International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

Purpose – To develop and test a measurement model for the combined study of involvement and place attachment in a tourism context.

Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted in South Australia, a state that has positioned itself as a lifestyle tourism destination. Tourism involvement was conceptualised as a multidimensional construct consisting of centrality to lifestyle, attraction, self-expression, and food and wine. Place attachment was also conceptualised as a multidimensional construct consisting of place identity and place dependence. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to develop and test a measurement model using survey data from tourists in South Australia.

Findings – A six factor measurement model was developed and found to have a reasonable fit with the data.

Research limitations/implications – The present study findings suggest that a viable theoretical, practical, and methodological basis can be established to measure the relationships among the involvement and place attachment constructs in a tourism context. This establishes a sound foundation for further examination of the predictive nature of the relationships between the constructs.

Practical implications – A better understanding of involvement dimensions and the extent to which tourism experiences are rooted in place may be of invaluable assistance in the marketing of tourism destinations.

Originality/value – Involvement and place attachment have received considerable study as individual constructs in tourism contexts, however their study in combination has been undertaken only recently, and almost exclusively in leisure and recreation contexts. This study extended the scope of the combined examination of involvement and place attachment into a tourism context.