthermore, improving
their perceived value may help in increasing the satisfaction level leading to the intensive flow of
future tourists in dark tourism destinations. It can also help destination managers, tourism auth-
orities, tour operators, travel agents and marketers operating in such destinations to better manage
and serve this niche tourism market.

Tourists’ experience quality in dark tourism

The service quality model which is based on the expectancy-disconfirmation theory has been widely
used in tourism studies (Chan & Baum, 2007). However, service quality scale fails to accurately
measure the affective and holistic factor that captures the quality of service experience (Lemke,
Clark, & Wilson, 2011). An existing study discussed the distinction between service quality and
experience quality (Chang & Horng, 2010; Otto & Ritchie, 1996). First, service quality is objective
in terms of measurement, while experience quality is subjective. Second, the assessment of experience
quality is holistic but the evaluation of service quality is attribute based. Third, the evaluation of
experience quality tend to be internal (self) but the assessment of service quality is external (service
environment). Fourth, the scope of service quality is specific but it is general for experience quality.
Fifth, the nature of the benefit of service quality is functional but the nature of benefit for experience
quality is experiential. Last but not least, the nature of the psychological representation is cognitive
for service quality but it is affective in case of experience quality (Byun & Jeon, 2010; Jin, Lee, & Lee,
2015; Klaus & Maklan, 2013; Otto & Ritchie, 1996; Yu & Fang, 2009; Zins, 2002).
In tourism studies, while service quality indicates service performance at the attribute level,
experience quality indicates the psychological reaction causing tourists participation in touristic
activities (Cole & Scott, 2004; Du Plessis, Saayman, & Van Der Merwe, 2015). Experience quality
involves both quality of service attributes which is provided by the supplier, and the attribute bought
to by the visitors. However, service quality only incorporates the quality of attributes bought by the
supplier (Zins, 2002). Thus, experience quality is the affective response of tourists to their desired
psychological benefits. In addition, it also incorporates the actual experiences of tourists gained
during their contact with the people in the touristic expedition (Cole & Chancellor, 2009; Kim,
Woo, & Uysal, 2015).
A study in tourism developed an experience quality scale to measure the experience quality of
tourists visiting the destination (Otto & Ritchie, 1996). This measure consists of four dimensions
– recognition, involvement, peace of mind and hedonics. Recognition is associated with the feeling
of confidence and importance. It also refers to the desire which is taken seriously. Involvement indi-
cates the desire to be imbued with mutual cooperation, informed, and educated. It also refers to the
control and choice in offering at the destination. Hedonics is linked with responses such as memor-
ability, enjoyment and excitement. Peace of mind is associated with the desire for psychological com-
fort and physical safety.
Similarly, research in the theme park also measured experience quality using four components –
fun, participation, surprise and immersion (Kao, Huang, & Wu, 2008). Fun refers to enjoyment,
excitement, and happiness received by tourists during their expedition. Participation is the involve-
ment of tourists in the tourism services. It is also the interactions between tourists and services in the
destination. Surprise incorporates the uniqueness, specialty, and freshness perceived by tourists
during their expedition. Immersion is the involvement of tourists during their expedition in such
a way that it leads to forget time and focus on the touristic process. These scales were validated in
several studies in marketing and tourism research (Chen & Chen, 2010). Accordingly, this study con-
siders the variables from such existing studies to capture the tourists’ evaluation of experience quality
during their expedition in dark tourism. Dark tourism is a unique form of niche tourism, so the
 JOURNAL OF HERITAGE TOURISM 79

experience quality of tourists in such tourism may be different (Coughlin, 2014; Fallon & Robinson,
2017; Light, 2017). Understating the experience quality of tourists visiting a place of tragedy and
death makes this study interesting (Buda & Shim, 2017; Johnston, 2015).

