Psychological Antecedents of Intentions to Participate in Last Chance Tourism: Considering Complementary Theories

Abstract

Last chance tourism (LCT) has received significant attention within the academic literature and popular press because of its controversial nature of bringing travelers to threatened places. However, little theory has been applied to understand why travelers gravitate toward this controversial type of tourism. Hence, this work combines the value–belief–norm (VBN) model and theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework to explain intentions to participate in LCT. Survey data were collected from a national panel (n = 436) of US travelers in 2019. A two-step modeling approach (confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling) was followed to examine psychometrics and hypothesized relationships between VBN constructs, TPB constructs, and intentions to participate in LCT. Of the 11 hypotheses examined, nine were supported, with both theories combining to explain 61% of the variance in travelers’ intentions. The TPB construct of “social norms” was the best predictor of LCT intentions, emphasizing the conspicuous nature of LCT’s influence on demand.

Keywords

value–belief–norm (VBN) model theory of planned behavior last chance tourism structural equation modeling national panel

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