IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i7p2114-d153625.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Influence of Word of Mouth on Tourism Destination Choice: Tourist–Resident Relationship and Safety Perception among Mainland Chinese Tourists Visiting Macau

Author

Listed:
  • Ivan Ka Wai Lai

    (Faculty of International Tourism and Management, City University of Macau, Avenida Padre Tomás Pereira, Taipa 999078, Macau, China)

  • Michael Hitchcock

    (Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, UK)

  • Dong Lu

    (School of Business, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China)

  • Yide Liu

    (School of Business, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa 999078, Macau, China)

Abstract

The growth of urban tourism has the potential to increase tourist–resident tensions that limit the sustainable growth of tourism in many destination cities. Visitors’ perceptions of poor tourist–resident relationships and conditions of safety may have an impact on their attitudes, especially with regard to trip satisfaction. This study investigates the roles of tourist–resident relationship and safety perception on the relationship between service quality, trip satisfaction, and word of mouth (WOM). The results of this empirical study ( n = 386) show that the tourist–resident relationship and safety perception have significant effects on trip satisfaction, but only safety perception reveals a significant effect on WOM. Furthermore, the results also indicate that the tourist–resident relationship and safety perception moderate the relationship between service quality and trip satisfaction, and that the tourist–resident relationship also moderates the relationship between trip satisfaction and WOM. An understanding of these mechanisms can help governments to create appropriate policies to support the sustainable development of tourism and promote their tourism industries by fostering tourists’ WOM.