Perceived value in dark tourism

In consumer marketing, ‘perceived value is the consumer’s overall assessment of the utility of a pro-
duct (or service) based on their perceptions of what is received and what is given’ (Zeithaml, 1988,
p. 10). Lovelock identified consumer value as a trade-off between perceived benefits and perceived
costs in service marketing. Studies in consumer behavior also considered value as the typological
variable. For example, Holbrook (1999) identified a typology of value using three dimensions: extrin-
sic vs. intrinsic, active vs. reactive, and self-oriented vs. other-oriented. Studies in marketing observed
perceived value as a stronger determinant of behavioral intentions compared to quality or satisfac-
tion (Ha & Jang, 2010; Oh, 2000a). Studies in tourism observed perceived quality as the main pre-
cursor of perceived value (Duman & Mattila, 2005). In addition, satisfaction and behavioral
intentions are found to be the determinant of perceived value (Baker, Parasuraman, Grewal, &
Voss, 2002; McDougall & Levesque, 2000). Thus, this study proposes to investigate the perceived
value of tourists visiting dark tourism.

Satisfaction in dark tourism

Satisfaction is ‘the perceived discrepancy between prior expectation and perceived performance, in
which performance exceeds expectation’ (Chen & Chen, 2010, p. 30). Similarly, dissatisfaction is the
result when expectations exceed performance (Oliver, 1980). In tourism literature, satisfaction is the
function of pre-travel expectations and post-travel experience (Hosany & Prayag, 2013). In other
words, satisfaction is indicated when tourists’ actual experience evokes more positive feelings and
gratification compared to expectation. However, dissatisfaction is indicated when tourists’ actual
experience evokes more negative feelings and displeasure compared to expectation of tourism
experience (Sharma & Nayak, 2019a).
Previous research found that service quality and value have a significant effect on satisfaction, in
which satisfaction influences loyalty intentions (Petrick & Backman, 2002; Sharma & Nayak, 2019c).
A tourist satisfied with the quality of experience at the destination has a tendency to recommend the
destination to other. Similarly, the unsatisfied tourist may not recommend and revisit the destina-
tion. Furthermore, dissatisfied tourists may restrain potential tourists to visit such destination in
the future by expressing negative word of mouth (Chen & Tsai, 2007). Thus, this study investigates
the satisfaction level of tourists visiting the sites of death and suffering which is a unique research
area.

Loyalty intentions in dark tourism

Favorable tourists’ loyalty intentions or behavioral intentions often represent tourists’ conative loy-
alty (Chi & Qu, 2008; Sharma & Nayak, 2019b). Tourists’ loyalty is the significant goal of tourism
marketing, because it is the main source of destinations sustainability and success (Papadimitriou,
Apostolopoulou, & Kaplanidou, 2015). In tourism marketing, the measurement of tourists’ loyalty
can provide better insight into the status of tourists’ retention (Stylidis, Shani, & Belhassen, 2017).
Study found that the cost involved in retaining existing tourists is significantly lower than attracting
new tourists (Sharma & Nayak, 2018a). Furthermore, loyal tourists have a more tendency to rec-
ommend friends and families to the destination. They also have a likeliness to spread positive
word of mouth representing a free advertising agent (Kim & Fesenmaier, 2017).
Study observed consumer loyalty into four stages: ‘cognitive loyalty, affective loyalty, conative loy-
alty and action loyalty’ (Oliver, 1999). In practice, tourists’ behavior can be conceptualized using
80 P. SHARMA AND J. K. NAYAK

action loyalty (Papadimitriou et al., 2015). However, studies measure tourists’ behavior using loyalty
intention, i.e. conative loyalty (Wang & Hsu, 2010). This is because action loyalty is very difficult to
measure in tourism (Hosany & Prayag, 2013). Studies observed that tourists’ loyalty is frequently dis-
played in tourism research using intention to revisit and recommend (Sharma & Nayak, 2018a). Thus,
this research measures the loyalty of tourists visiting dark tourism using conative loyalty.

