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Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 22 (2021) 100664

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Destination Marketing & Management


journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jdmm

The effects of fashion lifestyle, perceived value of luxury consumption, and


tourist–destination identification on visit intention: A study of Chinese
cigar aficionados
Jun Wen *, Songshan (Sam) Huang
School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA 6027, Australia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study examined the effects of fashion lifestyle, the perceived value of luxury consumption, and tour­
Cigar aficionado ist–destination identification on Chinese cigar aficionados’ intentions to visit a cigar-themed destination. Five
Cigar tourism hundred survey responses from Chinese cigar aficionados in Beijing and Guangzhou, China, were subjected to
Fashion lifestyle
structural equation modelling analysis. Different from the marketing and luxury consumption literature, single-
Perceived value of luxury consumption
Tourist–destination identification
dimension structures of fashion lifestyle and the perceived value of luxury consumption were generated in a
Visit intention tourism context in this study. Results indicate that fashion lifestyle and the perceived value of luxury con­
sumption each had a significant positive effect on tourist–destination identification, which in turn positively
influenced visit intention. Theoretical and methodological implications are also discussed.

1. Introduction consumption, and aficionados’ likelihood of engaging in cigar-related


tourism activities remain unclear.
Special interest tourism refers to tourism activities around niche Within the marketing and luxury consumption literature, constructs
products focusing on specific destinations or activities since the early such as fashion lifestyle and the perceived value of luxury consumption
1990s, and special interest tourists have emerged as valuable niche have been employed to predict consumers’ relevant behaviour,
markets for tourism destinations (McKercher & Chan, 2005). Among including purchase intentions (e.g. Li, Li, & Kambele, 2012; Wiedmann,
different types of special interest tourists, Wen and Huang (2019) stated, Hennigs, & Siebels, 2009). Even so, these key constructs have not been
“a cigar tourist is an individual for whom cigar smoking constitutes a applied in tourism, especially considering the growing popularity of
major leisure activity and travel experience. Cigar tourists are primarily luxury travel such as cigar tourism. Although Wen and Huang (2019)
motivated to travel for luxury cigars or cigar-related activities in empirically investigated the effects of multiple factors (e.g. motivations
cigar-producing destinations” (pp. 817–818). The present study targeted and destination familiarity) on cigar tourists’ loyalty to cigar-themed
cigar aficionados as research participants to investigate their destinations (e.g. Cuba), a clear knowledge gap remains to be filled in
travel-related behaviour. Cigar aficionados constitute a unique tourist terms of identifying silent factors that could forecast cigar tourists’ visit
segment, including people who are passionate and knowledgeable about intentions. Pertinent considerations include cigar tourism as a form of
cigar-related activities to a greater extent than typical cigar smokers. luxury travel and characteristics of cigar aficionados as a special tourist
They are thus likely to consider cigar smoking or cigar-related activities group. Moreover, a relatively new construct of tourist–destination
as part of their lifestyle and should be eager to visit cigar-themed identification has been recently proposed and applied in business
tourism destinations. Relevant studies have identified Chinese cigar research by Hultman, Skarmeas, Oghazi, and Beheshti (2015) in the
tourists’ motivations and underlying motivation-based market seg­ tourism context. This construct seems suitable for predicting cigar
mentation (Ying, Wei, Wen, Wang, & Ye, 2018) along with the impacts aficionados’ travel-related behaviour as they choose possible tourism
of motivations, personal values, and destination familiarity on Chinese destinations featuring identities similar to those that these travellers
cigar tourists’ loyalty (Wen & Huang, 2019). However, the importance assume in daily life. Overall, introducing these constructs from mar­
of cigars in these aficionados’ daily lives, the perceived value of luxury keting and luxury consumption into cigar tourism can lead to

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: j.wen@ecu.edu.au (J. Wen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2021.100664
Received 1 March 2021; Received in revised form 6 October 2021; Accepted 7 October 2021
Available online 18 October 2021
2212-571X/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
J. Wen and S.(S. Huang Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 22 (2021) 100664