Suggested Citation

  • Ivan Ka Wai Lai & Michael Hitchcock & Dong Lu & Yide Liu, 2018. "The Influence of Word of Mouth on Tourism Destination Choice: Tourist–Resident Relationship and Safety Perception among Mainland Chinese Tourists Visiting Macau," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2114-:d:153625
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/7/2114/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/7/2114/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hee-Sun Cho & Byungseol Byun & Sunmi Shin, 2014. "An Examination of the Relationship between Rural Tourists’ Satisfaction, Revisitation and Information Preferences: A Korean Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(9), pages 1-19, September.
    2. Eric Neumayer, 2004. "The Impact of Political Violence on Tourism," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 48(2), pages 259-281, April.
    3. He Zhu & Jiaming Liu & Zongcai Wei & Weiheng Li & Lei Wang, 2017. "Residents’ Attitudes towards Sustainable Tourism Development in a Historical-Cultural Village: Influence of Perceived Impacts, Sense of Place and Tourism Development Potential," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Moorthy, Sridhar & Ratchford, Brian T & Talukdar, Debabrata, 1997. "Consumer Information Search Revisited: Theory and Empirical Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 23(4), pages 263-277, March.
    5. Sinkovics, Rudolf R. & Penz, Elfriede, 2009. "Social distance between residents and international tourists--Implications for international business," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 457-469, October.
    6. Sea-Jin Chang & Arjen van Witteloostuijn & Lorraine Eden, 2010. "From the Editors: Common method variance in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(2), pages 178-184, February.
    7. Seabra, Cláudia & Dolnicar, Sara & Abrantes, José Luís & Kastenholz, Elisabeth, 2013. "Heterogeneity in risk and safety perceptions of international tourists," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 502-510.
    8. Iulia C. Muresan & Camelia F. Oroian & Rezhen Harun & Felix H. Arion & Andra Porutiu & Gabriela O. Chiciudean & Alexandru Todea & Ramona Lile, 2016. "Local Residents’ Attitude toward Sustainable Rural Tourism Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huseyin Arasli & Maryam Abdullahi & Tugrul Gunay, 2021. "Social Media as a Destination Marketing Tool for a Sustainable Heritage Festival in Nigeria: A Moderated Mediation Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-27, May.
    2. Grubor, Aleksandar & Leković, Ksenija & Tomić, Slavica, 2020. "Tourists' Recommendations: Socio-demographic Analysis," Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference (2020), Virtual Conference, in: Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference, Virtual Conference, 10-12 September 2020, pages 441-449, IRENET - Society for Advancing Innovation and Research in Economy, Zagreb.
    3. Paul Juinn Bing Tan & Hui-mei Yao & Ming-Hung Hsu, 2021. "A Case Study of Tourist Perceptions and Revisit Intention Regarding Qingwan Cactus Park in Penghu, Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-18, November.
    4. Qiao Chen & Yan Mao & Alastair M. Morrison, 2024. "How Do Information Sources Influence the Purchases of Tourism, Culture, and Entertainment? An Analysis of China Family Panel Studies Data," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, April.
    5. Maha Hassan Ahmed Salah & Ahmed Hassan Abdou & Thowayeb H. Hassan & Maha Abdul-Moniem Mohammed El-Amin & Adam Basheer Adam Kegour & Hanem Mostafa Mohamed Alboray & Amal Salah Darder Mohamed & Howayda , 2023. "Power of eWOM and Its Antecedents in Driving Customers’ Intention to Revisit: An Empirical Investigation on Five-Star Eco-Friendly Hotels in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-21, June.
    6. Vo Viet Hung & Sandeep Kumar Dey & Zuzana Vaculcikova & Le Trieu Hoang Anh, 2021. "The Influence of Tourists’ Experience on Destination Loyalty: A Case Study of Hue City, Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    7. Chris Zhu & Lawrence Hoc Nang Fong & Ziye Shang & Manrong Gan, 2022. "Rethinking the Impact of Theme Park Image on Perceived Value and Behavioral Intention: The Case of Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    8. Fidel Martínez-Roget & José Alberto Moutela & Xosé A. Rodríguez, 2020. "Length of Stay and Sustainability: Evidence from the Schist Villages Network (SVN) in Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    9. Jenni Soo-Hee Lee & Jinsoo Hwang, 2022. "The Determinants of Visit Intention for Chinese Residents in the Michigan, United States: An Empirical Analysis Performed Through PLS-SEM," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, August.
    10. Cristobal Rodolfo Guerra-Tamez & María-Laura Franco-García, 2022. "Influence of Flow Experience, Perceived Value and CSR in Craft Beer Consumer Loyalty: A Comparison between Mexico and The Netherlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, July.
    11. Liliana Popescu & Claudia Daniela Albă & Mirela Mazilu & Cristina Șoșea, 2023. "‘Should I Go or Should I Stay?’ Why Do Romanians Choose the Bulgarian Seaside for Their Summer Holiday?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-18, July.
    12. Bing Yuan & Alessandro M. Peluso, 2021. "The Influence of Word-Of-Mouth Referral on Consumers’ Purchase Intention: Experimental Evidence from WeChat," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-18, January.
    13. Grubor, Aleksandar & Leković, Ksenija & Tomić, Slavica, 2019. "Tourists’ Recommendations: WOM Becomes Digital," Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference (2019), Rovinj, Croatia, in: Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference, Rovinj, Croatia, 12-14 September 2019, pages 493-501, IRENET - Society for Advancing Innovation and Research in Economy, Zagreb.
    14. Feng Xu & Xuejiao Lin & Shuaishuai Li & Wenxia Niu, 2018. "Is Southern Xinjiang Really Unsafe?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elsie Nasr & Okechukwu Lawrence Emeagwali & Hasan Yousef Aljuhmani & Souha Al-Geitany, 2022. "Destination Social Responsibility and Residents’ Environmentally Responsible Behavior: Assessing the Mediating Role of Community Attachment and Involvement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-26, October.
    2. Milena Nedeljković Knežević & Marko D. Petrović & Slađana Nedeljković & Maja Mijatov & Milan M. Radovanović & Mirjana Gajić & Miroslav Škoda, 2019. "Changes in Traditional Activities of Industrial Area toward Sustainable Tourism Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-16, November.
    3. Veli YILANCI & Sertaç HOPOĞLU & Hakan ERYÜZLÜ, 2023. "The impact of the economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks on tourism demand of Mexico," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(3(636), A), pages 147-164, Autumn.
    4. He, Jun & Huang, Zilong & Mishra, Arunodaya Raj & Alrasheedi, Melfi, 2021. "Developing a new framework for conceptualizing the emerging sustainable community-based tourism using an extended interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy SWARA-MULTIMOORA," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    5. Hio-Jung Shin & Hyun No Kim & Jae-Young Son, 2017. "Measuring the Economic Impact of Rural Tourism Membership on Local Economy: A Korean Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-13, April.
    6. Christian Eckert & Harald Pechlaner, 2019. "Alternative Product Development as Strategy Towards Sustainability in Tourism: The Case of Lanzarote," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-18, June.
    7. Xiaoming (Rose) Liu & Jun (Justin) Li, 2018. "Host Perceptions of Tourism Impact and Stage of Destination Development in a Developing Country," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-15, July.
    8. Zilin Wu & Ivan Ka Wai Lai & Huajun Tang, 2021. "Evaluating the Sustainability Issues in Tourism Development: An Adverse-Impact and Serious-Level Analysis," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    9. Fidel Martínez-Roget & José Alberto Moutela & Xosé A. Rodríguez, 2020. "Length of Stay and Sustainability: Evidence from the Schist Villages Network (SVN) in Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    10. Hyun No Kim, 2018. "The Economic Valuation of Change in the Quality of Rural Tourism Resources: Choice Experiment Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, March.
    11. Wookhyun An & Silverio Alarcón, 2020. "How Can Rural Tourism Be Sustainable? A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-23, September.
    12. Seabra, Claudia & Reis, Pedro & Abrantes, José Luís, 2020. "The influence of terrorism in tourism arrivals: A longitudinal approach in a Mediterranean country," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    13. Drago Cvijanovic & Tamara Gajic & Dusica Cvijanovic, 2021. "The Impact Of Tourism On Rural Development - Example Of Undeveloped Villages In Republic Of Serbia," Economic Review: Journal of Economics and Business, University of Tuzla, Faculty of Economics, vol. 19(1), pages 35-48, May.
    14. Haiyan Ma & Yung-ho Chiu & Xiaocong Tian & Juanjuan Zhang & Quan Guo, 2020. "Safety or Travel: Which Is More Important? The Impact of Disaster Events on Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-12, April.
    15. Han-Shen Chen, 2020. "The Construction and Validation of a Sustainable Tourism Development Evaluation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-20, October.
    16. Newburry, William & Gardberg, Naomi A. & Sanchez, Juan I., 2014. "Employer Attractiveness in Latin America: The Association Among Foreignness, Internationalization and Talent Recruitment," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 327-344.
    17. Jean–Luc Arregle & Bat Batjargal & Michael A. Hitt & Justin W. Webb & Toyah Miller & Anne S. Tsui, 2015. "Family Ties in Entrepreneurs’ Social Networks and New Venture Growth," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(2), pages 313-344, March.
    18. Asongu, Simplice & Acha-Anyi, Paul, 2019. "Global Tourism and Waves of Terror: Perspectives from Military Expenditure," MPRA Paper 101793, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Ahammad, Mohammad Faisal & Tarba, Shlomo Yedidia & Liu, Yipeng & Glaister, Keith W., 2016. "Knowledge transfer and cross-border acquisition performance: The impact of cultural distance and employee retention," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 66-75.
    20. Nenycz-Thiel, Magda & Romaniuk, Jenni, 2011. "The nature and incidence of private label rejection," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 93-99.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2114-:d:153625. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.