Theoretical relationships between conceptual variables

As stated earlier, understanding the antecedents of tourists’ loyalty can help destination marketers to
focus on the main factors leading to tourists’ retention (Sharma & Nayak, 2018a). Several studies
were conducted to understand the determinants of loyalty intentions in various destinations and
contexts (Chen, 2008; Sharma & Nayak, 2018b; Stylidis et al., 2017). Similarly, previous research
has established the causal relationships between quality, value, satisfaction and behavioral intentions
(Chen & Tsai, 2007). Study observed that quality, value and satisfaction act as the strong determi-
nants of loyalty intentions (García-Fernández et al., 2018). A thorough review of tourism literature
indicated that the concept of experience quality is more suitable than service quality in tourism
research. This is because studying experience quality helps in better understanding of tourists’
experience in the destination (Chen & Chen, 2010). Thus, this research replaces service quality
with experience quality in investigating the relationships between quality, value, satisfaction and
intentions in dark tourism.
This study considers experience quality to directly influence perceived value and satisfaction in
dark tourism. This relationship was observed in the previous study on heritage sites in Taiwan
(Chen & Chen, 2010). Similarly, perceived value is also hypothesized to affect satisfaction in dark
tourism. This association between perceived value and satisfaction is validated in adventure tourism
(Williams & Soutar, 2009). Both perceived value and satisfaction directly affects loyalty intentions in
dark tourism. These relationships were confirmed in several studies in service marketing (Cronin,
Brady, & Hult, 2000; Petrick & Backman, 2002). In addition, experience quality also has a direct
influence on loyalty intentions in dark tourism. This relationship is rejected in the previous study
in Tainan (Chen & Chen, 2010). However, Petrick (2004) found the significant relationships between

Figure 1. A conceptual model.

 JOURNAL OF HERITAGE TOURISM 81

experience quality and loyalty intentions. The conceptual model of this research is displayed in
(Figure 1), and its related hypotheses are indicated as follows:
H1: Experience quality has a direct effect on revisit intentions.

H2: Experience quality has a direct effect on recommendation intentions.

H3: Experience quality has a direct effect on perceived value.

H4: Experience quality has a direct effect on satisfaction.

H5: Perceived value has a direct effect on satisfaction.

H6: Perceived value has a direct effect on intention to revisit.

H7: Perceived value has a direct effect on intention to recommend.

H8: Satisfaction has a direct effect on intention to revisit.

H9: Satisfaction has a direct effect on intention to recommend.

Methodology
Study site and data collection
This research selected multiple dark tourism destinations in India as the study site: Jallianwala Bagh
(genocide in Amritsar), Cellular Jail (political prison in Andaman and Nicobar Island), Bhuj (earth-
quake site in Gujarat), and Bhopal (a gas tragedy in Madhya Pradesh). This study carried out a pre-
liminary investigation among tourism experts from academia and tourism department. As per their
recommendations, the above four dark tourism destinations were selected. The experts suggested
that all these destinations are dark tourism sites which elicit similar experiences, i.e. a feeling of
grief and pain of the past tragedy. However, the four dark tourism destinations are geographically
diverse in India. So, there may be some differences between the four destinations. These differences
were further tested using one-way ANOVA.
These destinations [i.e. Jallianwala Bagh (genocide in Amritsar), Cellular Jail (political prison in
Andaman and Nicobar Island), Bhuj (earthquake site in Gujarat), and Bhopal (a gas tragedy in Mad-
hya Pradesh)] are considered as the popular dark tourism destinations in India. Several tourists visit
these dark tourism destinations with curiosity. Jallianwala Bagh is popular for its tragedy which
occurred in 1919. Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer open fired on a peaceful crowd which mostly
consisted of children, women and senior people. This destination is preserved as a witness of the
cruelty of British Raj in India. Likewise, Cellular Jail is a prison established in Andaman and Nicobar
Island which is situated in the Bay of Bengal. It is popularly known as ‘Kaala Paani’. The political
revolutionaries of Indian national movement were sent to this jail as their punishment. The
peculiarity of this jail is that no prisoners can escape the prison because this prison is situated on
an island surrounded by a sea. Similarly, Bhuj is a site located in Gujarat region of India. In 2001,
this destination was destroyed due to a severe earthquake of 7.7 Richter scale. Many tourists visit
this destination to feel the tragedy and death suffered by people due to the earthquake. Finally, Bho-
pal became a destination of discussions in 1984, when a tragedy occurred due to the gas leak called
Methyl Isocyanate. MIC a highly toxic gas which got leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant
in Bhopal. It is considered as one of the worst industrial disasters in the world. Since 1984, many
people visited this destination as the dark tourism site.
This study followed the convenience sampling technique for data collection. This was done due to
the limitation of time and resources. The tourists visiting the dark tourism sites were considered as
the sampling unit. Some filter questions were asked to find out the suitability of respondents for the
study. The filter questions were: ‘are you a tourist?’; ‘what is the main purpose of your visit?’ and ‘do
82 P. SHARMA AND J. K. NAYAK

you agree to fill the questionnaire?’. Suitable respondents were asked to fill the questionnaire. The
required sample size for this study was calculated using the formula of Hair, Black, Babin, and
Anderson (2010). This formula requires that for every variables under study, there should be at
least 20 samples. The total number of variables in this study is calculated as 20, so the minimum
samples size required would be 400 (i.e. 20*20 = 400). A total of 1000 questionnaire were distributed
to tourists visiting dark tourism. Out of the total questionnaires distributed, 603 filled questionnaire
were received. After discarding 5 questionnaires due to missing value and outliers, 598 question-
naires were used for final analysis, yielding a response rate of 59.80%.