meaningful theoretical contributions in the tourism literature. This 2. Literature review and hypothesis development
study takes cigar tourism as a case in point to represent special interest
tourism research. 2.1. Conceptualising lifestyle travellers and lifestyle traveller destinations
China’s rapid economic development has endowed Chinese con­
sumers with strong buying power and intentions around luxury con­ “Lifestyle” is a multifaceted concept in psychology, integrating as­
sumption. This trend is also reflected in citizens’ cigar consumption. pects of people’s activities, interests, and opinions among other features
According to EuroMonitor International (2020), cigar consumption (Anderson & Golden, 1984). The concept of lifestyle plays a major role
experienced strong growth in both volume and value in China in 2019 in consumer culture and behaviour, involving individuals’ cognition,
and is expected to sustain this pattern over time. The country became the cultural affiliations, family background, personality, social status, mo­
world’s largest market for Cuban cigars in 2020, overtaking Spain; tivations, and targeted marketing stimuli (Horley, 1992). Lifestyle has
Cuban cigar sales in China have also increased by more than 50% over also been applied to understand consumption patterns (Salazar & Zhang,
the past 6 years (Reuters, 2021; Savona, 2021; Warren, 2021). None­ 2013), which offer insight into social classification (Chen & Lin, 2019).
theless, given the nature of cigar-related activities as a means of luxury On the basis of social identity theory, which describes individuals’ sense
consumption, existing frameworks are often limited to general market­ of who they are based on their group membership(s) (Tajfel & Turner,
ing and consumer behaviour. Specifically, scholars have rarely consid­ 1985), lifestyles can socially stratify individuals by class, occupation,
ered cigar tourism a relevant study context to assess the relationships ethnicity, or culture. Lifestyle choices are thus crucial to the (re)
among fashion lifestyle (Li, Li, & Kembele, 2012), the perceived value of constitution of self-identity (Giddens, 1991) and a common social
luxury consumption (Wiedmann et al., 2009), and tourist–destination identity (Stebbins, 1997).
identification (Hultman et al., 2015) in predicting cigar tourists’ visit In tourism and hospitality management, the notion of lifestyle has
intentions (Horng, Liu, Chou, & Tsai, 2012). Regarding cigar tourism, a been adopted to explain consumer behaviour (Salazar & Zhang, 2013).
framework that predicts visit intentions based on cigar aficionados’ Lifestyle travel takes many forms, including backpacking (Cohen, 2011),
fashion lifestyle, perceived values, and destination identification is ocean yacht cruising (MacBeth, 2000), and cigar consumption (Ying
missing. et al., 2018). Lifestyle travellers refer to people for whom routine pat­
COVID-19 has shaken the world, with the tourism industry suffering terns of meaningful consumption constitute a way of life, to the point
from severe damage (Goodwin, 2020) due to travel restrictions and that these people organise their lives around pertinent activities when
quarantine policies (Cowling & Lim, 2020). Progress in vaccinations has travelling. This phenomenon integrates the concept of lifestyle congru­
gradually brought the pandemic under control in many countries (Tre­ ence, referring to a brand’s ability to help tourists express their values
goning, Flight, Higham, Wang, & Peirce, 2021). Restoring the tourism and lifestyles in their social environment (Keller, 2003). This concept
market is now a key concern among industry stakeholders. Extensive aligns well with lifestyle travellers, who prefer purchasing products that
research has addressed how COVID-19 has changed (or is likely to suit them (Kwan, Yeung, & Au, 2008). Ultimately, lifestyle attributes
change) tourists’ behaviour, such as in terms of travel risk perceptions inform individuals’ daily patterns of acquisition, consumption, and
and travel styles (e.g. Bae & Chang, 2021; Neuburger & Egger, 2021; disposition (Anderson & Golden, 1984).
Sigala, 2020; Wen, Kozak, Yang, & Liu, 2021). Findings from However, lifestyle traveller destinations have yet to be operational­
pre-COVID-19 times can help to predict tourists’ post-pandemic ised in the literature (Gross & Brown, 2006). By this token, we define
behaviour by taking the outbreak’s impacts into account. The research lifestyle traveller destinations as places featuring activities and charac­
gaps mentioned earlier suggest that exploring the perceived value of teristics that match visitors’ lifestyles (e.g. similar values and interests).
luxury consumption and tourist–destination identification on travellers’ In our case, cigar-themed tourism destinations such as Cuba and the
(i.e. Chinese cigar aficionados’) intentions to visit cigar-themed tourism Dominican Republic are taken as typical lifestyle traveller destinations
destinations can inform destination marketing strategies. This study that mirror cigar aficionados’ personal interests and lifestyles.
therefore addresses knowledge void around pre-COVID-19 destination
management through investigating cigar tourism and recommending 2.2. Fashion lifestyle
corresponding market recovery in post-pandemic times.
Therefore, this study extends Cohen’s (2011) “lifestyle traveller” Cigar smoking has long been bound to the world of refined fashion
conceptualisation to Chinese cigar aficionados to further explore the (DeSantis & Morgan, 2003). The notion of “fashion lifestyle,” the focus
factors potentially influencing their participation in cigar-themed of this study, encompasses consumers’ attitudes, interests, and opinions
tourism activities. By examining the effects of fashion lifestyle, the related to purchasing fashion products (Ko, Kim, & Kwon, 2006).
perceived value of luxury consumption, and tourist–destination identi­ Fashion lifestyle is an important criterion for fashion customer seg­
fication on cigar lifestyle travellers’ visit intention to a cigar tourism mentation, including potential markets such as information-seeking,
destination, this study advances the theoretical development on tourist sensation-seeking, utilitarian, and conspicuous consumers (Ko, Kim,
behaviours of luxury lifestyle travellers. Findings also provide mean­ Taylor, Kim, & Kang, 2007). Notably, luxury consumer segments are not
ingful practical implications for tourism stakeholders to improve mar­ determined solely by income; instead, psychographic characteristics (e.
keting and business development toward luxury lifestyle travellers. The g., interests and opinions) are closely tied to fashion lifestyle and can
aims of this study are as follows: facilitate luxury market segmentation (Gao, Norton, Zhang, & To,
2009). Taking the Chinese market as an example, Kwan et al. (2008)
1) To examine how Chinese cigar aficionados’ fashion lifestyle affects revealed that many lifestyle characteristics (e.g., fashion-related in­
their tourist–destination identification; terests and fashion as a form of self-representation) were associated with
2) To examine how Chinese cigar aficionados’ perceived value of luxury young consumers’ decision-making patterns. In addition, Li et al. (2012)
consumption affects their tourist–destination identification; and suggested that Chinese consumers are highly influenced by the
3) To examine how Chinese cigar aficionados’ tourist–destination perceived social/emotional, utilitarian, and economic value of fashion
identification affects their intentions to visit cigar-themed tourism brands when purchasing products. Although fashion lifestyles have
destinations. often been investigated in retailing (Loureiro, Jiménez-Barreto, &
Romero, 2020) and online shopping (Ladhari, Gonthier, & Lajante,
2019), their roles in consumers’ travel-related behaviour (e.g., tourist
destination selection) have yet to be addressed.

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2.3. Perceived value of luxury fashion consumption want to be. Beerli, Meneses, and Gil (2007) investigated self-congruity
by considering the alignment between a destination’s image and visi­
Perceived value, referring to consumers’ perceptions of whether a tors’ self-concept. In the same vein, because social interaction affects
product or service can meet their needs and expectations, is a key how individuals develop identities in different situations (Zhang & Kim,
construct in marketing given its usefulness in forecasting customer 2013), the attributes of a tourist destination convey a visitor’s identity
behaviour (Sweeney & Soutar, 2001). With respect to luxury con­ and announce his/her social status within a certain interactional setting
sumption, “luxury” embodies the characteristics of uniqueness, excel­ (Wang, Chen, & Han, 2011). Based on the relationship between in­
lence, magic, sensuality, or dreams (Phau & Prendergast, 2000). Its dividuals’ lifestyles and destination choices, in this study, tourists’
value transcends tangible material goods (Loureiro et al., 2020) by fashion lifestyle is thought to be an important variable predicting
evoking owners’ prestige regardless of functional utility (Gao et al., tourists’ identification with a destination that aligns with their personal
2009). In terms of features, Loureiro et al. (2020) pointed out that preferences and lifestyles when travelling. We therefore propose the
consumer behaviour in luxury consumption can be evaluated based on following hypothesis:
items’ individual, social, functional, and financial value. H1. Fashion lifestyle has a positive effect on tourist–destination
Researchers have measured the perceived value of luxury fashion identification.
consumption via multiple dimensions, such as uniqueness, hedonism/
symbolism, prestige/social status, quality, and cost (e.g. Choo, Moon, 2.5. Perceived value and identification
Kim, & Yoon, 2012; Vigneron & Johnson, 2004). Sun, D’Alessandro, and
Johnson (2016) specifically studied Chinese consumers’ luxury value Related to the theory of social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1985), when
based on emotional value, perceived social value, quality value, and tourists express their sense of self, they generally establish a social
unique value. National culture can influence the perceptions and value identity: they categorise themselves as or identify with (Kramer, 1991)
individuals attach to the purchase and consumption of luxury goods members of certain groups (e.g., on the basis of ethnicity, gender, in­
(Park, Reisinger, & Noh, 2010). For instance, because Chinese culture terests, or occupation). These social communities indirectly affect
emphasises hierarchy and status (Gao et al., 2009; Wang, Sun, & Song, members’ behaviour, which is determined by the value created within
2011), consumers in Asia are more likely to purchase luxury goods to the community (Chen & Lin, 2019). Based on an overall assessment,
earn social recognition than to fulfil internal needs. Because individuals tourists may receive added value from destinations, commonly known as
often strive to differentiate themselves from others (Snyder & Fromkin, consumption value (Grönroos, 2008). Thus, our central assertion in this
1977), luxury consumption can offer unique perceived value for con­ study is that some tourist–destination relationships are based on visitors’
sumers due to the scarcity of these products (Vigneron & Johnson, identification with destinations that help them satisfy one or more key
2004). self-definitional needs.
In terms of personal affective states, luxury goods can evoke hedonic In a tourism context, symbolic interaction theory appears especially
pleasure via their visual appeal and excitement (Vigneron & Johnson, applicable to exploring the perceived value of luxury fashion con­
2004). Consumers may also enjoy emotional benefits from possessing sumption and consumers’ identification with a specific destination. The
certain brands and services (Sun et al., 2016). Wiedmann et al. (2009) perceived value of luxury consumption has been shown to influence
stated that luxury consumption is associated with sensory pleasure, a customers’ brand choices, purchase intentions, and willingness to pay
sense of beauty, and excitement. Luxury consumption also boosts con­ (Sweeney & Soutar, 2001). Chinese customers pay special attention to
sumers’ happiness because they believe that such consumption elevates luxury goods’ brands and countries of origin, often favouring renowned
their status within their reference groups and within groups to which foreign luxury brands with popular logos (Wang, Chen et al., 2011;
they aspire (Dittmar, 2008). Finally, as luxury goods are thought to Wang, Sun et al., 2011). For instance, cigar consumption represents an
exceed conventional goods in terms of quality and performance, con­ emerging fashion lifestyle among China’s wealthy class. Social prestige
sumers may purchase specific luxury brands or products when these is a major perceived value that compels these individuals to visit des­
items are thought to provide the desired quality (Kumar, Lee, & Kim, tinations such as Cuba to purchase cigars (Ying et al., 2018). Scholars
2009). have speculated that Chinese customers’ preferences for authentic
Cuban cigars may be tied to a desire and perceived value to embody a
2.4. Lifestyle and identification particular lifestyle or social status (Wang, Chen et al., 2011; Wang, Sun
et al., 2011). In the tourism literature, residents’ place attachment was
In tourism settings, tourists’ identification with a destination refers found to be positively related to the perceived value of tourism devel­
to the extent to which visitors connect with a destination and define opment (Ganji, Johnson, & Sadeghian, 2020). Because tourist–destina­
themselves in terms of that feeling (Hultman et al., 2015). Tourists’ tion identification is conceptually similar to attachment, the following
self-congruence determines the match/mismatch between destination hypothesis is suggested:
attributes/images and tourists’ actual or ideal self-image. Although H2. The perceived value of luxury fashion consumption has a posi­
these characteristics shed light on important antecedents of tour­ tive effect on tourist–destination identification.
ist–destination identification, the relationship between tourist lifestyle
and tourist–destination identification has not been tested in the litera­ 2.6. Identification and visit intention
ture. Previous studies have instead examined the bond between a person
and a place, known as place attachment (Zenker, Braun, & Petersen, According to the theory of planned behaviour, behavioural intention
2017). Tourists’ lifestyles have also begun to appear in research reflects the probability of a person behaving in a specific manner within
including place attachment and involvement (Gross & Brown, 2006). a particular context (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). Drawing upon social
Lifestyle has been found to influence place attachment in lifestyle identity theory, Choo, Park, and Petrick (2011) identified positive re­
tourism destinations, such as South Australia (Gross & Brown, 2006). lationships between Hawaii residents’ local identification with their
People can pursue feelings of attachment and self-esteem by visiting intentions to share positive word-of-mouth and their participation in
particular places. Place identity is a key part of self-identity, which en­ tourism and leisure activities. Similarly, Zenker et al. (2017) examined
compasses one’s lifestyle (e.g., thoughts and feelings) in reflecting the impacts of brand complexity and identification on local residents’
oneself as an object (Stedman, 2002). When purchasing products, people and visitors’ behaviour (e.g. word-of-mouth) in tourist destinations.
judge items’ attributes based on a set of beliefs about themselves, such Beerli et al. (2007) posited that the more congruent a destination’s
that consumption reinforces their assumptions or ideas about the self image is with a tourist’s self-concept, the greater their tendency to visit.
(Chen & Lin, 2019). Individuals focus on who they are and who they In this study, cigar aficionados consider smoking a passion—not a mere