Measures
This study used self-administered questionnaires to collect data from multiple dark tourism des-
tinations in India. The questions in the survey instrument were designed considering the charac-
teristics of dark tourism and a thorough review of the literature. The questionnaire consisted of
five sections. First section measures experience quality with 8 items. The statements are ‘It pro-
vided an experience of thrill; it elicited a new and different feelings; it provided a relaxing
experience; my personal security was assured; I was involved in the destination process; I
was educated and informed; I was taken seriously at the destination; I felt important at the des-
tination’. These items were measured on a 7 point Likert scale [1 = strongly disagree to 7 =
strongly agree].
Similarly, second section deals with the measurement of perceived value with 4 items. The state-
ments are ‘It was a good value for money; the destination was well organized; it gave me a feeling of
excitement; it satisfied my curiosity’. These items were measured on a 7 point Likert scale [1 =
strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree]. Third section measures satisfaction with 4 indicators. The
statements are ‘I was satisfied with the tourism experience; I was delighted with the travel experience;
I felt enjoyable with the tourism experience’. These items were measured on a 7 point Likert scale [1
= strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree].
Likewise, fourth section deals with the measurement of loyalty intentions with 6 items (i.e. 3
indicators for measuring intention to revisit and 3 indicators for intention to recommend). The
statements are ‘I like to revisit this destination in a year; I will make an attempt to revisit this
destination in a month; I plan to revisit this destination in a week’ and ‘I will recommend
this destination to my family; I will say positive things of this destination to others; I will encou-
rage my friends to visit the destination’. These items were measured on a 7-point Likert scale [1
= strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree]. Final section measured the demographic characteristics
of tourists such as gender, age, visitation status and so on. These items were measured on the
categorical scale.
The questionnaires were pilot tested before the final data collection to improve its relevancy
and clarity. Five experts were recruited to ensure the face validity of the instrument. The experts
suggested some modification to improve the quality of the questionnaire. Furthermore, the pilot
test was conducted using 40 tourists visiting dark tourism destination. The pilot test required
some minor changes with respect to the framing of questions. The questionnaires were primarily
prepared in the English language. However, it was converted into Hindi by a professional
language translator. Language editor further verified the reliability of the translated version.
This research followed the back translation approach to ensure the accuracy of translation (Bri-
slin, 1976).
This study may consist of some element of common method variance (CMV) due to the use
of self-administered questionnaire. Accordingly, several measures were undertaken to minimize
the chances of CMV. For example, (a) reversely coded questions were used in the questionnaire;
(b) confidentiality of the respondents were maintained; and (c) Harman single factor test was
used to find the trace of CMV. However, the results indicate that CMV is not a problem in
the study.
 JOURNAL OF HERITAGE TOURISM 83

Data analysis plan and procedures

The data analysis plan and procedures followed in this study were: (i) first, one-way ANOVA was
used to test the difference between the samples of the four destinations. However, the analysis
results were found to be insignificant, indicating no significant differences among the data of all
four sites (p > 0.05). Thus, indicating that there were no issues in pooling the data from four different
dark tourism destinations; (ii) second, the normality of the pooled data were analyzed following
Shapiro-Wilk’s test using Statistical Package for Social Science. The results indicated an insignificant
p-value (p < 0.01), indicating the distribution of data to be normal; (iii) third, confirmatory factor
analysis was used in analyzing the psychometric properties of the measurement scale; and (iii)
finally, the structural relationships among the conceptual constructs were analyzed using SPSS
macro (i.e. PROCESS) described by Hayes (2013).