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habit or hobby—and maintain a fashion lifestyle characterised by tastings) in two first-tier Chinese cities (i.e. Guangzhou and Beijing).
earnest appreciation of the pastime (DeSantis & Morgan, 2003). As such, Survey respondents were Chinese citizens currently living in Mainland
we argue that the match between travellers’ self-identity and destination China who considered themselves cigar aficionados and who partici­
identification will affect their behavioural intentions. The following pated actively in cigar-themed associations or events. Although China
hypothesis is thus proposed: was the world’s largest market for Cuban cigars in 2020 prior to
H3. Tourist–destination identification has a positive effect on visit COVID-19 (Reuters, 2021; Savona, 2021; Warren, 2021), Chinese cigar
intention. aficionados have been largely ignored as an emerging market for
Fig. 1 illustrates the proposed model and relationships of interest in cigar-themed tourism destinations such as Cuba. In addition, the cigar
this study. community in China is mostly an interest-based group featuring occa­
sional activities, such as cigar tastings and gold games; no official or­
3. Methods ganization currently represents this hidden market. Obtaining data from
Chinese cigar aficionados thus remains challenging.
3.1. Questionnaire design Respondents completed an online self-report survey. The survey was
hosted on Sojump, a professional Chinese mobile application for online
Following the post-positivism paradigm, our research objectives surveys. Judgement sampling was used to identify ideal respondents
were explored quantitatively through a survey. The questionnaire based on the above-mentioned criteria. Potential respondents were
included sections covering cigar aficionados’ perceptions of fashion approached from April to July 2019. The study’s first author is a cigar
lifestyle (Section 1; 8 items) (Damminga, Wu, & Johnson, 2012; Ko, Lee, aficionado (i.e. an insider in the field) and sought permission and
Kim, & Burns, 2010; Kwan et al., 2008; Li et al., 2012), perceived value cooperation from the leaders of cigar associations as well as cigar in­
of luxury fashion consumption (Section 2; 12 items) (Chi & Chen, 2020; dustry operators to reach target respondents. The first author then
Ko & Megehee, 2011; Li et al., 2012), tourist-destination identification introduced these cigar association leaders and industry operators to a
(Section 3; 5 items) (Ahmed, 1996; Hultman et al., 2015; Zmyslony, collaborating marketing research company officer who facilitated sur­
2014), and intentions to visit a cigar-themed tourism destination (Sec­ vey data collection. The research company sent possible respondents a
tion 4; 3 items) (Horng et al., 2012); see Table 1 for details. All mea­ link to the Sojump questionnaire via the company’s data collection
surement items in Sections 1–4 were based on a literature review and platform to monitor survey completion and quality control. In coordi­
adapted to our research context and target population. Items were nation with this company, 500 useable responses (Guangzhou sample =
scored on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). 258 respondents; Beijing sample = 242 respondents) were returned for
The last section of the survey collected respondents’ socio-demographic an overall response rate of 33.79%.
information.
Measurement items were initially developed in English and then 4. Results
translated into Chinese. Both the English and Chinese versions were
reviewed by two bilingual researchers to verify linguistic equivalence 4.1. Respondent profile
and accuracy. Thereafter, a group of tourism experts (two academics and
two travel operators) and five cigar aficionados were invited to assess As illustrated in Table 2, most respondents across the two samples (i.
items’ content validity. The group offered feedback on the items’ con­ e., Guangzhou and Beijing) were men either 26–35 or 36–45 years old
tent and comprehensibility, and specific items were edited accordingly who were well-educated (with a bachelor’s or master’s degree). Nearly
to enhance clarity for Chinese cigar aficionados. The experts were also 60% of respondents reported earning a monthly income of
asked to identify redundant items and offer suggestions to improve the 20,001–30,000 RMB (3052.57–4578.86 USD based on October 2020
scale. Lastly, the questionnaire was modified to ensure content validity exchange rates). A small proportion of respondents in both samples
before being finalised for data collection. stated they had not visited cigar-themed tourism destinations previ­
ously. Most respondents held executive positions or were business
owners/self-employed, hence their relatively high monthly income.
3.2. Data collection These socio-demographics were similar to those of earlier cigar tourism
studies (Wen & Huang, 2019; Ying et al., 2018). The attributes captured
Cigars, especially premium hand-made options from Cuba, are the general socio-demographic profile of Chinese cigar aficionados and
associated with luxury consumption. According to Luxury Insights China cigar-oriented travellers as well as of upper-middle class Chinese citizens
(2016), a quality cigar costs roughly 200 RMB (approximately 30.57 (Bao, Jin, & Weaver, 2018).
USD) in China on average. The study’s target population consisted of
Chinese cigar aficionados who were members of cigar-themed associa­
tions and were actively involved in cigar-related events (e.g., cigar

Fig. 1. Proposed model and hypothesised relationships.

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Table 1 Table 1 (continued )