Findings
Sample profile and descriptive statistics
This study considered only Indian tourists visiting the four different dark tourism destinations in
India. The main reason behind considering only Indian tourists is that the proportion of foreign
tourists visiting the dark tourism destinations in India are less than 1%. The respondents’ compo-
sition was even with female consisting of 49%. Most of the tourists were young in the age group
of 18–34 years. 63% of tourists were single and most of them were well-educated with 69% of
them holding a university degree and over. A substantial number of students were working as stu-
dents, i.e. 52%. Most of the tourists visited the destinations for the first time, i.e. 73% (Table 1).
The tourists favorably evaluated the constructs in the dark tourism destinations. Experience qual-
ity was assessed as the most favorable with M = 5.78, p < 0.01; followed by perceived value M = 5.32,
p < 0.01; satisfaction M = 4.93, p < 0.01; intention to recommend M = 4.62, p < 0.01 and intention to
recommend M = 4.16, p < 0.01.

Table 1. Sample profile in dark tourism.

Particulars (n = 598) Sample proportion (%)
Gender
Male 51
Female 49
Others Nil
Age
18–34 78
35–54 13
55 and above 9
Marital status
Single 63
Married 21
Others 16
Education
Upto 10th 20
11th to graduation 11
Graduation and above 69
Occupation
Student 52
Full time employed 21
Part time employed 13
Self employed 14
Others Nil
Visitation status
First time 73
Repeat visit 27
Note: n-sample.
84 P. SHARMA AND J. K. NAYAK

Measurement model
A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to estimate the measurement properties of the con-
ceptual constructs in dark tourism: experience quality, perceived value, satisfaction, intention to
revisit and recommend. First, the reliability and validity of the scale were established before assessing
the fitness of the measurement model. The reliability of the scale was measured using the value of
Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability. The values of Cronbach’s alpha were more than 0.7
(i.e. ranges from 0.78–0.89). This reveals the internal consistency of the measurement model (Fornell
& Larcker, 1981). The values of composite reliability were also found to be higher than 0.7 (i.e. ranges
from 0.79–0.94). This illustrates the reliability of the measurement scale. The convergent validity of
the scale was measured using the perceived values and significance of factor loadings, and average
variance extracts (AVEs). The results illustrate that all the factor loadings were more than 0.5 and
significant (p < 0.01). The values of AVEs were also found to be above 0.5 (Table 2). This indicates
the convergent validity of the measurement scale (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). The discriminant val-
idity of the scale was measured by comparing the values of AVEs with the squared inter-construct
correlations. The results displayed that the values of AVEs were more than the values of squared
inter-construct correlations (Table 3). This indicates the discriminant validity of the measurement
scale. Second, the fit indices were assessed to confirm the overall fitness of the measurement
model. The results showed that χ2 = 365.23, df = 115, p < 0.05. Ideally, the perceived value of chi-
square should not be significant (i.e. p > 0.05). However, the value of chi-square is sensitive to sample
size. So, normed chi-square (i.e. χ2/df) was used as the fitness index, because it takes into account the
effect of large samples in the analysis. The results indicated that χ2/df = 3.18 (<5). The values of good-
ness fit index (GFI) and comparative fit index (CFI) were 0.93 and 0.96 respectively (>0.9). RMSEA

Table 2. Measurement model.

Bootstrap
Factor 95% CI p- Composite
Constructs/items loading Lower Upper value reliability AVE
Experience quality (α = 0.89) 0.94 0.69
It provided an experience of thrill 0.93 0.81 0.95 <0.01
It elicited a new and different feelings 0.77 0.75 0.86 <0.01
It provided a relaxing experience 0.87 0.79 0.94 <0.01
My personal security is assured 0.72 0.64 0.85 <0.01
I was involved in the destination process 0.91 0.81 0.92 <0.01
I was educated and informed 0.68 0.62 0.73 <0.01
I was taken seriously at the destination 0.89 0.88 0.97 <0.01
I felt important at the destination 0.85 0.83 0.91 <0.01
Perceived value (α = 0.85) 0.87 0.62
It was a good value for money 0.72 0.65 0.77 <0.01
The destination is well organized 0.81 0.73 0.86 <0.01
It gave me a feeling of excitement 0.73 0.61 0.74 <0.01
It fulfilled my curiosity 0.87 0.86 0.97 <0.01
Satisfaction (α = 0.79) 0.82 0.60
I am satisfied with the tourism experience 0.79 0.78 0.91 <0.01
I am delighted with the travel experience 0.78 0.72 0.87 <0.01
I feel enjoyable with the tourism experience 0.74 0.61 0.74 <0.01
Revisit intention (α = 0.78) 0.79 0.56
I would like to revisit this destination in a year 0.68 0.57 0.74 <0.01
I will make an attempt to revisit this destination in a 0.65 0.54 0.69 <0.01
month
0.89 0.81 0.93 <0.01
I plan to revisit this destination in a week
Recommendation intention (α = 0.85) 0.89 0.71
I would recommend this destination to my family 0.90 0.83 0.94 <0.01
I will say positive things of this destination to others 0.84 0.79 0.91 <0.01
I will encourage my friends to visit the destination 0.78 0.71 0.85 <0.01
Note: AVE – average variance extract.
 JOURNAL OF HERITAGE TOURISM 85