Survey items on fashion lifestyle, perceived values, tourist–destination identi­ Construct Item Item References/sources of
fication, and visit intention. code constructs
Construct Item Item References/sources of TDI22 I identify strongly with
code constructs cigar-themed tourism
Fashion lifestyle FL1 I often read fashion- Damminga et al. destinations
related printing (2012); Ko et al. TDI23 I feel attached to cigar-
materials (e.g., books, (2010); Kwan et al. themed tourism
magazines) (2008); Li, Li, & destinations
FL2 I believe that expensive Kambele (2012) TDI24 I feel that the features
fashionable products of cigar-themed
are good tourism destinations
FL3 I have good tastes in match my lifestyle
terms of my lifestyle TDI25 I feel that my values
FL4 I prefer to consume and the values of cigar-
fashionable products themed tourism
FL5 I like to attend fashion- destinations are highly
related events (e.g., similar
fashion shows) Visit intention VI26 I will visit a cigar- Horng et al. (2012)
FL6 I believe I live a themed tourism
fashionable lifestyle destination in the near
FL7 I am among the first to future
try new fashionable VI27 I plan to visit a cigar-
products themed tourism
FL8 I prefer to consume destination in the near
name-brand fashion future
products (e.g., Louis VI28 I would like to visit a
Vuitton, Gucci) cigar-themed tourism
Perceived value PV9 Consuming luxury Chi and Chen (2020); destination in the near
fashion products makes Ko and Megehee future
me appear financially (2011); Li, Li, &
successful Kambele (2012)
PV10 Consuming luxury 4.2. Scale dimensionality assessment
fashion products makes
me appear socially Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed in IBM SPSS 25.0 to
sophisticated
PV11 Those who consume
determine the scale’s dimensionality. To eliminate possible bias due to
luxury fashion products samples being collected in two locations, a random sample (n = 250)
appear to be members was generated from the combined dataset (Beijing and Guangzhou
of a high social class samples = 500 respondents combined) to extract each of the three
PV12 People who consume
constructs (fashion lifestyle, perceived value of luxury fashion con­
luxury fashion products
appear to be respected sumption, and tourist–destination identification) and to determine
by others whether any were multidimensional based on principal component
PV13 Consuming luxury analysis with varimax rotation. As shown in Table 3, all items were
fashion products allows retained at this stage: none exhibited low factor loadings (≤0.40), high
me to better affiliate
and socialize with
cross-loadings (>0.40), or low communalities (<0.50) (Hair, Black,
others Babin, & Anderson, 2010; Kline, 2016). The constructs also demon­
PV14 Consuming luxury strated high internal reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging
fashion products makes from 0.882 to 0.936.
me feel less stressed
PV15 Consuming fashion
products allows me to
indulge in luxury 4.3. Scale validation
PV16 Consuming luxury
fashion products allows Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on the combined
me to experience what dataset (n = 500) in IBM AMOS 24.0 to test the factorial structure of
others do not have
PV17 Consuming luxury
constructs (visit intention was included in the CFA stage) identified in
fashion products makes EFA. The overall measurement model, containing all constructs and
me different from items, displayed a generally satisfactory fit to the data but revealed some
others structural concerns (e.g., GFI <0.900; NFI <0.900) (CMIN = 1090.808;
PV18 Consuming luxury
df = 344; χ2/df = 3.171; RMR = 0.058; GFI = 0.853; CFI = 0.927; NFI =
fashion products lifts
my spirits when in a 0.897; IFI = 0.927; TLI = 0.920; RMSEA = 0.066). Modification indices
bad mood (MIs) suggested that some error terms were highly correlated based on
PV19 Consuming luxury high MI values: LV19 and LV20 (MI = 67.406); LV16 and LV17 (MI =
fashion products is a 37.336); FL6 and FL7 (MI = 32.478); and DI24 and DI25 (MI = 35.898)
reward for my hard
work
(see Table 4). For example, the semantic meaning of LV19 and LV20
PV20 Consuming luxury implies a psychological reward through luxury consumption. LV16 and
fashion products gives LV17 share a common “distinction” meaning. DI24 and DI25 overlap in
me a lot of pleasure value/lifestyle similarity. These correlations could be problematic for
Tourist–destination TDI21 Cigar-themed tourism Ahmed (1996);
the structures of respective constructs. After removing these 4 pairs (8
identification destinations suit me Hultman et al. (2015);
well Zmyslony (2014) items), the revised model exhibited an acceptable fit (CMIN = 383.817;
df = 164; χ2/df = 2.340; RMR = 0.052; GFI = 0.930; CFI = 0.966; NFI =
0.943; IFI = 0.967; TLI = 0.961; RMSEA = 0.052).

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Table 2 4.4. Structural model and hypothesis testing


Respondent profiles from the two samples.
Socio-demographic Sample 1: Guangzhou (n = Sample 2: Beijing (n = Using the combined dataset of 500 cases, the structural model
characteristics 258) 242) (CMIN = 954.328; df = 343; χ2/df = 2.782; RMR = 0.057; GFI = 0.875;
Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage CFI = 0.940; NFI = 0.910; IFI = 0.967; TLI = 0.940; RMSEA = 0.060)
(%) (%) exhibited a generally satisfactory model fit with the exception of GFI,
Age (χ = 4.291, df = 3, p = 0.232)
whose value was slightly lower than the threshold of 0.90.
18–25 – – – – As shown in Table 6, fashion lifestyle significantly and positively
26–35 154 59.7 126 52.1 affected tourist–destination identification (β = 0.576, t = 8.899, p <
36–45 82 31.8 98 40.5 0.001), lending support to H1. The results also indicated that the
46–55 and above 22 8.6 18 7.4
perceived value of luxury fashion consumption significantly and posi­
Gender (χ = 0.896, df = 2, p = 0.403)
Male 227 88.0 209 86.4 tively affected tourist–destination identification (β = 0.199, t = 3.426, p
Female 12 4.7 28 11.6 < 0.001), thus supporting H2. Lastly, tourist–destination identification
Prefer not to say 19 7.4 5 2.1 significantly and positively influenced visit intention (β = 0.876, t =
Education (χ = 12.547, df = 5, p = 0.028) 19.264, p < 0.001), supporting H3. In sum, as depicted in Fig. 2, all three
High school or 37 14.3 17 7.0
associate’s degree
hypotheses were empirically supported.
Bachelor’s degree 155 60.1 172 71.1
Master’s degree 54 20.9 44 18.2 4.5. Common method bias test
Doctorate or other 12 4.7 9 3.7
Occupation (χ = 6.146, df = 9, p = 0.725)
Because self-report measures were used to gather data in this study,
Manager/executive 101 39.1 91 37.6
Government official 10 3.9 13 5.4 the data could suffer from common method bias (CMB; Uludag, 2016).
Retired 26 10.1 – – Harman’s single-factor test was thus performed based on EFA in IBM
Clerical/sales – – 19 7.9 SPSS 25.0. All items under the four study constructs were forced into a
Professional/ 19 7.4 24 9.9
single-factor solution, resulting in three factors with eigenvalues above
technical
Owner/self- 80 31.0 78 32.2
1.0. The cut-off point for this test was 50% variance explained by the
employed largest identified factor: if results surpassed this value, then the data
Other 22 8.6 17 6.9 were assumed to be affected by CMB. The largest factor accounted for
Personal monthly income (RMB)* (χ = 5.520, df = 5, p = 0.356) 48.712% of the variance when subjected to a single-factor solution. This
5000 or less (775 3 1.2 9 3.7
result was below the cut-off value, indicating that the data were not
USD or less)
5001–10,000 33 12.8 34 14.0 affected by CMB.
(776–1551 USD) Further review of the CMB test results with all items incorporated
10,001–20,000 71 27.5 60 24.8 confirmed that items belonging to tourist–destination identification and
(1552–3102 USD)
visit intention loaded on the same factor. Therefore, these two constructs
20,001–30,000 56 21.7 61 25.2
(3103–4653 USD)
were highly correlated. A possible rationale for this finding appears in
30,001–50,000 43 16.7 38 15.7 the next section. Of note, items belonging to the constructs of fashion
(4654–7755 USD) lifestyle and perceived values loaded separately without any cross-
50,000 or more 52 20.2 40 16.5 loadings.
(7756 USD or more)
Number of times visiting cigar-themed tourism destinations (χ = 5.154, df = 3, p =
0.161) 5. Discussion
Never 42 16.3 28 11.6
1–2 times 136 52.7 119 49.2 The rapid growth of cigar consumption among Chinese high-end
3–4 times 44 17.1 57 23.6
consumers suggests that cigar aficionados represent an emerging
5 times or more 36 14.0 38 15.7
tourism market that merits attention. With a focus on Chinese cigar
Note: 1 RMB ≈ 0.1551 USD in 2021. aficionados’ travel-related behaviour, this study revealed that (a) trav­
ellers’ fashion lifestyle positively affects tourist–destination identifica­
Table 4 details the measurement properties. All composite reliability tion; (b) the perceived value of luxury consumption positively affects
estimates exceeded 0.70, indicating that each construct’s reliability was tourist–destination identification; and (c) such identification positively
acceptable (Hair et al., 2010). Convergent validity was tested by influences Chinese cigar aficionados’ intentions to visit cigar-themed
examining the t-value of each item’s factor loading on its underlying tourism destinations. These findings contribute to knowledge of luxury
construct (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). All items’ factor loadings were consumption, special interest tourism, and the cigar tourism market
above 0.60 and their t-values were higher than 1.96 (p < 0.001), from a Chinese perspective by addressing the three objectives presented
reflecting convergent validity. The CFA output indicated that the above.
average variance extracted (AVE) values of all constructs exceeded the The EFA and CFA results demonstrated the single-factor structure of
recommended cut-off of 0.50 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981), ranging from fashion lifestyle and the perceived value of luxury fashion consumption
0.513 to 0.736, further showing that convergent validity was met. from cigar aficionados’ perspectives. First, “fashion lifestyle” is an ab­
Discriminant validity was tested by comparing factors’ intercorrelations stract term that could be perceived in multiple ways, reflecting the
with the square root of the average variance (i.e., AVE) for each factor difficulties of measuring cultural values that vary situationally (Wen,
(Hatcher, 1994). As listed in Table 5, the correlation between fashion Huang, & Ying, 2019). From a marketing standpoint, measurement
lifestyle and perceived value of luxury fashion consumption (0.740) was scales related to fashion lifestyle have been proposed in the tourism
slightly higher than the lowest square root of the AVE (0.716). The literature to identify comprehensive features linking consumers to their
correlation between tourist–destination identification and visit inten­ consumption behaviour with respect to luxury fashion brands (e.g. Ko
tion (0.870) was greater than the critical value of 0.85 suggested by et al., 2007; Li et al., 2012). In this study, we conceptualised cigar
Kline (2016). Therefore, we observed a lack of discriminant validity aficionados as lifestyle travellers who travel to fulfil personal interests in
between tourist–destination identification and visit intention. ways that align with their lifestyles. The presented measurement scale
also answered a call to pay greater attention to cigar tourists’ experi­
ences, perceptions, attitudes, and feelings (Wen & Huang, 2019; Ying

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J. Wen and S.(S. Huang Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 22 (2021) 100664

Table 3
EFA results based on random sample (n = 250).
Constructs/Factors Cronbach’s % of variance Eigenvalues Factor Mean SD
α explained loading

KMO: 0.902; Bartlett’s test of sphericity: 873.099, df Fashion lifestyle (M ¼ 5.72) 0.882 55.303 4.424
= 28, sig. = 0.000, explained 55.303% of the total FL8 0.810 5.59 1.088
variance FL6 0.808 5.76 0.990
FL5 0.761 5.63 1.030
FL7 0.754 5.58 1.070
FL4 0.729 5.80 0.918
FL3 0.716 5.97 0.862
FL2 0.702 5.70 1.034
FL1 0.658 5.71 1.101
KMO: 0.939; Bartlett’s test of sphericity: 1943.766, Perceived value of luxury fashion 0.936 59.253 7.110
df = 66, sig. = 0.000, explained 59.253% of the consumption (M ¼ 5.39)
total variance LV17 0.827 5.08 1.376
LV12 0.806 5.32 1.217
LV10 0.804 5.37 1.220
LV16 0.796 5.49 1.239
LV14 0.789 5.34 1.183
LV13 0.782 5.53 1.120
LV15 0.767 4.83 1.494
LV11 0.761 5.58 1.149
LV9 0.761 5.46 1.189
LV18 0.734 5.37 1.296
LV20 0.705 5.83 0.981
LV19 0.692 5.92 0.930
KMO: 0.874; Bartlett’s test of sphericity: 850.722, df Tourist–destination identification 0.914 74.666 3.733
= 10, sig. = 0.000, explained 74.666% of the total (M ¼ 5.58)
variance DI23 0.876 5.34 1.166
DI22 0.875 5.81 0.940
DI24 0.869 5.55 1.064
DI25 0.861 5.57 1.052
DI21 0.839 5.77 0.950

SD: standard deviation.