Table 3. Inter construct correlation matrix.

Constructs Mean Standard deviation 1 2 3 4 5
1.Experience quality 5.71 1.23 0.69
2.Perceived value 4.89 0.92 0.47** 0.62
3.Satisfaction 4.62 1.02 0.34** 0.41** 0.60
4.Revisit intention 5.24 1.35 0.63** 0.42** 0.24* 0.56
5.Recommendation intention 4.39 1.11 0.58** 0.28** 0.35** 0.15 0.71
Note: * p-value < 0.01; *p-value < 0.05.

was found to be 0.05 (<0.08). The findings suggest that the hypothesized model satisfactorily fits the
empirical data.

Structural model
This research used SPSS macro (Process) illustrated by Hayes (2013) in analyzing the structural
model. This technique is much useful in investigating the mediation model of any complexity
(Hayes, Preacher, & Myers, 2011). Study found that experience quality explained 35% variance in
perceived quality (R2 = 0.35). Experience quality and perceived value predicted 50% variance in sat-
isfaction (R2 = 0.50). Experience quality, perceived value and satisfaction explained 70% variance in
intention to revisit (R2 = 0.70) and 69% variance in intention to recommend (R2 = 0.69). Ideally, R2 =
0.19 is considered weak, R2 = 0.33 is moderate and R2 = 0.67 is substantial (Chin, Peterson, & Brown,
2008). In summary, the explanatory power of experience quality on endogenous constructs may be
considered as substantial.
The bootstrapping results confirmed the significant influence observed in the causal paths,
thereby supporting the proposed hypotheses. The bootstrapping result illustrates that all the nine
proposed hypotheses were accepted in their expected directions. The result found that experience
quality directly influences intention to revisit (β = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.65–0.85) and intention to rec-
ommend (β = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.56–0.81), supporting H1 and H2. Similarly, experience quality also
significantly influences perceived value (β = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.45–0.67) and satisfaction (β = 0.34,

Figure 2. The result of the structural model.

86 P. SHARMA AND J. K. NAYAK

Table 4. Hypotheses testing.

Bootstrap
95% CI
Hypothesis Coefficient Lower Upper p-value Remarks
H1: Experience quality -> revisit intention 0.63 0.65 0.85 <0.01 Supported
H2: Experience quality -> recommendation intention 0.58 0.56 0.81 <0.01 Supported
H3: Experience quality -> perceived value 0.47 0.45 0.67 <0.01 Supported
H4: Experience quality -> satisfaction 0.34 0.31 0.52 <0.01 Supported
H5: Perceived value -> satisfaction 0.41 0.32 0.49 <0.01 Supported
H6: Perceived value -> revisit intention 0.42 0.35 0.64 <0.01 Supported
H7: Perceived value -> recommendation intention 0.28 0.25 0.38 <0.01 Supported
H8: Satisfaction -> revisit intention 0.24 0.15 0.33 <0.05 Supported
H9: Satisfaction -> recommendation intention 0.35 0.31 0.51 <0.01 Supported