All items scored on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree).

et al., 2018) in specific travel contexts. The newly developed notion of single-dimension scale proposed to assess the perceived value of luxury
fashion lifestyle could next be applied to measure other types of special consumption can be applied in tourism studies with better face and
interest tourism (e.g., film tourism, wildlife tourism, and sports tourism) content validity compared to borrowing scales from disciplines such as
in which tourists seek immersive travel experiences that align with their marketing and consumer behaviour.
interests and lifestyle preferences. Third, and most interestingly, two constructs in this study (i.e.,
Second, a single-dimension 8-item scale on the perceived value of tourist–destination identification and visit intention) were strongly
luxury fashion consumption was generated based on cigar aficionados’ correlated but did not demonstrate discriminant validity. This finding
perspectives. This measurement scale differs from that in other studies was confirmed by Harman’s single-factor test, which revealed that items
revolving around the perceived value of luxury fashion consumption belonging to these two constructs fell onto one factor. This finding
with a focus on luxury brands (Vigneron & Johnson, 2004). The scale varied from that of prior studies that included identification and visit
detailed here clearly reflects the perceived value of luxury consumption intention as separate constructs. Our result was unexpected but
via prestige/social status through items such as “Consuming luxury intriguing and can be interpreted in terms of the nature and character­
fashion products makes me appear financially successful” and “Those istics of cigar aficionados, who can be conceptualised as lifestyle trav­
who consume luxury fashion products appear to be members of a high ellers in tourism. Upon checking measurement items associated with the
social class.” Similar to earlier work, our findings echoed that national two constructs, we found that some items potentially suggested a similar
culture influences the perceptions and value that individuals attach to meaning. For example, the tourist–destination identification item “I feel
luxury product purchases and consumption (Park et al., 2010)—espe­ attached to cigar-themed tourism destinations” was somewhat similar to
cially in Chinese culture, which emphasises hierarchy and status (Gao the visit intention item “I would like to visit a cigar-themed tourism
et al., 2009; Wang, Chen et al., 2011; Wang, Sun et al., 2011). Moreover, destination in the near future.” The two constructs were also concep­
prior studies employed multiple dimensions to measure the perceived tually similar, as cigar aficionados generally deem cigars and cigar-
value of luxury fashion consumption in marketing and consumer related events important parts of their lifestyle and are strongly
behaviour (e.g., Li et al., 2012; Choo et al., 2012; Vigneron & Johnson, attached to these pursuits. As a result, the two constructs can be
2004). Comparatively, the single-dimension scale generated in this perceived similarly in terms of their positive answers to underlying
study is more applicable to tourism research, especially special interest measurement items. Therefore, this study offered an interesting case to
tourism. First, as mentioned, multi-dimension measurement scales warn future research to employ the two constructs in one study with
developed previously tended to focus on luxury brands but may not be caution by carefully considering the target research population and its
fully relevant to tourism research; for instance, dimensions such as characteristics. In addition, according to Table 2, 86.0% of respondents
uniqueness, quality, and cost (Choo et al., 2012) cannot reflect special (n = 430) had visited cigar-themed tourism destinations; that is, a large
interest tourists’ perceived value of fashion consumption during travel. proportion of our sample was highly motivated to engage in cigar-
Second, from cigar tourists’ perspectives, the perceived value of cigar oriented travel. In addition, cigar aficionados likely participate in
consumption is less complicated than in broad consumption studies; cigar smoking or relevant activities on a daily basis, thus engaging in “…
cigar consumption involves a sense of prestige/social status and relevant an emotional, cognitive and sensorial process [that] provides access to a
psychological/emotional enjoyment in a Chinese context. Thus, the specific goal” (Carù & Cova, 2006, p. 45). Survey items related to

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J. Wen and S.(S. Huang Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 22 (2021) 100664

Table 4 The structural model in Fig. 2 presents results for the three hypoth­
Overall measurement model test results (n = 500). eses proposed in this study. Structural relationships revealed that
CR AVE Factor S.E. C.R. p fashion lifestyle positively affected tourist–destination identification (β
Loading = 0.576, p < 0.001), filling a knowledge gap in the literature: no such
Fashion lifestyle 0.863 0.513 relationship was empirically tested in prior research. In terms of self-
FL1 0.616 – – *** concept, this study confirmed that tourists’ choices (e.g., of tourism
FL2 0.731 0.085 13.162 *** destinations) are linked to their self-concept, which is strongly influ­
FL3 0.702 0.069 12.773 *** enced by their lifestyle (Sirgy, 1982). According to self-identification,
FL4 0.732 0.073 13.171 ***
FL5 0.731 0.048 16.951 ***
tourists’ destination choices depend heavily on tourist–destination
FL6 identification; that is, travellers wish to visit destinations congruent with
FL7 their lifestyles (Gill, 1993). In the current study, results pertained to
FL8 0.777 0.094 13.732 *** cigar tourists. These aficionados expressed interest in visiting destina­
Perceived value of 0.926 0.612
tions that matched their personal interests and luxury lifestyles. Such
luxury fashion
consumption findings corroborate earlier work (e.g., Beerli et al., 2007) highlighting
LV9 0.775 – – – fashion lifestyle and tourist–destination identification as key variables in
LV10 0.826 0.054 20.066 *** tourists’ behaviour. Such importance also holds for studies in various
LV11 0.814 0.053 19.720 *** disciplines such as marketing, consumer behaviour, and tourism.
LV12 0.834 0.055 20.313 ***
LV13 0.799 0.053 19.271 ***
Moreover, as shown in Table 3, respondents sought to attain
LV14 0.793 0.054 19.098 *** perceived values such as “appear financially successful,” “appear so­
LV15 0.720 0.069 16.980 *** cially sophisticated,” “be respected by others,” and “better affiliate and
LV16 socialize with others” by consuming luxury fashion products. This study
LV17
further showed that cigar aficionados considered these perceived values
LV18 0.685 0.060 16.022 ***
LV19 of luxury consumption positively (β = 0.199, p < 0.001) when choosing
LV20 tourism destinations. These findings could also be interpreted through
Tourist–destination 0.864 0.680 symbolic interaction theory: cigar-themed tourism destinations, which
identification have a specific symbolic meaning and identity, might satisfy cigar
DI21 0.837
aficionados’ perceived values when making travel decisions. Research
– – –
DI22 0.863 0.045 22.965 ***
DI23 0.771 0.058 19.600 *** has similarly suggested that Chinese consumers pay close attention to
DI24 luxury goods’ countries of origin (Wang, Chen et al., 2011; Wang, Sun
DI25 et al., 2011). Cigar aficionados consider smoking to be a passion and
Visit intention 0.900 0.750
fashion lifestyle (DeSantis & Morgan, 2003), and cigars’ countries of
TI26 0.863 – – –
TI27 0.896 0.038 26.456 *** origin (e.g., Cuba) hold a prominent place in associated destinations’
TI28 0.838 0.041 23.742 *** tourism development based on offering exceptional items of high quality
(Ying et al., 2018). Thus, we identified a positive association between
Note: CR = composite reliability; AVE = average variance extracted; C.R. =
cigar aficionados’ tourist–destination identification and their perceived
critical ratio; all items = p < 0.001.
Italic and underlined items were removed. value of luxury fashion consumption. Results also showed that tour­
ist–destination identification significantly positively affected travellers’
visit intentions in the context of cigar tourism. Our findings support
Table 5 research suggesting that tourist–destination identification positively
Inter-construct correlations (n = 500). affects revisit intention (Hultman et al., 2015) and that brand identifi­
1 2 3 4 AVE (square cation positively influences visit intention (Stokburger-Sauer, 2011).
root of AVE) These results also mirror those of Beerli et al. (2007), who found that the
Fashion lifestyle 1 0.513 better matched one’s self-concept is with a destination’s image, the more
(0.716) likely the person is to visit that place. Cigar aficionados engaged in
Perceived value of luxury 0.740** 1 0.728 cigar-related activities in daily life, which influenced their travel-related
fashion consumption (0.853) behaviour and eagerness to visit cigar-themed destinations (Bandura,
Tourist–destination 0.707** 0.631** 1 0.694
identification (0.833)
2010). In terms of the close correlation between tourist–destination
Visit intention 0.683** 0.525** 0.870** 1 0.736 identification and visit intentions among cigar tourists, this pattern
(0.858) should inspire academics and practitioners to further investigate these
Note: ** = correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
constructs’ associations (β = 0.876, p < 0.001 in this study) for different
forms of special interest tourism.
tourist–destination identification and visit intention accordingly indi­
cated that cigar aficionados exhibited strong motivations, immersion,
and attachment to cigar activities including cigar-themed travel. These
findings also provide a fresh view of the link between concept identifi­
cation and visit intention in different tourism settings.