95% CI = 0.31–0.52), supporting H3 and H4. Perceived value significantly influences satisfaction (β =
0.41, 95% CI = 0.32–0.49), intention to revisit (β = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.35–0.64) and intention to rec-
ommend (β = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.25–0.38), supporting H5, H6 and H7. Satisfaction significantly influ-
ences intention to revisit (β = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.15–0.33) and intention to recommend (β = 0.35, 95%
CI = 0.31–0.51), supporting H8 and H9. The comparative effects of experience quality, perceived
value and satisfaction on loyalty intentions indicated that experience quality was the strongest
influencer of intention to revisit and intention to recommend in dark tourism (Figure 2).
The results also found that perceived value and satisfaction partially mediated the effects of
experience on loyalty intentions in dark tourism. Particularly, perceived value mediated the influ-
ences of experience quality on intention to revisit (indirect effect: 0.18, 95% CI = 0.08–27) and inten-
tion to recommend (indirect effect: 0.24, 95% CI = 0.16–35). Furthermore, satisfaction mediated the
effects of experience quality on intention to revisit (indirect effect: 0.14, 95% CI = 0.09–24) and inten-
tion to recommend (indirect effect: 0.11, 95% CI = 0.06–19). The effect ratio illustrated that the indir-
ect influence of experience quality on loyalty intentions through perceived value was stronger than
through satisfaction (Table 4).

Discussion and conclusion

This research is motivated by the need for studies which can help in better understanding of the role
of experience quality in dark tourism. To the best of author’s knowledge, this research is the first
known attempt in examining experience quality concept to dark tourism. This study found that
experience quality has direct and indirect effects on loyalty intentions via perceived value and satis-
faction in dark tourism. Thus, this research supports the experience-behavior model in dark tourism.
Specifically, this study found the direct effects of experience quality on intention to revisit and
recommend in dark tourism, supporting H1 and H2. These results are opposed by the findings of
the past study which found the insignificant effects of experience quality on loyalty intentions in
heritage context (Chen & Chen, 2010). However, Kao et al. (2008) found the significant relationships
between the above constructs in theme parks. The significant relationships between experience qual-
ity and loyalty intentions may be due to the unique characteristics of dark tourism, i.e. experience of
pain, sorrow and tragedy. Moreover, the data results also showed that the dark tourists have more
curiosity for thrill, which is strongly elicited by dark tourism. It is one of the most important reasons
for the significant effects of experience quality on loyalty intentions in dark tourism.
This research also illustrates that experienced quality has the positive influence on perceived value
and satisfaction in dark tourism, supporting H3 and H4. These findings were supported by the exist-
ing studies which also found similar results in the heritage tourism (Chen & Chen, 2010) and cruise
tourism (Petrick, 2004). Similarly, this study also observed that perceived value has a significant
effect on satisfaction in dark tourism, supporting H5. This result is supported by the studies in Hai-
nan province of South China Sea, and Spanish destination (García-Fernández et al., 2018). In
 JOURNAL OF HERITAGE TOURISM 87