Table 6
Structural model test results (n = 500).
Hypothesis number Relationship Standardised coefficient t-value Significance Decision

H1 FL -> TDI 0.576 8.899 *** Supported


H2 PV -> TDI 0.199 3.426 *** Supported
H3 TDI -> VI 0.876 19.264 *** Supported

Note: FL: fashion lifestyle; PV: perceived value of luxury fashion consumption; TDI: tourist–destination identification; VI: visit intention; SEM: structural equation
modelling.

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J. Wen and S.(S. Huang Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 22 (2021) 100664

Fig. 2. Structural Model. Note: ***p < 0.001.

6. Conclusions validity. Although possible reasons for this outcome were discussed
earlier, this limitation should be emphasised. Cigar aficionados consti­
6.1. Theoretical contributions tute a specific group of luxury consumers and typical lifestyle travellers.
The model in Fig. 1 could be empirically tested with other lifestyle
In a nutshell, this study offers valuable theoretical and practical travellers, such as backpackers, ocean yacht cruisers, or caravanners, to
contributions to the literature on special interest tourism by investi­ determine whether discriminant validity remains problematic. In addi­
gating Chinese cigar aficionados as a focal case. Using surveys from 500 tion, other samples with different socio-demographics could be used to
Chinese cigar aficionados to explore factors influencing their intentions test the model and underlying relationships to identify whether our re­
to visit cigar-themed destinations, three structural relationships based sults can be replicated. Other samples could be included in cross-cultural
on the proposed model (Fig. 1) were established to illustrate key in­ research to more fully understand the dynamics of cigar-related tourism.
dicators of cigar tourists’ visit intentions. This study appears to be the Furthermore, as Ying et al. (2018) recommended, scholars should
first to propose and empirically test these associations, effectively continue to explore lifestyle travellers’ experiences with respect to their
expanding research on consumer behaviour and luxury consumption. attitudes, perceptions, and perceived constraints of cigar consumption
Additionally, the findings expand knowledge of visit intention ante­ within luxury-oriented special interest tourism.
cedents in tourism by identifying tourist–destination identification as a
strong indicator that positively influences tourists’ visit intentions. Author contributions
Meanwhile, the generated measurement scales of luxury lifestyle and the
perceived value of luxury consumption in a tourism context partially Dr. Jun Wen: conception and design; data collection; data analysis;
rectify the relative absence of tourism-oriented scales in the literature. draft the manuscript; critically revise the manuscript; and give final
Although data were collected from Chinese cigar aficionados prior to submission approval. Prof. Songshan (Sam) Huang: conception and
COVID-19, findings fill an important knowledge void around this design; data analysis; critically revise the manuscript; and give final
emerging market. The insights disclosed in the current study thus can submission approval.
apply to the post-COVID-19 era and guide tourism recovery related to
cigar-themed or other similar type of special interest tourism market. Sources of funding

This study was financially supported by Markets and Services


6.2. Practical implications
Research Centre (MASRC), School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan
University.
Practically, our findings will help tourism destination marketers and
operators better understand certain influential predictors of tourists’
visit intentions so they may devise relevant marketing strategies. Cigar Declaration of competing interest
aficionados were taken as representatives of a type of lifestyle traveller
(Wen & Huang, 2019), to illustrate how and to what extent these trav­ None.
ellers’ perceptions of a luxury lifestyle, the value of luxury consumption,
and tourist–destination identification influence their travel intentions
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J. Wen and S.(S. Huang Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 22 (2021) 100664

Zenker, S., Braun, E., & Petersen, S. (2017). Branding the destination versus the place: Dr. Jun Wen is a lecturer in tourism and hospitality management in the School of Business
The effects of brand complexity and identification for residents and visitors. Tourism and Law at Edith Cowan University. His current research interests lie in Chinese outbound
Management, 58(1), 15–27. tourism marketing, behaviours, and other related aspects.
Zhang, B., & Kim, J. (2013). Luxury fashion consumption in China: Factors affecting
attitude and purchase intent. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 20(1),
Songshan (Sam) Huang, PhD, is a research professor in tourism and services marketing in
68–79.
the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University, Australia. His research interests
Zmyslony, P. (2014). Identification of leadership in emerging tourist destinations.
include tourist behaviour, destination marketing, tour guiding, and various Chinese
Tourism Review, 69(3), 173–186.
tourism and hospitality issues.

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