addition, it is also observed that perceived value and satisfaction have significant effects on intention
to revisit and recommend dark tourism, supporting H6, H7, H8 and H9. These findings were also
supported by the studies in cruise tourism (Wu, Cheng, & Ai, 2018), and media-induced tourism
(Yen & Teng, 2015).
The mediating effects of perceived value and satisfaction between experience quality and loyalty
intentions is also confirmed in dark tourism. Thus, the significance of experience quality on loyalty
intentions is recognized (directly as well as indirectly via perceived value and satisfaction) in dark
tourism. In summary, the multiple mediation paths are confirmed in dark tourism. For example,
experience quality -> perceived value -> behavioral intentions (indirect effect = 0.20 and 0.13);
experience quality -> satisfaction -> behavioral intentions (indirect effect = 0.12 and 0.08); and
experience quality -> perceived value -> satisfaction -> behavioral intentions (indirect effect = 0.05
and 0.07). The effects of experience quality on loyalty intentions via perceived value (indirect
effect = 0.20 and 0.13) is stronger than via satisfaction (indirect effect = 0.12 and 0.08) in dark tour-
ism. The appropriate explanation behind such finding is the nature of dark tourism, since such tour-
ism emphasizes more on the feeling of excitement and fulfillment of curiosity than the feeling of
enjoyment and delight. This is the unique contribution of the current study.
This study also analyzed the comparative effects of experience quality, perceived value and satis-
faction on loyalty intentions in dark tourism. This research found the strongest influence of experi-
ence quality on behavioral intentions in this niche tourism (β = 0.63 and 0.58). This finding opposes
those studies which found satisfaction as the strongest influencer of loyalty intentions (e.g. Chen &
Chen, 2010). This research is in line with those studies which also found satisfaction as only one of
the steps in loyalty formation (e.g. Assaker & Hallak, 2013).
Studies argue that improving the experience quality in dark tourism is the main issue for des-
tination managers, tourism authorities, tour operators, travel agents and marketers operating in
such destinations. These issues become more prominent when designing sustainable strategies in
dark tourism destinations. The total experience that tourists seek in the dark tourism could be
made more hedonic, peace of mind, involvement and recognition by projecting the dark tourism
destination as the unique symbol of human suffering which need not be forgotten (see Table 2).
The advertisement and the promotional campaign should clearly highlight the specific tragedy
that had occurred at the destination. For example, in promoting Jallianwala Bagh, the marketers
should show the image of Col Dyer and the innocent people killed in the genocide. Thus, desti-
nation marketers should attempt to meet tourists’ expectations with respect to their recognition,
involvement, peace of mind and hedonicity as observed in this research. This can be practically
found in the act of tourism organizations such as destination managers, tourism authorities, tour
operators, travel agents and marketers operating in such destinations. Since they are focusing
more on the dimensions of recognition, involvement, peace of mind and hedonicity in the differ-
ent tourism destination. For example, in the wellness destination of Rishikesh, the destination
marketing organizations are involving the residents in the policy formulation process (Sharma
& Nayak, 2018a).
Destination managers including tourism authorities, tour operators, travel agents and market-
ers can adopt some practical strategies in planning and designing their business activities such as
organizing events and drama of the tragedy occurred in the destination. This can provide a
unique kind of experience of the tragedy such as tsunami, war, genocide, famines, etc. in the des-
tination. A well-designed way of presenting grief, sorrow and tragedy could improve tourists’
interest and involvement. This can be done by making use of professionals in managing such
experiences in the dark tourism. Additionally, maintaining the surrounding of the dark destina-
tion can facilitate the tourists to realize, feel and understand the tragedy at the dark tourism des-
tination. Thus, improving the interest and involvement of tourists in the destination, the
experience quality of tourists can be improved. It may lead to the formation of positive value
and satisfaction in the niche tourism. This may contribute to the formation of tourists’ loyalty
towards dark tourism.
88 P. SHARMA AND J. K. NAYAK

Limitations and future research

The limitations of this study and directions for future research are explained below. First, this study
used the existing scale with some modifications in measuring experience quality in dark tourism.
Though this scale has satisfactory reliability and validity. However, future research may develop a
new scale specifically for measuring the experience quality in dark tourism. Second, this research
was conducted using data collected from multiple dark tourism destinations in India. This may
affect the generalisability of the findings to the destinations outside India. Future study may be con-
ducted using data collected from the foreign destinations such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Third,
this study considered the concepts such as perceived value and satisfaction as the mediators in exam-
ining the relationships between experience quality and loyalty intentions in dark tourism. Future
research may incorporate the constructs such as destination image, tourists’ emotions in the inte-
grated model. Fourth, this research used survey method for data collection. So, there may the chances
of CMV. Future research may use the technique such as an eye tracking and heart response in
addition to survey method to minimize the issue of CMV. Finally, this study investigated the con-
ceptual model of experience quality in dark tourism. Further research may examine the model in
other niche tourisms such as yellow tourism, sex tourism, gay tourism, art tourism and wellness
tourism.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding
This work was supported by University Grants Commission.

Notes on contributors
Mr Pramod Sharma is a Ph.D. research scholar in the Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Tech-
nology (IIT) Roorkee in India. He is a University Grant Commission Senior Research Fellow. He has obtained his
M.com and MBA degrees in marketing from Gauhati University. He has qualified University Grant Commission –
National Eligibility Test in business management, commerce, economics and human resource management. He has pub-
lications in repute journals such as Journal of destination marketing and management, Tourism management perspec-
tive, Tourism review, International journal of convention and event tourism, and International Journal of Tourism
Research. His areas of interest are tourism marketing.
Jogendra Kumar Nayak has earned his Ph.D. degree in marketing from Vinod Gupta School of Management, Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in India. He is an Assistant Professor in Marketing in the Department of
Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee. He has publications in most of the publishing
houses such as Elsevier, Emerald, Sage and Taylor and Francis. His major research areas are tourism and industrial
marketing.

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